This time, one from the new breed, one from an established director.
NEW BREED CATEGORY
Magkakapatid
Disclaimer: Thanks to traffic, I missed a good 20 minute chunk from the start of the film, so my thoughts on this one are incomplete.
I'm an only child, so I have not experienced what it feels like to have a brother or sister.The closest I ever got was through my cousins, and even that is nothing compared to the real thing. That said, bonds between brothers and sisters are strong. But as some people say, the stronger the bond, the more catastrophic it's going to be once things fall apart.
Magkakapatid is a drama that focuses on these dynamics. Three threads intertwine together with the theme of family bonds: Julio Diaz plays a barangay captain who falls into conflict with his daughters; he cannot let go of a daughter who plans to marry. Meanwhile his sister (in law?) Maring, is married to a rich dude who cheated on her. Even after her husband's death, Maring's daughter could not forgive her father for what he had done. And finally, older sister Adeling's (Ces Quesada) two sons face conflicts of their own: the elder brother is cruel and torments his younger brother Caloy, who has a history of mental problems, including multiple personalities.
Unfortunately, I was unable to see the film in its entirety and managed only to view the midpoint to the resolutions of these conflicts; eventually in a weird way these conflicts would bring the whole family together again.
The acting is solid on all fronts, no technical problems here. Archie Adamos plays an effective comic foil. The ending was a bit rushed, but that's only my perspective, given that the missing first part that I didn't watch could still tie up the ending better.
It would be unfair to give a rating to the movie since I didn't watch it yet, so instead of over ten, this one's going to be over five.
3.5 bloody corpses/5 plus or minus whatever was supposed to be in the establishing part. Nice film overall.
DIRECTOR'S SHOWCASE CATEGORY
Two Funerals
At around the time of Holy Week, a freak accident with a bus and 18-wheeler claims many lives, including Charm, a youth leader and daughter of Pilar (Tessie Tomas) the usual drama ensues, but it soon becomes clear that there's been some sort of a mishap: the body inside the coffin isn't that of her daughter at all.
Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away, a jueteng dealer learns of his elder brother's death (from the same accident as above) when the dead body is brought to his house. The elder brother in question, Dodong, was not the nicest of persons; by all accounts he was pretty much the evil bastard. With no money for a funeral, the jueteng dealer decides to use the barangay chairman's hatred of his brother to finance the funeral. After all, knowing of his death is a bit of satisfaction to the captain. However, things don't go as smoothly as planned as the dealer realizes that the body of a young woman is in the coffin...
As things become clear, Pilar and Gerry (Xian Lim), Charm's boyfriend, make the long trek towards Sorsogon where Charm's body presumably lies. Through their trek though the heart of the Philippines, more details are revealed about Charm's life and the impact she left on the people she left behind.
Oh, and did I forget to tell you this was a comedy? And somehow, seemingly against all odds, it works?
Two Funerals uses the backdrop of the Holy Week as a comparison to the events in the film. As Pilar and Gerry trek go through their road trip they are finding for redemption, perhaps for their own issues in life. As the world tried in vain to find salvation through the dude on the cross during Black Saturday, Pilar is finding for her own salvation or closure to the tragedy that befell her family.
Not much is revealed about Dodong, the other dead body involved in the swap; all we know is that he was a bad guy, an assassin and a rapist. But at the same time the film gives us the notion that forgiveness for him is not in our hands but with a higher Power. The smaller focus on him makes the story incomplete in a way, but then again, focusing on both parties might have made the film ridiculously long. It was then probably necessary to focus on the more interesting story.
Two Funerals is mainly a road movie; road movies typically correlate the physical journey the characters take to their own personal, emotional journeys. In this case the story does not dwell too deeply on the latter part; or arguably there is only so much to discuss under such circumstances. The story of this journey is then filled up with a number of sidetracks along the way. Although some are a mini-treatise on the concept of sin and the sinner, for the most part they can ultimately be removed from the film with little impact to the whole. But as it is, and considering that this is a comedy after all, the occasional funny yet relevant skit is just fine.
Let me say this now: Tessie Tomas should get some sort of award. As it is, it's a close match between herself and Irma Adlawan for best actress. Pilar's character mostly spends the movie troubled, yet composed. As the movie reaches its climax and Pilar finally reaches her goal, her emotional barriers come crashing down. Tessie Tomas does this transformation so well and so convincingly that the packed theater literally burst into applause. It's that good.
Visually, as one would expect from established directors, the work is solid and polished. The Director of Photography makes the best of the "road trip through the Philippines" scenario to show us fascinating landmarks along the road to Sorsogon.
All in all, I'd give the movie 8 coffins out of 10. I may not yet be able to say that this is the best film of its category, but I can definitely say, gauging from my own reactions and the audience's, that it is most probably the most fun.
NEW BREED CATEGORY
Magkakapatid
Disclaimer: Thanks to traffic, I missed a good 20 minute chunk from the start of the film, so my thoughts on this one are incomplete.I'm an only child, so I have not experienced what it feels like to have a brother or sister.The closest I ever got was through my cousins, and even that is nothing compared to the real thing. That said, bonds between brothers and sisters are strong. But as some people say, the stronger the bond, the more catastrophic it's going to be once things fall apart.
Magkakapatid is a drama that focuses on these dynamics. Three threads intertwine together with the theme of family bonds: Julio Diaz plays a barangay captain who falls into conflict with his daughters; he cannot let go of a daughter who plans to marry. Meanwhile his sister (in law?) Maring, is married to a rich dude who cheated on her. Even after her husband's death, Maring's daughter could not forgive her father for what he had done. And finally, older sister Adeling's (Ces Quesada) two sons face conflicts of their own: the elder brother is cruel and torments his younger brother Caloy, who has a history of mental problems, including multiple personalities.
Unfortunately, I was unable to see the film in its entirety and managed only to view the midpoint to the resolutions of these conflicts; eventually in a weird way these conflicts would bring the whole family together again.
The acting is solid on all fronts, no technical problems here. Archie Adamos plays an effective comic foil. The ending was a bit rushed, but that's only my perspective, given that the missing first part that I didn't watch could still tie up the ending better.
It would be unfair to give a rating to the movie since I didn't watch it yet, so instead of over ten, this one's going to be over five.
3.5 bloody corpses/5 plus or minus whatever was supposed to be in the establishing part. Nice film overall.
DIRECTOR'S SHOWCASE CATEGORY
Two Funerals
At around the time of Holy Week, a freak accident with a bus and 18-wheeler claims many lives, including Charm, a youth leader and daughter of Pilar (Tessie Tomas) the usual drama ensues, but it soon becomes clear that there's been some sort of a mishap: the body inside the coffin isn't that of her daughter at all.Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away, a jueteng dealer learns of his elder brother's death (from the same accident as above) when the dead body is brought to his house. The elder brother in question, Dodong, was not the nicest of persons; by all accounts he was pretty much the evil bastard. With no money for a funeral, the jueteng dealer decides to use the barangay chairman's hatred of his brother to finance the funeral. After all, knowing of his death is a bit of satisfaction to the captain. However, things don't go as smoothly as planned as the dealer realizes that the body of a young woman is in the coffin...
As things become clear, Pilar and Gerry (Xian Lim), Charm's boyfriend, make the long trek towards Sorsogon where Charm's body presumably lies. Through their trek though the heart of the Philippines, more details are revealed about Charm's life and the impact she left on the people she left behind.
Oh, and did I forget to tell you this was a comedy? And somehow, seemingly against all odds, it works?
Two Funerals uses the backdrop of the Holy Week as a comparison to the events in the film. As Pilar and Gerry trek go through their road trip they are finding for redemption, perhaps for their own issues in life. As the world tried in vain to find salvation through the dude on the cross during Black Saturday, Pilar is finding for her own salvation or closure to the tragedy that befell her family.
Not much is revealed about Dodong, the other dead body involved in the swap; all we know is that he was a bad guy, an assassin and a rapist. But at the same time the film gives us the notion that forgiveness for him is not in our hands but with a higher Power. The smaller focus on him makes the story incomplete in a way, but then again, focusing on both parties might have made the film ridiculously long. It was then probably necessary to focus on the more interesting story.
Two Funerals is mainly a road movie; road movies typically correlate the physical journey the characters take to their own personal, emotional journeys. In this case the story does not dwell too deeply on the latter part; or arguably there is only so much to discuss under such circumstances. The story of this journey is then filled up with a number of sidetracks along the way. Although some are a mini-treatise on the concept of sin and the sinner, for the most part they can ultimately be removed from the film with little impact to the whole. But as it is, and considering that this is a comedy after all, the occasional funny yet relevant skit is just fine.
Let me say this now: Tessie Tomas should get some sort of award. As it is, it's a close match between herself and Irma Adlawan for best actress. Pilar's character mostly spends the movie troubled, yet composed. As the movie reaches its climax and Pilar finally reaches her goal, her emotional barriers come crashing down. Tessie Tomas does this transformation so well and so convincingly that the packed theater literally burst into applause. It's that good.
Visually, as one would expect from established directors, the work is solid and polished. The Director of Photography makes the best of the "road trip through the Philippines" scenario to show us fascinating landmarks along the road to Sorsogon.
All in all, I'd give the movie 8 coffins out of 10. I may not yet be able to say that this is the best film of its category, but I can definitely say, gauging from my own reactions and the audience's, that it is most probably the most fun.
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