Cinemalaya struts its stuff with 10 shorts, a movie about mud, professors in heat and the one and only Superstar.
WE WANT SHORT SHORTS SHORT FILM REVIEWS
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| Myrtle Gail Sarrosa, from "Lola" |
This year's shorts program is one of the most unique in the eight or so years I've been to the festival. A lot of new and interesting stories are showcased, and not just of the "shet ang hirap hirap ko" variety.
So without further ado...
Asan Si Lolo Me: A delightfully weird short. Its absurdist tone clicked very well with me. Magic realism (if you would call this film that) is really hard to pull off, and even harder to make humorous. 4.5/5
Eyeball: I predicted the story two minutes in. But still, it's entertaining enough to catch your attention. Nico Antonio is a great actor. 3.5/5
Ina-Tay: It had a few sound problems, and I felt the story would have been served better by a feature film. A lot of the nuances in Cebuano (and the gay-speak version of it) are lost in translation. But it doesn't take itself that seriously, and that's a big plus. 3/5
Indayog ng Nayatamak: see, I was going to explain that this film is an extended metaphor for the creative process and art vs. artist, but the last few seconds kinda ruined that theory. ART/5
Lola : My favorite short of the festival. It does one thing, and it does one thing really effectively. Telling you what that thing is would spoil the film. Erlinda Villalobos is great. 5/5
Mga Ligaw na Paruparo: don't watch the trailer for this film. Or maybe I guess you could, since it offers a lot of twists. It's nice. 3.5/5
Nakabibinging Kadiliman: The premise starts off really light-hearted but then veers off into OH GOD WHY territory. Sheenly Gener gives a great performance. 3.5/5
Padulong sa Pinuy-anan: You know, there's one point in this film where it could have ended cleanly, where we could have made our own decisions regarding the end. But instead it goes the safe path and ends conventionally. It's still a great short, though. 4/5.
The Ordinary Things We Do: It makes a statement, and it's a bit obvious what it is. I do hope it spurs a bit of discussion. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAART/5
Tiya Bening: Incidentally I watched a film with a similar premise a week before, and it kind of biased my interpretation of the film a bit. It's a decent film about a woman whose hold on her identity and sanity is slipping day by day as she slips further and further into the past. It's overall okay. 3.5/5
Director's Showcase
Asintado (Between the Eyes)
Every year, the people in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija celebrate the Taong Putik (Mud People) festival, where people cover themselves in mud and leaves.
Asintado takes place during the festival, where a young teen, Antonio, decides to take on a job by the local shady figure/baranggay official (Gabby Eigenmann). It's not exactly the most legal jobs, and things spiral out of control shortly after a botched job. It's up to his mother (Aiko Melendez) and the rest of the town officials to do him in.
Asintado takes a really long time to get off the ground, establishing its characters and the location. The slow burn takes its toll, but we do feel a bit immersed in the world we are entering, so I feel it is worth it. Around the last third or so of the film, things pick up really fast as the central conflict arises, and the ride is pretty enjoyable.
The acting is generally on point, but extra props have to be given to Miggs Cuaderno, who plays Antonio's younger brother, Etok. Etok is autistic and the level of acting this young actor delivers to the character is quite impressive. Unfortunately I was unable to watch him last year in Purok 7, and it's a great thing to see him here.
Asintado features a lot of great shots and is technically sound, especially in the crowd scenes. The editing is smooth and natural, and the music is great and unintrusive (the last rap song by Gloc 9 may be weird for some but I think it's catchy.)
What really threw me in for a loop was the ending of the film. It suspended too much of my disbelief. Yes, it was established earlier that what happened in the ending could possibly happen in the context of the film, but as a doctor by profession it felt too deus ex machina for me. Maybe that's the point. Maybe it was meant to reflect a certain biblical story
that it greatly resembles.
that it greatly resembles.
Overall it's a decent film that manages to deliver an interesting story, but is hampered by a slow start and an ending that strains the viewer's suspension of disbelief. 6.5 mud people/10.
Hustisya
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“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a
monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also
into you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
― Friedrich Nietzsche
I'm normally all for movies that promote social issues, and this movie is one of them. But after viewing Hustisya, I can't help but wonder... what specific issue is this movie trying to address?
The Superstar Nora Aunor plays Biring, a tough, streetwise woman who works for a large syndicate that trafficks women and children illegally to cybersex dens and brothels. She literally came from nothing and has earned enough to send her children to school. However, a series of events begins to unravel her world.
In the world of Hustisya, the Philippines is a steaming cesspool of poverty, crime and corruption. Biring is battle-hardened; she sees the world as a constant battle for survival. It reflects in her outward personality, irascible and sarcastic and bold. But deep inside her heart is compassionate. The tragedy of Hustisya is, despite her heart, she is either unwilling or unable to help, because of her own desire to survive. Biring's strategy is always to fight first. And the irony of Hustisya is, despite the title, whatever justice we have is the justice we take into our own hands.
Conceptually, the film is solid, but the finished product is far from solid. The movies drags a lot and is hampered by a lot of weird editing choices, inserting scenes that seem superfluous or unnecessary (a particular scene near the end at the clock tower comes to mind). The flow of the story jumps from scene to scene and the narrative cohesion of these scenes is tenuous at best. Certain characters feel tacked on for the sake of facilitating Biring's descent into darkness. Also, everyone seems to have a gun in this film. Really?
The one thing that manages to hold up this mess together is Nora Aunor. She breathes life to her character in a way other actresses can only hope to do. With an electrifying performance as Biring, we feel her struggles and wince with every punch to the gut the movie delivers. It's perfectly nuanced and a treat for Nora fans to see in the theater. With a lesser actress this movie would have crashed and burned, and it's a miracle that Nora did what she did.
The thing about films with social issues is that the films have to challenge us to find a solution to the problem, either by offering us one of many solutions or just leaving the challenge to us, out in the open. But Hustisya covers so many different issues that we really aren't sure where to begin. Are we supposed to care about the plight of sex trafficking? Are we supposed to do something about the rampant poverty and ennui? Are we supposed to do something about the EDCA, which is mentioned a couple of times in the film? The film's lack of focus ultimately hurts the film's message.
Some films effect their message of social change by changing the characters within them as a proxy to the viewer. Take the recent Korean film Bedevilled as an example. If this film offers a solution, it is to give in to the system and do what Nora did. It is to become the very monsters we despise. I'm not sure if that is the intended message of the film, but that's what made an impression on me.
Hustisya is a deeply flawed film held together only by the strength of Nora Aunor's fantastic performance. Watch only if you are a fan. 5.5 Guns/10
New Breed
Dagitab (Sparks)
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A relationship is a fine thread that we strengthen over time, adding fibers to make it stretch and grow taut without breaking. Dagitab tells the story of a relationship near the end, where the metaphorical thread is fraying.
Jimmy (Nonie Buencamino) and Issey (Eula Valdez) play a couple of college professors from the University of the Philippines.They are polar opposites in terms of personality. Jimmy is brooding and mostly aloof, Issey is opinionated, and indulges in drink and vice. As they drift apart, they encounter people or situations that spark something within them: Issey becomes involved with a young literature student, while Jimmy reaches the culmination of his decades-long academic work with a supernatural entity that takes the form of an old flame.
Dagitab is about different types of "sparks": sparks from a love long lost, sparks from the prospect of a new and exciting love, sparks rekindled, and sparks that flicker and fade. It tells us the ephemeral quality of love and how it can be lost in a heartbeat or how it can endure for years.
What gives Dagitab its strengths lies in its acting. The two leads manage to pull off that vibe of "chemistry-but-not-quite-chemistry" that the film needs.Eula Valdez plays the spectrum from bored to assertive and in control. Nonie Buencamino fits the man consumed by his work, tied closely to a woman he clearly loved immensely.
The best thing about the film, however, is in the things it doesn't tell us.Many scenes and character motivations happen between the lines and we are left to wonder and fill in the details for ourselves. It almost gives off a feel similar to In the Mood for Love and its ilk, and it works really well.
However, this can go both ways. Jimmy's subplot feels that it could have been fleshed out a bit more. Although
we see his arc prominently in the first half, the second half shifts
way into Issey's story arc and we are only left to fill in the blanks with Jimmy. The whole supernatural aspect (if it really was supernatural or just a manifestation of his inner thoughts) is touched upon lightly late into the film, at times not at all, making it seem like it was forgotten as the film neared its last third.
The film's visuals and soundtrack both add to the rich experience, with green vistas and scenes taking full advantage of the UP campus with some gorgeous shots (the last scene comes to mind.)
Dagitab is a great film that tells you a lot without actually telling that much at all. 7.5 Sparks/10
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