This year's MMFF New Wave is a definite step up from last year. The full length features for this year were quite entertaining, with some, in my opinion, at par with entries from other prominent independent festivals.
The shorts program still felt a bit lacking, but considering that most of these shorts are student films, it's a decent effort for most.
I'll be talking about the feature films for this year's New Wave Category. Having seen all five (and with four days for you to go to watch them all,) I recommend taking a look.
****
The focal point of Mulat happens five minutes in. The film takes us then into two directions: a long flashback telling us how we got to that focal point, and a series of scenes that take place afterwards. At the center is a couple played by Ryan Eigenmann and Fil-Am actress Loren Burgos. Their relationship is toxic to say the least - the man is ill-tempered and distant, while the woman is at times pushy, immature and manipulative. What happens in that aforementioned point drives them further apart; and we see the aftermath as she meets a new man (Jake Cuenca.)
The bulk of the film muses about relationships and how they grow or die over time. The sentiments that arise range from perfectly valid to almost corny. It's a conversation that almost overstays its welcome but manages to end at just the right moment. If you've seen the film and haven't predicted what exactly was going on after that "focal point," you haven't seen enough movies, but the ending throws some unexpected surprises our way, too.
Psychological thrillers are hard to come by, so I was interested in seeing what Gemini had to offer. It tells the story of a set of twins (Sheena and Brigitte McBride) who feel each other's sensations. The story opens where one twin confesses to someone else that the other twin has committed a gruesome murder and is probably out to kill her as well.
The story is complex and full of these little details as they loop again and again, changing facts here and there to suit our own cinematic subjective reality. The problem lies in the acting which leaves much to be desired as both of the sisters talk in the same tone whether they are angry, sad or emotionless. This makes for a jarring experience. The visuals try to make up for this deficiency and mostly it delivers with effective production design, but at times you can't help but get annoyed.
The plot unravels all of the twins' dirty secrets until the big reveal that astute viewers will pick up on thanks to the many clues the film gives along the way. But then at the very end it throws us all into a loop when it dives into a scene completely out of left field. Is it some sort of weird metaphor? Is it literally real? Who knows.
M (Mother's Maiden Name) begins with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. It's a diagnosis that lawyer Bella (Zsa Zsa Padilla, in a memorable role) now has to live with. The first half of the movie deals with her facing her diagnosis, seeking a second opinion, and trying different expensive treatments. The second part of the film dives into a take on the crumbling and lopsided health care system of this country. It's a sad fact that the rich and the poor are treated differently with regards to health care. While the poor rely on faith healers and a system they can barely afford, the rich can pick the doctor of their choice.
The film struggles to find its focus. I would have preferred to have seen the story from Bella's perspective as a single mom fighting cancer, but the second half of the film strays from that focus. As a mother and son story, while Nico Antonio is a capable actor, his character remains a side character for most of the film and is barely fleshed out. As a critique of the health care system, this was barely scratching the surface.
It's buoyed by some fantastic performances and well timed humor, and M is a film that does raise some questions about how we approach health in our country. But for every step M takes forward, it takes two steps in some other direction.
The best film in this year's New Wave program is Magkakabaung, hands down. It's a tale of a coffin maker from Pampanga who deals with the untimely death of his daughter. While M talked about health care and preserving life, Magkakabaung tells us that dealing with death isn't a cakewalk either. Our titular character, Randy, (played with exceptional nuance by Allen Dizon) deals with shady mortuary workers, hospital bills and other scammers while his daughter rots. The pain and guilt over his daughter's death washes over him like waves, as he deals with the fact that he is partly responsible for what happened.
While we are used to seeing the anguish of bereaved mothers in cinema and real life, there's something equally heartbreaking in seeing a father mourning his child. Randy walks into these frames confused and angry over what has happened, not sure whether to break down and cry or lash out in anger. I'm pleasantly surprised at how well Allen Dizon treated his character and I am looking forward to more movies with him in it.
The one problem that I had watching the film was the camerawork. I've seen some bad shaky cam in my life, and this ranks among the worst. It's hard to connect with characters during a very dramatic scene when the camera jiggles furiously every so often. The film nevertheless finds its beauty in static shots, especially in one fantastic shot at the very end.
Although the camerawork detracts from the overall experience, Magkakabaung is a film that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone.
And finally, there are blatantly obvious parallels between Maratabat and the events of another horrible tragedy, but that seems to be the point. The movie mostly aims to remind us that these things will not go away as long as the systems that support them still exist.
Maratabat hammers this point down by reconstructing the massacre in detail. It's not completely faithful, but it's horrible enough to turn our stomachs. The most horrible fact is, these things in some capacity DID happen. The acting performances are decent enough, with Julio Diaz with a cartoonishly evil performance as a corrupt governor. He hams it up for effect and in a way I love it.
The movie escapes any notion of fantasy by avoiding an idealized resolution to the problem, leaving the solution to us as a people. I'm not a fan of the narration at the beginning and end, however. I'm sure the message the movie wants to deliver is clear: we must all work together to end the cycle of violence.
****
Psychological thrillers are hard to come by, so I was interested in seeing what Gemini had to offer. It tells the story of a set of twins (Sheena and Brigitte McBride) who feel each other's sensations. The story opens where one twin confesses to someone else that the other twin has committed a gruesome murder and is probably out to kill her as well.
The story is complex and full of these little details as they loop again and again, changing facts here and there to suit our own cinematic subjective reality. The problem lies in the acting which leaves much to be desired as both of the sisters talk in the same tone whether they are angry, sad or emotionless. This makes for a jarring experience. The visuals try to make up for this deficiency and mostly it delivers with effective production design, but at times you can't help but get annoyed.
The plot unravels all of the twins' dirty secrets until the big reveal that astute viewers will pick up on thanks to the many clues the film gives along the way. But then at the very end it throws us all into a loop when it dives into a scene completely out of left field. Is it some sort of weird metaphor? Is it literally real? Who knows.
****
M (Mother's Maiden Name) begins with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. It's a diagnosis that lawyer Bella (Zsa Zsa Padilla, in a memorable role) now has to live with. The first half of the movie deals with her facing her diagnosis, seeking a second opinion, and trying different expensive treatments. The second part of the film dives into a take on the crumbling and lopsided health care system of this country. It's a sad fact that the rich and the poor are treated differently with regards to health care. While the poor rely on faith healers and a system they can barely afford, the rich can pick the doctor of their choice.
The film struggles to find its focus. I would have preferred to have seen the story from Bella's perspective as a single mom fighting cancer, but the second half of the film strays from that focus. As a mother and son story, while Nico Antonio is a capable actor, his character remains a side character for most of the film and is barely fleshed out. As a critique of the health care system, this was barely scratching the surface.
It's buoyed by some fantastic performances and well timed humor, and M is a film that does raise some questions about how we approach health in our country. But for every step M takes forward, it takes two steps in some other direction.
****
The best film in this year's New Wave program is Magkakabaung, hands down. It's a tale of a coffin maker from Pampanga who deals with the untimely death of his daughter. While M talked about health care and preserving life, Magkakabaung tells us that dealing with death isn't a cakewalk either. Our titular character, Randy, (played with exceptional nuance by Allen Dizon) deals with shady mortuary workers, hospital bills and other scammers while his daughter rots. The pain and guilt over his daughter's death washes over him like waves, as he deals with the fact that he is partly responsible for what happened.
While we are used to seeing the anguish of bereaved mothers in cinema and real life, there's something equally heartbreaking in seeing a father mourning his child. Randy walks into these frames confused and angry over what has happened, not sure whether to break down and cry or lash out in anger. I'm pleasantly surprised at how well Allen Dizon treated his character and I am looking forward to more movies with him in it.
The one problem that I had watching the film was the camerawork. I've seen some bad shaky cam in my life, and this ranks among the worst. It's hard to connect with characters during a very dramatic scene when the camera jiggles furiously every so often. The film nevertheless finds its beauty in static shots, especially in one fantastic shot at the very end.
Although the camerawork detracts from the overall experience, Magkakabaung is a film that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone.
****
And finally, there are blatantly obvious parallels between Maratabat and the events of another horrible tragedy, but that seems to be the point. The movie mostly aims to remind us that these things will not go away as long as the systems that support them still exist.
Maratabat hammers this point down by reconstructing the massacre in detail. It's not completely faithful, but it's horrible enough to turn our stomachs. The most horrible fact is, these things in some capacity DID happen. The acting performances are decent enough, with Julio Diaz with a cartoonishly evil performance as a corrupt governor. He hams it up for effect and in a way I love it.
The movie escapes any notion of fantasy by avoiding an idealized resolution to the problem, leaving the solution to us as a people. I'm not a fan of the narration at the beginning and end, however. I'm sure the message the movie wants to deliver is clear: we must all work together to end the cycle of violence.
****
And that's it for this year's New Wave. Looking at the main festival program, there are a few interesting movies that I'd like to see, so watch out for some more reviews in the near future. Merry Christmas ~
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