Walang Forever begins with a juxtaposition of reel and real life scenes, so much so that there's a sense of self awareness to the whole thing. That's because our protagonist, Mia (Jennylyn Mercado) is a writer of a string of successful romcoms. She uses her romantic experiences as templates for her films. But now, after splitting with boyfriend Ethan (Jericho Rosales,) she's kind of in a slump.
The chemistry between the two leads works well in this setting, and they carry much of the movie. I don't know how JM de Guzman would have handled Ethan, but Jericho Rosales shines in this one, especially during the last act. The film had some funny moments, but the comedy is relatively subdued compared to last year's English Only, Please.
There's a small plot element that I wish had been developed further: since our protagonist is a writer for romcoms (is any of this based on real life?) we get a look into how kilig moments are made in board rooms and writers' conferences, where people maximize and/or optimize the emotional impact of characters, scenes and so on. In a way, it's a look at the process of the commoditization of feels.
The structure of the film is very similar to the structure of Korean romantic comedies in the early to mid 2000s - after a very light first half, the tone shifts sharply into dramatic territory during the second half. If you've spent the last hour or so investing in these characters, you're in a good place. If not, you're most likely going to have problems with the way the film develops. The central conceit of the second half of the film comes as a surprise, and its resolution feels like a retread of the kinds of films Walang Forever draws as inspiration. While it is good for eliciting emotions, the last half is formula through and through. What saves it from feeling too familiar is its self awareness. The film knows it's in a kilig/hugot romantic movie and just runs with it.
Walang Forever is decent popcorn fun, with great performances by both leads. Its uneven tone, formulaic final act and conclusion and toned down humor are flaws, but the film knows this and gives us what it can offer.
***
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| I vote that the poop emoji become the new mascot for the festival. |
So thanks to some schedules clearing up, I was planning to watch the rest of the MMFF movies. However, after recent events, I'm having second thoughts about covering this festival. For some reason I hoped that maybe this year, this festival would try to move away from its usual fare and honor good, higher quality films. In the end, everything was mired in politics and capitalism - ticket swapping incidents for the two most popular movies in the slate, pulling movies out of cinemas in favor of other fare, and now this midnight disqualification. This politicization of art for the sake of money is heinous, but given the history of scandals in the MMFF, this is the same shit all over again.
From a purely business standpoint, it looks like a good decision. Moviegoers consist of families on vacation, who will likely take their kids with them, and for the past few decades the aim has been to release cheaply made, forgettable commercial films to entertain as many people as anyone can in a short time. This practice has gone on for decades, and it has been ingrained in us for so long that these kinds of films are the ones we should expect in December that we pass it on from one generation to the next. Now the moviegoing kids of our generation will expect the same thing next year, and the year after that.
The system is clearly broken, but the attitudes of audiences need to change too. If we begin to show audiences high quality movies, people might just realize, hey, I can settle for more. Nasaan ang feel good vibes sa Insiang o Kisapmata? Nasaan ang kababawan at komersyalismo sa Himala? Pinanood naman ng tao yun diba? Kahit na may kasabay silang pelikulang patawa o pampasaya rin? Heneral Luna is an example of a movie where audiences warmed up to it over time, and through word of mouth. As for MMFF entries, English Only Please also had extended runs due to positive response. People have to be given time to appreciate the movies they want to watch. But if you take the them out early, you don't get that time. I know theaters that pulled movies out after just one day, despite what looks like decent box office collections. To me, that's blatantly unfair to the movies in question. I actually don't mind the usual light romcom or horror fare, but for God's sake PLEASE give me an alternative and give me the chance to see it.
Anyway, when all this brouhaha has settled down, a proper investigation is done and due process has been given to the producers, I'll go back to watching the rest of the MMFF. Awards Night is tonight. Let's see what happens.
Or, you know, I could just go back and watch Star Wars another five times. It's still up on IMAX, and at least that's a capitalist machine I enjoy.
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