Singkuwento International Film Festival has entered its third year, and today it reached the end of its run in the NCCA theatre, though it will still be showing at UP Diliman next week.
I managed to catch a few films from their shorts category (which I think is the main program for the festival) as well as a few full length feature films. So is it worth it? Did I enjoy myself? Let's find out.
***
Partee, the first feature length film by Jill Singson Urdaneta, is the story of a wild night of drugs between three people. The story unravels through overlapping flashbacks that slowly reveal more details about the characters and their pasts over time. The non linear narrative is supposed to reflect the disorientation and loss of time and place that accompanies taking drugs, and I think it works in this context.
I'm a fan of movies that take place mostly in one location, and this one does not disappoint. It helps that the limited setting gives us a claustrophobic feel, our characters trapped in a deadly rat maze with no way out.
Soon the events of the film become even more surreal, and we begin to question the reality of some of the events of the movie. A traumatic event may or may not have happened at all. Visions and mysterious figures periodically haunt the characters. The pasts of the three characters could either be real or be attributed to drug-fueled paranoia. The camera pops up as a metaphorical lens where we see the characters in different contexts, though even the visions seen through the camera lens are as distorted by the drugs as the rest of the film.
It's a more than worthy first effort from a promising director, given the limited resources of the project. It's a short but bewildering ride from start to finish.
We managed to catch the world premiere of the extended cut of Ligaw the other day. It's been going around the festival circuit and this was the first time it had a Manila showing. And man, I never wanted to walk out of a movie theater so fast.
The first five minutes made me realize that this is a faith based film; the trailer kind of made me think it was something like a creepy thriller. Nothing in the movie is remotely thrilling, but there are a lot of creepy things going on.
After the ridiculously epic opening scene (complete with credits wreathed in fire), we get a story that is best described as Maalaala Mo Kaya on horse steroids: our lead character, Criselle, is a child from an extramarital affair (the story doesn't clarify either way) who is mistreated in every manner possible: physically, emotionally, even sexually. This understandably messes up the kid and she grows up with a lot of issues and a huge chip on her shoulder. Soon, after the line is crossed multiple times, she begins thinking about committing bloody revenge against the family that wronged her. An evil demonic being begins to convince her to do just that. At this point, given the ridiculous amount of abuse the girl endured over many years, I was rooting for that to happen. When you have a faith based film and you're siding with the bad guys, there's something terribly wrong somewhere.
The film is even a tease about it, with Criselle getting into arguments with her family with nothing substantial really happening, but with the prospect of bloody revenge right there, slightly out of reach. The parties close to Criselle, who have the ability to whisk her away from her abusive family, decide to pray for her, instead of, you know, calling the DSWD, the police or even getting their pastor to talk to Criselle directly. And when certain unscrupulous elements try to KILL the girl inside her house, instead of taking her to the police, they take her to a pastor instead. This assassin is rarely spoken of again, and we never see him apprehended for his attempted rape and murder. Criselle's problems are treated as some sort of demonic possession and not as some sort of mental or traumatic problem, which sets a bad precedent should people use the film as an excuse not to get psychiatric help.
Do note that this is based on a true story.
The film fails to give any sort of emotional satisfaction. Criselle's problems are solved by a literal Deus Ex Machina - God FINALLY listens to her after more than 10 years of suffering and decides to help her out because, you know, whatever. There is no catharsis in Criselle's forgiveness, and the rest of the movie where she makes up and sings kumbaya with her long time tormentors is more perfunctory than uplifting. People who had abused Criselle left and right for years suddenly change,
turn over a new leaf and we are supposed to feel good about it. There is no context, and we are left groping in the dark.
"Gee, I know you repeatedly raped me and treated me like a subhuman and all for all those years, but that's all in the past. Yay God!"
The uncut version of the movie drags really badly, pacing of any sort is thrown out the window, and the movie could have ended half an hour early without losing any impact. To quote Criselle herself "Pagod na pagod na ako, durog na durog na ako" - this was what I wanted to say as the movie shambled from one unnecessary ending scene to another.
To be fair, the film is shot really well, and the soundtrack, while a bad match for most of the scenes of the film (it's better suited for an actual thriller) is also done well. Some money went into the production of this film. But of all the local movies I've seen this year (not a lot, but still) this is probably the worst of the bunch, or at least the most unsatisfying.
***
Short Shorts Reviews
Caritas (Buenaventura, 2015) - 3.5/5
Surgical masks are always on for a reason - to prevent the transmission and spread of diseases, especially from health workers to immunocompromised patients like people with HIV. Other than that small nitpick, I liked this film. Russ Ligtas and Anna Luna do great jobs as their respective characters, and the irony of the last few minutes are crushing.
Finish Line (Mayuga, 2015) - 3.5/5
The film itself kind of reflects the frustration of the LGBT community with their acceptance. Also, it should be noted that thanks to various factors, the suicide attempt rate for trans individuals is alarmingly high.
Indifference (Silva, 2015) - 3/5
What is the opposite of love? In this short, that evokes films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, we see that it is not hate, but indifference. It's short but it makes its point.
Kalaro (Matas, 2015) -3.75/5
Pretty effective horror. I wanted the story to go a certain way but it didn't, and the ending, while conventional, was still okay. Both leads are great, but extra points have to go to the kid, who is a really good actress.
The Girlfriend Experience (Gatchalian, 2015) - 3.5/5
This one is short and fun. It's the struggle of a man to get some poontang, a struggle shared by almost all men (bar the ones that are asexual). I do have to wonder about the guy with massive head trauma just lying in the street, but whatever.
The Truth as Told in Lies (Gorgetti, 2015) - 3.5/5
I thought this was really well scripted, but the sound levels were really off for some reason. The visuals were really good, and the acting was on point. Poor kid.
Glaube Sitte Heimat (Ellinghaus, 2010) - 3/5
This short, about historical German marksman's guilds, drags on a bit too long for my taste, but the subject matter was fascinating either way. I wonder why I don't mind this organization that wields guns and is bound through faith, while I look at rednecks and balk on that. I guess it's because the former thinks that guns are unnecessary, while the latter thinks that they are.
The Saviour (Nash Ang, 2015) - 4/5
My favorite international short. The title refers to the story and its ironic twist of fate, told in one shot. It's economical but it works really well.
In this run I also rewatched Reyna Cristina (Seen in Cinema One 2015,) Mga Handuraw ng Kahilitan (Seen in Binisaya 2015) and Sukat (which I saw when reviewing 2015's best short films.)
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