ToFarm Filmfest is a new film festival whose themes are unique compared to other contemporaries: their films tackle the struggles of farmers and the bounty of nature. Out of the six films in the festival I managed to catch two of them. Here's my thoughts on both.
Aside from a few vegetables in one scene at the start, Paolo Villaluna's Pauwi Na has little to do with farming. That's fine, however, as this quirky family has an interesting story to tell.
At first, it details the everyday life of Pepe, a pedicab driver (Bembol Roco), his laundrywoman wife (Cherry Pie Picache), their snarky street vendor daughter (Chai Fonacier), petty criminal son (Jerald Napoles) and blind, pregnant daughter in law (Meryll Soriano.) Meryll's character can also see Jesus for some reason, though he mainly exists to smoke cigarettes and deliver snark, with the occasional helping hand.
Pauwi Na becomes a road movie about a third of the way through as Pepe decides to move back to the province using two pedicabs. Their journey together as a family is full of hardships, but the story has moments of levity that keep it from being too dark. Overall, thanks to superb performances by the cast, the film can be considered a comedy. And while the final few acts have their share of shortcomings, the movie does have a relatively satisfying ending.
Black
and white shots in slow motion are scattered throughout the film. At
times they serve as metaphor or as framing devices. At times they serve
as strange parallels, showing the family having fun when they clearly
are not in real life. Plus, its usage during the ending credits is quite
memorable.
Other than that, I can't really pinpoint exactly why I like this film. I have no idea why I like this film as much as I do. I think it's not bad, but it's not excellent either. There are too many things that on the surface, I would normally perceive as weaknesses. We don't really know why Pepe took his family on a wild journey through the countryside. The self discovery aspect only works for a few characters. The significance of the Jesus character remains a mystery. The point of the whole trip, its message of social change, is a bit muddled. But there's something in the way the movie is made that makes it at least interesting. The journey itself is interesting, even though we see neither concrete purpose nor destination in it.
But I guess that's the point. Pepe's family is one that sticks together through thick and thin, despite all the shit the world throws at us. It's a family that's ready to sacrifice for the sake of its own members. It's a family bound together by love and understanding above all. In a sense it does seem to reflect the strong ties Filipino families have in general. Like the poster proclaims, they are the Filipino family.
It's framed through a simple love story, but Paglipay is also about the ever changing state of life, as the old world begins to fade away into the new.
Atan, a young Aeta man, goes to the lowlands to raise money for his dowry, as he is to be married as soon as he collects the necessary amount. In the vast farmlands of Zambales he works tirelessly. But there, he finds his heart wandering: a college girl named Rain tests his heart.
His dilemma reflects his people's attitudes towards the changing times. While previously an isolated society that was largely homogenous, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the early nineties created a shift in the lives of the Aeta. Forced to live in the lowlands, mixed relationships between Aetas and non-Aeta folk increased. Early on in the film Atan declares that curly haired people belong with fellow curly haired people, but soon that resolve is tested.
At the same time, we see signs of a world that is changing, whether the Aeta like it or not. Mining prospects come to the communities, threatening the health of its constituents; at the same time, the weather patterns are changing, with less crops to harvest.
The love story is simple in ways many mainstream films have forgotten. The film does not swerve into melodrama or fantastic situations. It merely places these two people together and lets the story flow by itself. Their eventual decisions are believable and ultimately human.
The drone shots in this film are notable, as they manage to show the lahar infused expanse of Zambales. While the story is a personal one and many of its frames are up close and personal, these wider, epic shots give me the impression that we are but small creatures compared to the enormity of the world around us. And the movie's ending, where everything ends up in the natural scheme of things, seems to follow that notion.
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