On the penultimate day of Cinemalaya 2017, I decided to take a look at the Animahenasyon program. They feature a multitude of entries that run the gamut from thesis films, 2D and 3D animations and so on. I haven't personally known the Philippines to have such a rich pool of animation talent, but this array of short films quickly proved me wrong.
Bahay Kubo is filled with statistics and pretty drawings, which collectively is pretty cute. There are some weird statistics that really don't have anything to do with the subject at hand (like what does the status of indie filmmakers have anything to do with maternal mortality?) but I'll take it anyway. Then it gets really dark by the end.
Inday Wanda reads like the concept to an interesting comic book or TV series, but doesn't really go further than the concept. The basic premise was pretty nice though.
Ang Lalong Ni Kulakog is about a cock... and/or rooster. My memory is fuzzy, but one or the other spits out magical rainbows. It's done in CGI and is obviously a student film, but yeah, I'll take it.
Building Too is like a really cool music video about people (most probably millennials) hanging out and doing stuff in the metro~ like going to pubs and shit at night and meeting in discos. I actually love this short because of how nicely the animation flows.
Sulundon is about a boy and his father. The boy loves boxers (the sportsmen, not the briefs), the dad is a referee and the kid resents him for that. It's done really nicely, and the animation is actually quite good. Things end up in dark places by the end, so that puts a damper on things, but overall I think this is one of the best ones of the lot.
Baka Nasa Labas si Ramil is about innocence in the midst of conflict. It was made by students in Zamboanga, so it really captures the mood down there in the south. It also escalates quickly by the end.
Josephine, made by the same guys that animated Saving Sally, is quite gorgeous; it looks sleek and professional, arguably the most polished of the lot. The story is largely symbolic but it's still pretty nice.
...then the earthquake happened and we evacuated. Shortly after, we continued with...
Milkyboy, directed, written and animated by Arnold Arre, is my favorite animation of this batch. You may know Arre more as a komikero, responsible for such works as The Mythology Class and Ang Mundo ni Andong Agimat, but he's made his share of animated works too. Milkyboy, the story of an advertising guy who struggles with life and love, has influences from both comics and anime. Some of the realistic backgrounds reminded me of a Shinkai film. I'm just amazed I haven't seen this one yet.
I've already covered Geo during the 2015 MMFF New Wave festival, and I still think it's pretty cool and sweet. Moms really are heroes to many of their children.
Pasintabi is about a boy and his lolo and three supernatural Nuno sa Punso who decide to curse him. It goes on for a little too long for my taste, but the animation is good nevertheless.
We Give In Sometimes is a music video for the Up Dharma Down song of the same name, and in some ways is the ending song to the whole set. It's got this nice Japanese/Chinese traditional art aesthetic going for it that I found really entertaining to watch. Of course, the music is Up Dharma Down, what's not to like?
***
The Indonesian film Turah begins and ends with an obituary; an occurrence that normalizes death in a quiet riverside community. We soon get accustomed to the rhythms of life in the village. The titular character, Turah, is the community's de facto leader, helping various villagers with their problems.
Yet one immediately sees the problems with the setup of this village. As it is located in a remote area, it doesn't exactly fall within the jurisdiction of the government. An early scene shows government workers taking a census, but when confronted with the question of why they haven't brought basic necessities to the village, the government official answers with "it's not my problem." The lack of government support has led to a relationship with a rich landowner that is both oppressive and a bit feudalistic. The title has meaning as well - in Javanese, "Turah" means leftover, which describes the plight of these people well.
Things come to a head when the village drunk, Jadag, speaks out against this unfair system. While Jadag is far from paragon -he is by all accounts a cantankerous, incorrigible old man - he does have a point. The story is relatively simple, and the conclusion serves as an appropriate bookend to the film. It shows the powerlessness of those at the bottom-most rungs of society, when the systems that should work to serve us fail us horribly.
Cinemalaya has been (and always will be) an exhausting, but fun experience in the ten or so years I've been going to the festival. But sometimes the dreariness of the film choices kinda pulls you down (last year, while impressive, was an egregious example). So it comes with a bit of relief that the last film I saw today, A Gift, is for the most part, festive, feel-good and entertaining. It's not particularly deep or substantial - I mean, this isn't an Apichatpong film by any means - but hey, I was in the mood and I dug it.
A Gift is a warmhearted collection of three interconnected stories, each based on a piece of music composed by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. All three stories are rooted in a different genre: the first is a romantic comedy, the second, a melodrama, and the last part is a straight up comedic piece.
The first part is about a guy and a girl who meet during rehearsals for a relatively high profile dinner. The relationship of the two leads builds up well, and is quite charming, even though it's rooted in mainstream rom com sensibilities. And despite that, the two characters grow closer together organically and it never feels forced. The film's denouement, though incomplete thanks to the limited running time, is pragmatic instead of overtly whimsical.
The second part, about a woman taking care of her father with Alzheimer's, can be pretty poignant at times. The last scene in particular is quite the effective tearjerker (I find that the Thais are pretty good at this, if you've seen any of their commercials on Facebook or Youtube). Nittha Jirayungyurn carries this part on her shoulders with a pretty effective performance.
The third part is an all-out wacky comedy about a retired rock musician who gets dragged into leading a band by his bank co-workers. The timing of this segment is an appropriate counter to the heavy drama of the second part, so it's a welcome treat. The third segment ends up being the weakest of the three segments, as it doesn't have the time to develop its characters as much as the other two parts. Still, it's a pretty nice way to close things out.
Technically, the film is sound. the musical score is pretty good, and the King's songs are actually quite catchy (the filmmakers even obtained royal permission to use the songs). Overall, the film is cute and charming and a definite crowd pleaser. My expectations were really low coming in to this film, and coming out I was pleasantly surprised and entertained. I really can't ask for anything more in that regard.
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