[Restored Classics] John en Marsha '85 surprisingly gets political

John en Marsha, starring the Filipino King of Comedy, Dolphy, was a beloved sitcom that ran from 1973 to 1990. The show centers around John Puruntong (Dolphy,) who elopes and starts a family with Marsha (Nida Blanca), the daughter of a rich family. While trying to make ends meet, he deals with his overbearing mother in law Doña Delilah (Dely Atay-Atayan) and her maid Matutina. The show spawned nine feature films, and for ABS-CBN's latest restoration effort, the seventh film in the series, John & Marsha '85 (Sa Probinsya) was the film chosen for restoration. While John & Marsha '85 follows in the footsteps of the sitcom by delivering Dolphy's trademark humor from start to finish, it takes an interesting turn during its last third that adds an interesting dimension to the series and Dolphy as an artist.

When one of John's close relatives gets sick, said relative summons John and his family to go to her home in the province so that she can at least see them before she dies. While in the province, the Puruntongs adjust to and begin to appreciate the simple life. But internal family squabbles, a shady international corporation and a visit from Doña Delilah seek to shake up the Puruntongs' lives.

Most of the first part of the film consists of a bunch of loosely connected comedic skits, each flavored with Dolphy's trademark comedy. The first two thirds of the film is more slice of life than anything else. Dolphy's comedy finds its roots in parody, wordplay, wit, and physical comedy, and it's a delight to watch.

There's also a distinct fondness for the simple life throughout the film, a love for the good old days. The Puruntongs engage in handicrafts and duck farming to supplement their income while they are in the province, immersing themselves in the lifestyle of their farmer brothers and sisters. And that's not all; a scene in the middle of the film features the male characters engaging in a serenade or harana. It's the film paying tribute to a simpler time, the film embracing an old-fashioned sensibility that can be corny and charming at the same time. 

Then suddenly, the film gets darker. A foreign company with ties to local goons (perhaps in the government?) harass and intimidate the Puruntongs and the community of farmers they live with. People start to die (though the effect is somewhat mitigated by comedy). The film becomes political, transforming into an impassioned defense of farmer's rights, the environment, and an attack on international influence on our economy. Granted, Dolphy wasn't subtle about it (he even monologues near the end of the film), the treatment may not be as comprehensive, and the story arc may have wrapped up a bit too neatly, but one has to consider the time in which the film was made. This was 1985, still one year away from the EDSA Revolution. The persecution of farmers back then was a very real thing, and it remains a very real thing even now. For Dolphy to use his comedy show as a sociopolitical platform (during a time when free speech was actively stifled) is quite admirable, a ballsy move. It's not just comedy for comedy's sake; it's purposeful comedy, art for a reason.

Viewing the film is also a bit bittersweet, considering that most of the original cast have passed away. Both Dolphy and Nida Blanca are gone (the latter under tragic circumstances), and Dely Atay-Atayan and Rolly Quizon have also passed away. At the same time, watching John en Marsha '85 is like spending time with old friends; nostalgic, comfortable, and oftentimes hilarious.

I Love You, Hater is rom-com fast food

Okay, enough rage, let's chill and watch some rom-coms. JoshLia is one of my favorite local love teams. Because these two kids are so talented, they can make a relatively safe, run of the mill romantic comedy like I Love You, Hater quite the enjoyable experience.

Joko (Joshua Garcia) pretends to be working in New York, but the truth is, he got bamboozled by a bunch of scammers. Zoey (Julia Barretto) finds out that her dad has another family, which makes her even more determined to make it in the world. In a plot development much like The Apprentice, but cuter and less Trumpy, both of them apply to be the assistant for Sasha (Kris Aquino), who makes a lot of Youtube videos. One wonders how Sasha makes a profit, since Youtube demonetizes shit like crazy. Maybe she has a Patreon.

For a movie titled I Love You, Hater, there isn't a lot of hatin', but a whole lotta lovin'. Zoey falls in love with Joko (and the feeling's mutual), but there's a catch: early on in the employment process, to get one up on Zoey, Joko said he was gay. So Zoey thinks that the love is one sided, even when it's not. 

There's a scene near the middle of the film where Joko holds up two paper mache masks, and asks Zoey which one she prefers. Zoey picks Joko himself, because the film is about abandoning one's fake facades, being true to yourself and being truthful towards others. It's simple enough, but it can also mean a lot of other things in different contexts. Since Joko pretends to be gay, being honest with one's self could also be conflated with coming out of the closet, or reclaiming one's own identity. But that really isn't the case here; Joko's charade doesn't have any additional meaning. It is merely a contrivance, a means to create dramatic conflict.

But the film manages to create a few emotionally powerful moments anyway, thanks to the prowess of its two young leads. Overall, the film is neither here nor there, but it is entertaining and sweet enough that it gets a pass.  And for the moment, that's okay. I Love You, Hater is the rom-com equivalent of fast food: you go into it knowing exactly what you came for. It's something you consume for the mouth-feel and the experience. It will be filling, it might even be delicious. But once you're done with the meal, it fades away. 'Okay,' for now, is enough. But in a continually evolving genre with films that push the genre to new creative heights, one day 'okay' will be left by the wayside.

On Jacqueline Comes Home

More than two decades ago, Jacqueline and Marijoy Chiong disappeared. Shortly after, seven people (known as the Chiong 7) were arrested in connection with the crime; thanks to the witness testimony of one Davidson Rusia, all seven were convicted and sentenced to death, a sentence that was upheld by the Supreme Court. But of course things are not that simple.

Discussing Jaqueline Comes Home will not be complete without mentioning Give Up Tomorrow, a documentary that shows things from the side of the accused, specifically the alleged mastermind of the whole thing, Paco Larrañaga. I've seen this documentary before during its premiere in Cinemalaya, and it depicts a real life kafkaesque nightmare. It's clear that other than witness testimony, there was little in terms of concrete physical evidence that tied the victims to the killers. Regardless of whether or not the accused were truly guilty, this was a poorly investigated case. Despite this, our justice system deemed it fit to sentence these men anyway. While the film has its share of faults (the film itself admits its singular focus on Paco,) Give Up Tomorrow is about something larger than the Chiong case; it's about how our justice system is fallible, and that if a relatively well-off individual from a prominent family can experience such a thing, what more for the rest of us? You can watch the documentary in its entirety for free here and you can find additional information about the case on the director's youtube channel.

In any case, I am no judge. I cannot say for certain whether the Chiong 7 did it or not. So why was Jacqueline Comes Home made? Why unearth this particular case? What is this movie really about, and what interests does it serve, if any? And if it's about something, does it succeed in doing what it intended to do?

The true crime genre has been around for a while now, but Carlo J Caparas has elevated (or rather, lowered) it into a twisted artform that is both sensational and exploitative. Now it seems that he is trying to pass on his 'talents' to the next generation - his daughter, Ysabelle Peach, is the director of this film. And while the daughter is arguably a better filmmaker than her father, it's not by much.

Let us examine what the film tries to be. It's not about the truth, as it is a heavily fictionalized version of events. There's even a disclaimer at the very start of the film. It has certain scenes that do nothing but spread more rumors about the subject at hand. It clarifies nothing and dispels no rumors.

People involved with the film say it's not about the perpetrators, but a large chunk of the story focuses on them, depicting them as cartoonishly evil dudebros who can't keep their dick in their pants. Instead of Paco Larrañaga, we have Sonny (Ryan Eigenmann), a violent drunk who stalks the Chiong sisters mercilessly. He and his gang stalk, rape (and possibly kill) a girl before the Chiongs, something with no basis in real life. It seems like the filmmakers think that the audience doesn't possess the capacity to accept the crimes committed unless the perpetrators are caricatures. Then, almost as an afterthought, there's a scene where Thelma Chiong (Alma Moreno) talks with Sonny's mother, who asserts her son's innocence. In the light of the rape and murder we just saw, this conversation comes off as insincere; and if one takes Sonny as an avatar for Paco (not an unreasonable notion, given that the two look similar), it ends up smearing Paco's family as a group of people who maintain innocence for a person who has clearly done something wrong. And here, the character stand-in for Davidson Rusia is portrayed as an unwilling participant, even though the real life Rusia participated in the rape and murder, if his testimony is to be believed.

Does the film honor the Chiong sisters? Nope. Their rape scene is gratituous; even though the two are fully clothed during the act, it feels pornographic. Caparas revels in the violence, virtually fetishizing it by drawing it out and making it as the film's climactic moment. It feels utterly exploitative, tasteless and insensitive, and it's something I really couldn't stomach. Don't take it from me, ask Thelma Chiong, who walked out of the cinema when she saw this scene. The younger Caparas said later "...I apologized to her for bringing her back to that sad experience." Well, what the hell did she expect, putting that woman through additional trauma? Whatever dignity these two sisters have left is taken away by displaying their rape for all the world to see. But I feel the Caparases don't really care. I think they operate on some sort of self righteous mission to create entertainment in the name of 'seeking justice.' Case in point: the elder Caparas' 1994 movie, The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us!, a sequel to his first Vizconde Massacre movie. Why a sequel? The victims are already dead, and this is no zombie movie. What worth is it to restage traumatic events again and again other than extra box office receipts? What the hell is up with these people?

Does the film honor the Chiong family? It seems doubtful. The Chiong brothers are almost non-existent after the sisters disappear, and youngest daughter Debbie is depicted as little more than a placeholder for Jaqueline (she even tells her mother to call her Jacqueline in one scene). The parents are shown grieving, but the amateurish filmmaking doesn't help make their case.

Does the film shine a positive light on Cebuanos? Nope. They are either depicted as scammers or bystanders unwilling to help the Chiong family gain closure.

Say, for the sake of argument, that we take this movie in a vacuum, disregarding the fact that it sensationalizes a very contentious case. Even in that case, Jaqueline Comes Home is mawkish and overwrought at best, ridiculous, badly written excrement at worst. There is a seance scene for no reason. God himself comes into the picture, and the Good Lord above talks to Thelma about some spiritual nonsense that really does nothing to help the case, but I guess it makes people feel better. Yay.

Does the film try to say anything else? Maybe one could say that it helps show how badly men behave, or maybe it tries to establish the facts of the case, however fictionalized they may be. That's not the case either. Whatever message the film may have embedded in it, the filmmaking needed to pull it off is simply not there. The timeline is fractured and confusing. In one scene the sisters are alive, and immediately after that their parents are mourning, although we don't pick up on this right away. While it's relatively better shot than the elder Caparas' contemporary films, it's still on par with ultra-low budget made for TV garbage.

Jaqueline Comes Home is as entertaining as a root canal. It's neither fair nor truthful, and it does a disservice to both the Chiongs and the accused. It insults the audience's intelligence for almost two hours, as it assumes we are all incapable of critical thought. "It is inept" is probably the nicest thing I can say about it. While production-wise it may not be the worst film I've seen this year, it certainly is one of the most sickening, tasteless films I've seen this year. I would call it an absolute failure, but it has helped reignite a discussion about the case, so at least it has that going for it.

I had initially planned to write something humorous about this film, but there's nothing funny about the circumstances behind the film, so I decided against it. There's a scene near the end that many other reviewers have noted where a couple of law students talk to each other about the case. Some of the students admit that they think that some of the accused may be innocent. But this is quickly brushed off, with one student saying that the justice system should be trusted, a statement I find laughably naive. Say, if the Chiong 7 did not commit the crime they were accused of, then there are two miscarriages of justice: first and foremost, Jacqueline and Marijoy's true killer may still run free, and seven people will have spent their lives in prison for nothing.

If we are to believe the rhetoric of Caparas and co, we should trust in our justice system 100%. No one is ever accused falsely, and the guilty are devils incarnate worthy of their punishment, like in many of the Caparas clan's other films, like Kamandag ng Droga, or Vizconde Massacre (God Help Us). No way could any of the accused actually not be guilty, and the appeals courts are apparently a joke.

Yeah. Remember the Vizconde Massacre? Remember Hubert Webb, who was tried and convicted of that crime? Where is he now?

So when's Vizconde Massacre III, you sick fucks?

Virgin Labfest XIV, Set C and a little Set B

Virgin Labfest is ending soon, so I took the opportunity to finish out the rest of this year's plays (sans the revisited set).

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SET B

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Thanks to last minute shenanigans on my end, I was unable to see Jose Teodosio's Rosas, and because of unforeseen circumstances, Ang Mga Propesyunal was replaced with Set A's Ang Inyong Mga Anak. So I technically only saw one play from Set B, which was:

Edgar Allan Hemingway is about a hugely successful author Levi Llorca (Rafa Siguion Reyna), who is one day visited by an old friend, George (Guelan Luarca). George isn't a very good writer, though he has struggled to write for many years. He comes to Levi to get some pointers, but soon finds out that there's more to Levi's writing that meets the eye. The play tackles some interesting ideas on ownership, ethics, and the meaning of creativity, and to be honest, I find myself siding with Levi at certain points. The performances are overall solid, with Ricci Chan bringing in added dimensions of both comedy and conflict as Levi's partner.

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SET C

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Set C is concerned with the cradle, the grave, and everything in between.

Medical professionals and people who have seen last year's documentary Motherland will find something familiar in Maki dela Rosa's Labor Room, a play about a group of women waiting to deliver their children. Having served in labor rooms during my training as a doctor, I can vouch for the authenticity of the dialogue; it's accurate, snappy, and at times all too real. I have my own experiences that closely reflect the situations seen in this play. And even though the film confronts the audience with numerous social realities, the play ends on a rather hopeful note. 

At first, it seemed that JV Ibesate's Tulad ng Dati, a play about an ex-con returning to his ancestral home, would be relatively straightforward. But then, it takes a wild turn out of left field that left my head spinning, and it ends far too abruptly for me to process this new information. For better or worse, that ending's the kind that tends to stick for a long time.

And finally, Ensayo is about two elderly students, Peds (Bembol Roco) and Tisha (Sherry Lara) who are worried about a kissing scene they have to perform for their acting class. This is by far the cutest play I've seen this year, and I kind of want Roco and Lara to have a movie as an elderly love team. I'd watch that movie for sure. The dialogue in this one is snappy, and it's clear Roco and Lara are having fun with their roles.

Virgin Labfest XIV, sets A and D

While we wait around for the next movie related event, lets do something different (there are still a couple of Eiga Sai reviews and one other movie review on the way).

Virgin Labfest, now on its fourteenth year, has been a place where untried, untested and unstaged one act plays get their time to shine. So far, I have seen two out of five sets, and so far each play has been a delight to watch. Here are short reviews of all six plays I've seen so far.

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SET A

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Set A's plays are mostly topical concerning the current culture of violence we have right now in the Philippines. As such, it's very heavy material.

Mga Bata sa Selda 43 begins with two brothers, Philip (Tomas Santos) and Ino (JM Canlas) waking up in a mysterious cell. The door won't open, and occasionally a siren blares in the distance. It soon becomes evident what's going on, and it gives the occasional siren blare a sadder, more tragic meaning. Soon the two brothers' situation changes, and the play smartly connects a lineage of violence from then until now. The acting in this one is decent, and the production design is solid, felt  the most during the film's final, haunting images.

Mga Eksena Sa Buhay ng Kontrabida takes us through a number of conversations, the center of which is invariably Jake (Jay Gonzaga), a former macho dancer turned layabout. Jake is brash and violent, and his family (an equally dysfunctional father and two brothers who want nothing to do with him) try to understand him, and fail. Soon they decide to take matters into their own hands, but Jake is a far more complex person than they make him out to be. This play is one of my favorites of the set; notably, esteemed writer F. Sionil Jose stood up during the curtain call to greet the main actor and the playwright. It shows us how villains are molded by gossip and lies, and how people's hatred can snowball and lead into the 'heroes' becoming no different from the villains. It shows how we demonize and 'other' people we do not understand. It's also a play devoid of women, the play's hypermasculine facade proving to highlight how a culture founded on machismo can eat its own children.

Speaking of a society that eats its own children, the final play Ang Inyong Mga Anak, Si Harold at Napoleon begins after the death of one such child, killed as collateral damage from a political assassination. Another child, his classmate Harold (Joshua Tayco), is fed up with the culture of violence, determined to do something to help. But his mother (May Bayot) stands in his way. While the previous play focuses on the men who do violence against other men, this one focuses on the women; mothers and wives waiting in vain for husbands and sons who will never return. But the play is about how our sons are the sons of the nation, about how giving one's life in the service of a larger cause is a cause as great as a mother's love.

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Set D

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Set D deals with people finding a way out, whether it be through song, chance, or sex.

Marawi Musicale, about a group of volunteers helping out refugees during the Marawi Siege, is the kind of concept that would turn out corny had it not been handled properly. Thankfully, it deals with its subject with sensitivity and grace, and it packs a couple of very powerful moments, especially one particular song featuring Salanka (Bayang Barrios) and Khalid (Poppert Bernadas).

Amoy Pulbos ang Mga Alabok sa Ilalim ng Riles ng Tren is about people trying to find hope in a hopeless place and failing horribly. It's one of the most tragic plays in this set so far, because there's something oppressive about making the poorest and most vulnerable of us jump through hoops to reach their dreams. It perfectly encapsulates why I don't like noontime variety shows, and the overwhelming chorus of laughter, wacky sound effects and cheers makes the final scenes all the more disturbing.

In Greek mythology, Lethe is the river of unmindfulness, one of the five rivers of Hades where people drink its waters to forget. River Lethe has a lot of sex in it, but the sex is hollow and empty; it merely serves as a means of escape for two cancer patients, Abe (Paolo O'Hara) and Mara (Dolly De Leon) who have lost the ability to feel alive. And this sleazy love hotel becomes their only respite, finding life in hollow pleasures even as their own lives drain away, the cancer killing them one cell at a time. This play has the best production design of all the plays I've seen so far; especially in one scene where the bed's arch becomes a makeshift MRI or CT scan, then a passageway to the netherworld.

Eiga Sai 2018: Memoirs of a Murderer's mystery is a flashy wild ride

Yu Irie's Memoirs of a Murderer is based on the 2012 Korean film Confession of Murder, and is not to be confused with a 2017 Korean film called Memoir of a Murderer, which is about a serial killer with dementia. 

This film's titular murderer killed five people shortly after the Kobe Earthquake of 1995, strangling his victims while forcing a loved one to watch helplessly. The killer disappears after the death of the fifth victim, and the crime remains unsolved for 22 years. Suddenly, a man named Masato Sonezaki (Tatsuya Fujiwara) appears, claiming to be the killer. He then takes the opportunity to launch a book detailing his murderous exploits. Because of a quirk in Japanese law and because of the timing of the last murder, the statute of limitations has expired and Sonezaki cannot be tried for his crimes, frustrating the families of the victims and detective Makimura (Hideaki Ito), who lost his partner thanks to the killer.

Even though it is an adaptation of a Korean film, Memoirs of a Murderer may resonate more with Japanese audiences thanks to real life being stranger than fiction: one recalls the sordid case of Issei Sagawa, who killed and ate his classmate in the eighties. Because of how the law operated back then, he was unable to be tried for his crimes and walked free, becoming a minor celebrity in the process. Memoirs of a Murderer's first half tackles the complex interplay between ethics in journalism, the strangeness of celebrity and the impact of media in our daily lives. Sonezaki gains a couple of rabid fans, while at the same time, people protest his freedom. Social media is abuzz with commentary and speculation. In these scenes, the crime feels distanced from the criminal, and the words of the man on the street seem to fail to see the wrongness in the murderous actions. Sonezaki comes off as a showman proud to show off his 'art'. His debut is gaudy and he knows it: his confession is an all out press conference complete with an over the top audiovisual presentation, and a book signing has models brandishing his work. 

The film moves into a straight murder mystery near the end, as twists are revealed in increasingly over the top fashion. These developments slightly undermine the work done in the first half, as the true nature of Sonezaki's actions lead into something a bit more lurid, yet predictable. Nevertheless, director Yu Irie manages to squeeze out increasing levels of tension in these scenes, especially during the nail-biting third act. In the end, Memoirs of a Murderer is a wild rollercoaster ride of a film that makes interesting commentary on the media we consume and the people we worship.

Eiga Sai 2018: Let's Go, Jets' true to life story is peculiar, but full of heart

Based on the real life cheerdance team from Fukui Commercial High School, the full English title of Hayato Kawai's film チア＊ダン, Let's Go, JETS! From Small Town Girls to U.S. Champions?! pretty much gives away the ending of the Jets' story, but for this film, the journey is more important than the destination.

In many works of Japanese fiction (including this film), actually studying in high school is secondary to the act of joining a club and participating in club activities to become the best club in the nation. In this case, spunky country girl Hikari (Suzu Hirose) joins the cheerdance club in order to impress her (kinda) ex-boyfriend Kosuke (Mackenyu), but she soon finds her calling with cheerdancing. Along with team captain Ayano (Ayami Nakajo), recluse hip hop dancer Yui (Hirona Yamazaki), big-boned classmate Taeko (Miu Tomita), and coach from hell with a heart of gold Saotome (Yuki Amami), the girls aim to be the best team in Japan to get a chance to participate in the world championships in America.

That said, Let's Go, Jets is a strange creature; it isn't actually a sports movie or even strictly a cheerdance movie in the mold of the mother of all millennial cheerleader movies, 2000's Bring it On. Despite the fact that the film introduces a team of smug Americans, they aren't really set up as antagonists. The fact that we already know the outcome of the story changes the film's nature. The main "antagonists" in Let's Go, Jets are the Jets themselves, as they each have their own personal hang-ups that prevent them from becoming the best team in Japan. In fact, we don't really see the girls performing properly until the very last sequence. Ironically, the cheerleaders are the ones who need the most cheering up.

And even though the lack of a true competitive element may seem like there are no opportunities for  legitimate dramatic moments, Let's Go, Jets has a couple of seriously affecting scenes, especially near the end. In being reflexive, the film's inward focus on the girls' emotional growth helps viewers get invested in their struggles, even though the outcome has already been decided.

The film does suffer a couple of missteps. While the main cast is exceptional (especially Suzu Hirose and Yuki Amami), the American actors for the film's climax are tolerable at best, and cringeworthy at worst. A central piece of conflict near the third act feels tacked on, even though it helps set up some revelatory scenes afterwards.

That said, Let's Go, Jets! is pleasant enough entertainment, though it may be different from what one would normally expect from a film about competitive cheerdance. Suzu Hirose fans are in for a treat.

Eiga Sai 2018: Survival Family is a lighthearted family movie. No, really

For a film that takes place in the middle of the collapse of modern society as we know it, Shinobu Yaguchi's Survival Family is quite the entertaining affair. Known mainly for directing comedies like 2001's Waterboys, Survival Family features his trademark humor as well, but incorporates other genres into the mix. It's part disaster film, part family dramedy,  part satire, part peri apocalyptic road trip. It highlights how modern society in Japan has grown reliant on modern technology and the concept of benri, roughly translated as 'to make something convenient.' 

We see a glimpse of that complacent society in the film's opening scenes, where the Suzuki family leads a relatively normal life in the middle of Tokyo. The patriarch, Yoshiyuki (Fumiyo Kohinata) is a workaholic dad who leaves most of the household duties to his wife Mitsue (Eri Fukatsu), who, in her reliance towards convenient foods and appliances, has lost the ability to cut a fish properly. Their son Kenji (Yuki Izumisawa) is a girl-obsessed techie college student, while their daughter Yui (Wakana Aoi) is a prissy princess overly concerned with her phone and her friends.

When the apocalypse happens, it comes into the picture like a thief in the night. For some unexplained reason, the power goes out, and all electrical devices become useless. There are no riots or overly dramatic scenes of chaos; instead, there is an overwhelming sense of confusion and denial until it becomes clear that the lights aren't going to go back on. Soon even basic utilities start to run out, straining even the renowned Japanese capacity to hold it together in the face of adversity. The city begins to run out of people as families head for the provinces in search of food and water. The Suzukis head for their family home in Kagoshima, more than a thousand kilometers away.

The scenes showing this major societal shift reveals itself gradually, but steadily: the prices of basic commodities spike as inflation reaches insane levels. Theft and looting become commonplace. Feral dogs begin to roam the countryside. Money and some forms of material wealth soon become useless as citizens shift to a barter system. 

Here's where the road trip aspect of the movie kicks into high gear: while Yoshiyuki struggles to fill a role he hasn't really filled in a long time (as the head of the family,) his wife does most of the heavy lifting, using her long dormant domestic skills to save the family's hide multiple times. Faced with their father's impotence, the two children step up to help as well, with mixed results. The family's dysfunction is made even more apparent when they are contrasted with a family that has done pretty well for itself; while the 'good' family has learned to survive off the land, the Suzukis have resorted to cat food and battery water. Owing to the road trip structure, the Suzukis develop over the course of the trip, even as things grow ever more dire.

Despite this, the film is surprisingly lighthearted as far as disaster movies go. It's so unusual in terms of tone that it stands out compared to the overwrought Hollywood disaster movies that we are used to. As satire, it shows how the Japanese - the old generation and millennials alike - have gotten out of touch with traditional ways and simple living, a theme that Yaguchi himself has explored with 2014's Wood Job! And, it's a testament to the tenacity that a family can exhibit when it comes together as one.

Eiga Sai 2018: ReLife explores the cynicism of adulthood

There's this notion that we get more cynical as we get older, as the idealism of youth gets replaced with the cold truths of living life. In Takeshi Furusawa's adaptation of ReLife, originally a digital comic series by Yayoiso, we see a cinematic exploration of this notion and a search for balance between cynicism and idealism. In the end, idealism may not be as tightly bound to youth as one may think, but it's something that tends to get lost in favor of more pragmatic ideals.

Arata Kanzaki (Taishi Nakagawa) is a 27 year old man who works part time in a convenience store. He quit his corporate job because of a series of tragic events. He lives a lie when with friends, pretending to still be a salaryman, unable to let go of that life. Suddenly, a mysterious man named Ryo Yoake (Chiba Yudai) appears before him with a proposition: partake in our experiment, and your financial problems will be taken care of. The catch: he must take a pill which will turn him 10 years younger, and he must spend a year living as a senior high school student.

Kanzaki then decides to go with it, meeting different friends along the way. The most prominent of these new friends is Chizuru Hishiro (Yuna Taira), a social butterfly whose only wish is to make new friends. Taira and Nakagawa are both adept in their roles, and the two have chemistry together. Throughout the year, Kanzaki helps his friends overcome their own personal problems, ultimately helping fix his own life in the process.

I have only the slightest familiarity with the source material, but thanks to watching this movie, I've binged the comics and started watching the anime. The film understandably compresses several plots and storylines for the sake of length, often removing or outright changing the characterizations of some of the supporting cast. But, don't worry, this is a film that can stand on its own.

ReLife makes a strong case for living life freely and savoring the moment with the people most important to you. It also tackles the idea of memory - Kanzaki finds out that when the experiment is finished, his classmates will forget he ever existed - and how it shapes us as people. It stresses the impact we can have on other people over the simplest things, with Kanzaki's actions leading to some of the film's most moving scenes. It's a love letter to the heady days of youth when we all thought we could do anything in the world. But the film also recognizes that youth doesn't last, and that idealism can get you only so far.

The film takes a sudden (but not totally unexpected) turn in the last act that puts a lot of things in a new light, and ends with Kanzaki finding the balance between idealism and cynicism that he needs and a true purpose in life. It's a bit different compared to the original comic ending, so even fans will be in the dark as to what happens.

Whether as an adaptation or as a standalone film, ReLife does its job. It's a relatively entertaining film with a positive message.

Eiga Sai 2018: In Honnouji Hotel, a girl learns self worth thanks to a brutal warlord

Nobunaga Oda was a feared and powerful feudal lord who aimed to conquer all of Japan under his iron hand. He was known for his brilliant tactics and his brutal methods. His reign came to an end in 1582, when one of his retainers, Mitsuhide Akechi, staged a coup against him and laid siege to the temple at Honnouji, where Nobunaga was staying, eventually leading to his\s forced suicide. This event came to be known as the Honnouji Incident.

Honnouji Hotel uses the Honnouji Incident as a backdrop for, of all things, a woman's self realization. For some magical reason, Mayuko (Haruka Ayase) finds herself travelling through time back to the eve of the Honnouji Incident. Mayuko's an unfortunate victim of a corporate bankruptcy; now jobless and with no prospects in sight, she sees marriage with her boyfriend as her last recourse, but she is having second thoughts. The film uses Nobunaga's struggle to unify Japan and uses that as a backdrop to help Mayuko get her groove back.

However, the argument for Mayuko is not well formed; the attempts to connect Nobunaga's plight to Mayuko are a bit strained. There is also Mayuko herself; perhaps to help the viewer know more about Honnouji and Nobunaga, Mayuko's character is a bit naive, displaying what the Japanese call kuuki yomenai, an inability to perceive social cues - in this case the samurai decorum of 1500s Japan. I would probably have enjoyed the movie a bit more had Mayuko been less naive.

The film may have its share of faults, but ultimately it is quirky enough to make it work. The central tenet of Mayuko's eventual realization is basically 'be free to do what you want, and be happy with the journey and not the destination.' I'm not sure we needed it to be told through the perspective of a legendary warlord, but it's okay for what it is.

Eiga Sai 2018: Tori Girl! is a delightful spin on the 'ganbare!' subgenre

Held every year in Lake Biwa in Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture, the Japan International Birdman Rally is an event where enthusiasts from all over the world share with and engage in their passion of human-powered flight. It's one of a number of similar events around the world, and there really is something alluring about the idea of flying in the sky with one's own strength.

When college student Yukina Toriyama (Tao Tsuchiya) enters a technical college, she finds herself surrounded by plaid polo shirt-wearing nerds. She then finds herself attracted to Kei (Mahiro Takasugi), a member of the human powered flight club. She joins the club to get closer to him, and finds herself helping the club compete in the next Birdman Rally.

Tori Girl! is perhaps the first real comedy by director Tsutomu Hanabusa, who is probably best known for directing the horror film Sadako 3D. And surprisingly, it works; it's a highly entertaining, hilarious film.

If we whittle it down to the basics, Tori Girl! is another one of those movies where a person picks up a (oftentimes completely niche) hobby and eventually becomes pretty good at it. It's a subgenre of fiction that I like to call "ganbare!" (がんばれ), a Japanese word that implies a stubborn sense of perseverance. But the film is full of these little subversions that only serve to heighten its comedic value, ultimately making the proceedings far more interesting.

Tori Girl! focuses less on the construction of the aircraft and its technical details (which would, to be honest, be substantial enough to make a movie on its own) and focuses more on Yukina's training to become a pilot of one of these human powered flying machines. The training contains a lot of cardio, and in lieu of the flying machines, there's a lot of cycling involved. This sounds a bit boring, but it's all about the character interactions in this film, especially with Yukina and her fellow pilots Kei and Sakaba (Shotaro Mamiya). Sakaba becomes the yin to Yukina's yang, and the comedic timing of Tsuchiya and Mamiya is on point.

The rest of the cast is rounded out by good performances, especially memorable turns by comedian Nadal, who plays an enigmatic alumnus, and a cameo from comedian Jiro Todoroki.

Tori Girl! is a definite crowd pleaser and one of my most entertaining experiences at Eiga Sai this year. While it doesn't delve into particularly heavy subject matter, it doesn't have to. It's 98 minutes of crazy, hilarious joy, the kind of joy that can only come from watching someone learn and perfect a niche craft.

Eiga Sai 2018: Daytime Shooting Star is a rollercoaster of love confessions

Based on the manga by Miki Yamamori, Daytime Shooting Star (Hirunaka no Ryuusei) tells the story of Suzume, a country girl who ends up studying in Tokyo. She quickly falls in love with Shishio (Shohei Miura), a frequent patron of her uncle's cafe. Upon going to school, she finds out that Shishio is her homeroom teacher; in addition, she befriends Daiki Mamura (Exile's Alan Shirahama), who falls in love with her.

Forbidden love isn't exactly new in Japanese storytelling; the subgenre has been around even before the days of cinema. The film does acknowledge the fact that Suzume and Shishio's relationship is unusual, though it sidesteps a lot of other implications loaded within this kind of relationship.

If one can get over that, half the fun of Daytime Shooting Star is finding out who Suzume ultimately ends up with; the film has its share of love confessions (and love confession fake-outs!) that keep a certain level of tension throughout the film. While it may not be as big a draw to casual viewers that have little to no knowledge of the manga, it's a treat for fans who just want to see the love polygon in action. I only have a passing familiarity with the series, but seeing this in a theater full of giggling, screaming female fans totally helped the cinematic experience.

As with all adaptations, the film does suffer a bit of adaptational decay. A bunch of storylines and character moments are truncated or rearranged for the sake of time constraints. Nevertheless, it does have its share of genuinely sweet moments, even for non-fans. Takehiko Shinjo has experience with adapting manga, especially shoujo manga, with the live action adaptations of Paradise Kiss (2011), I Give My First Love to You (2009) and the recent Your Lie In April (2016) under his belt.

Daytime Shooting Star is like a greatest hits version of the manga; to fans it can end up a mixed bag, depending on how invested one is with the characters and their preferred pairing. To the casual viewer, it's entertaining, albeit light and inconsequential, fare.

In The Maid in London, rape saves the day

Danni Ugali directed this film, but according to the poster this is a film by BL Panganiban. It doesn't matter, they both made garbage

Andi Eigenmann is a pretty and talented actress, but for some reason she can't catch a break in a lead role. From 2015's Angela Markado, to Tragic Theatre, to the horrendous Your Place or Mine?, filmmakers don't seem to know how to utilize her substantial talent properly in a lead role. With The Maid in London, the streak sadly continues.

The Maid in London is 140 minutes of toxic garbage. It's boring, it's not even funny, and it's full of weird storytelling gymnastics where people get away with rape and murder.

The first half of the film is plodding and mostly unnecessary tripe. Andi Eigenmann plays Margo, a girl who lives with her mother and disabled father. She tries to get by with a humble job at the local market. One day she meets Ben (Mark Evans,) a tricycle driver, who quickly falls in love with her. Remember Ben, because he's one of the film's stupidest characters. After getting drunk, he leads the naive Margo into a remote location and rapes her. There's nothing ambiguous about it: he forced himself upon her.

Now here's where one would think that there would be repercussions to this. Nope! The next day, Ben excitedly tells his parents about the rape baby he's having with Margo and plans to marry her. Margo is (of course) not having it, but she doesn't have a say in things because in this movie, women have absolutely no agency. Margo and Ben get married and the rape is apparently forgiven and never addressed again. According to this movie, rape's okay, as long as you get married to your rapist. Who cares what the woman thinks, right?

Ben eventually gets scammed by a couple of illegal recruiters (one of them is named Mang Kanor, haha), and he ends up killing one of them with a hammer. He's caught almost immediately, and he confesses to the police. He definitely committed a crime (at least homicide, in addition to, you know, RAPING HIS FUTURE WIFE). But Margo defends her rapist and appeals to the bereaved to drop the charges in exchange for money.

By this time, more than half of the movie has passed and there's no sign of either maids or London. But we'll get there, don't worry.

In the meantime, this first half consists mostly of misery porn, electing to pile on problem after problem on Margo's shoulders. There's even a subplot where Margo befriends and dates a rich married man, Jason. Guess what, Jason also tries to rape her (with the same modus operandi as Ben, i.e. getting her to sit in a vehicle and taking her to a remote location.) Luckily, Jason doesn't go through with it (he still has an affair with her, though,) and he instead helps Margo go to London as a maid.

Margo finally makes it to London with her friend, but as it turns out, Margo and her friend are working illegally (and Jason bankrolls this despite his suspicions that Margo is dealing with an illegal recruiter.) So they live the TnT (tago ng tago) life, working secretly under the radar of the immigration police (probably a casting quirk, but 80% of the British cops in this movie are female.) This idea of working illegally is not a new idea (think Transit or Imbisibol), but it could be worth delving into in this setting. Unfortunately the movie fails to make any of it the least bit compelling. There's a subplot about Margo's friend having a relationship with a fellow illegal immigrant, but that's quickly snuffed out, as the film begins to hurry towards the climax.

And what a climax it is. (Hint: it contains rape.)

After Margo's father passes away, her mother tells her that her dad is not her real dad, and she's a product of rape (!) as her mother was raped by a British man a couple of decades ago. Since she's the biological daughter of a British national, her pesky immigration problems could disappear. Surprise surprise, her biological dad turns out to be one of her employer's old friends, who is also some sort of government bigwig. Said dad meets with Margo's employer, who turns out to be a lawyer, and there's an extended sequence about him worrying about not getting prosecuted for rape, and someone explaining that it's okay. So once again, the rape seems to be forgiven. Shortly after that, biological dad dies or something (I'm too busy groaning to notice) and he leaves Margo with a substantial amount of cash that helps her clear all of her debts and helps release her rapist murderer husband from prison. The end.

Had Margo's biological dad not raped her mother all those years ago, Margo would still be working illegally in London under threat of deportation. Her husband would still be in jail. Heck, Margo wouldn't be born if that rape didn't occur, and she would not have had the opportunity to help her family.

RAPE LITERALLY SAVED THE DAY. YAY RAPE.

Recent events have shed a light on women's sexual rights and the importance of speaking against sexual assault. This movie takes the idea of women's rights and takes a giant Cleveland Steamer on its chest. By the last act I was literally (loudly, sorry fellow cinemagoers) hurling expletives at the screen. I'm a little hoarse now thanks to that. This movie made me angry, and I felt sorry for Andi Eigenmann that she had to participate in this, since she deserves much better projects than this shit.

On the technical side, the filmmaking is bland and uninspired, some shots are blurry and out of focus, and the subtitles are weird and full of grammatical and typographical errors.

The Maid in London is feces personified as a movie. I generally don't condone supporting watching foreign films over local films, but watch (and demand for) other films like Ant Man 2 so that we can get this garbage out of our cinemas as soon as possible. This is not worth 300 pesos, 200 pesos or even 50 centavos. Recommending this film should be some sort of criminal offense.