A missing iPad is the catalyst that sets in motion the events of John Denver Trending. We are shown these events, unfiltered, and we know that the person in question is innocent. However, a confrontation occurs, and a classmate takes a video that leads to a harrowing, Kafkaesque nightmare.
When the video goes viral, the actual investigation is overshadowed by a trial by publicity. Everyone believes that John Denver is guilty of a crime he did not commit, and no logical argument or lack of evidence can tell them otherwise. Of course, the strain takes a toll on the poor boy, and while he may have been guilty of misbehavior previously, the public lynching is not commensurate to his misdeeds.
This is the first Cinemalaya movie that truly addresses the beginning of the age of fake news, where people are easily manipulated to believe whatever they want through social media and sensationalism, their decisions fueled by emotion rather than reason. It's been touched upon before in films like Jason Laxamana's So Connected, but not as deeply as it is here. Something in the Filipino psyche is primed to believe fake news, itself an evolved form of chismis. In this new era where anything and everything can be filmed, context is thrown out the window, and narrative is king. One's narrative does not need to be truthful, it only needs to be plausible, believable and emotionally resonant. The implications of this are scary, and the film delivers that feeling of dread with a very stifling, tense atmosphere all throughout.
John Denver Trending is an exceptional first film for director Arden Rod Condez, and so far my favorite film of the festival entries.
A mystery also forms the center of Xian Lim's Tabon, but in this case, the mystery holds on to its secrets too tightly, and by the time everything is revealed, it is too late: one's investment in the movie is virtually non-existent. While some say that it is better to show and not tell, this film does neither. It does not show, and it does not tell.
In Tabon, a man (Christopher Roxas) is investigating the death of his father. We learn that his father is some sort of religious figure. There are three suspects that claim to not have committed the crime, and Roxas is invited to witness their interrogation.
The actual meat of the story does not occur until at least 45 minutes in; the first half of the movie is a slow, dull slog that does little to reveal anything or to build an atmosphere of dread. If there was any atmosphere built during the first half of Tabon, it would be an atmosphere of boredom.
Once things really kick off, things get weird, and not necessarily in a good way. It's supposed to look disturbing, but it ends up bizarre, kitchy and even silly. A number of revelations punctuate the work, but the film holds on to its secrets so tightly that we are given no context or suspense, and the twists that come feel like they were pulled out of nowhere.
Dull, inconsistent and at times ridiculous, Tabon is this year's Cinemalaya dud. Tread carefully.
The May-December romance is a popular topic in this year's Cinemalaya (as we will find out later), a trend in contemporary cinema that was perhaps kickstarted by Connie Macatuno's Glorious (2018). Based on a true story, Belle Douleur is about Liz (Mylene Dizon), a woman in her forties who falls in love with antiques connoiseur Josh (Kit Thompson).
The characters are layered and quite interesting, and it's clear a lot of work has been put into making them fully fleshed out characters. Liz is a child psychologist, a profession that deals with dealing with younger people. Josh is an antique and loves old things. Liz has just come off from losing her mother, and expresses the sudden loss of the caregiver role by trying to care for her new boyfriend. Josh, on the other hand, grew up without a mother, although he does not exactly want another mother figure in his life. The character dynamics that skirt on Oedipal notions are my favorite part of the film.
The film also tackles the various issues older women face when dating younger men. There are conflicting perceptions, differences in generational thinking, differences in ideas regarding raising kids and childbirth. Liz begins to realize that such relationships involve a lot of compromise, and that she may be preventing Josh from realizing his dreams.
The romance itself is cute, tender, nuanced, and intense. The film was co-produced by streaming service iWant (who also produced Glorious) and it's something I could see reaching a wider audience.
Belle Douleur is an enjoyable romantic film, and proof that romances don't need to always be about young, beautiful people. Although the ending feels truncated without a major climax (pardon the pun?), the road to get there is pretty satisfying.
Ani is a ridiculously ambitious film. Set in the year 2050, it is the festival's first science fiction film. It follows a young boy (Zyren dela Cruz) as he comes of age and meets a robot companion named Ani. But Ani is a warbot, used by government megacorporations to control the populace, and despised by the farmers that live under the corporations' hegemony.
It is no question that the film is a marvelous technical achievement. The VFX may not be perfect, but when it works, it's marvelous, an unprecedented achievement in Philippine cinema. The world of Ani is a fully realized, living, breathing world, built on effective production design and special effects.
That said, the film has its share of problems. There are pacing issues at the start of the film. These opening scenes pay off later, but may have been better used as flashbacks. The titular robot does not appear until almost an hour has passed, which may be due to technical limitations. And the editing could have been made a little tighter to make the film a little more accessible to kids, which seems to be the film's target audiences.
This brings us to the film's perspective. As a kid's film, it's written in a kid's perspective, and that perspective limits the world that we see on screen. It masks some of the larger social issues the film is trying to touch upon, such as the plight of farmers and systemic oppression by capitalists and governments (a staple of sci-fi wherever you look), and it limits the film's resolution. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the best children's films often give you a sense of wonder, and unfortunately Ani struggles to deliver that in places.
Ani is a great idea, and given time and a little more effort it could be the film that it wants to be. In its current state, however, it ends up a bit short of that goal. Personally, I'm happy that people took a chance on this film and it got made in the first place.
WE WANT SHORT SHORTS SHORT SHORTS A REVIEWS CINEMALAYA EDITION (bakit walang Gardenia sa labas? huhu)
Gatilyo deals with PTSD and is decently acted, though it feels a bit loose and could have made its point in half the time.
This year's crowd pleaser is Heist School, where two students plan to steal test papers from their teacher's desk. It's written like a heist film and it's a fun ride from start to finish. One wonders whether Bad Genius influenced the making of this film in any way.
Sa Gabing Tanging Liwanag ay Paniniwala's English title is Belief as the Light in Darkness, and it shows, as the film is literally very dark (the projectors at TNA didn't do this film any favors, either.) It's a bit too obtuse and overlong for me. This one needs a rewatch somewhere brighter.
Disconnection Notice follows two brothers living in a small apartment: it's not clear what the older brother does outside the house, but he is left to clean and look after his younger brother, who is studying either nursing or medicine (either way, both mentally and physically exhausting courses.) The film implies a lot of things, but wisely lets us figure those things out ourselves without resorting to sandbagging (still looking at you, Tabon). It's technically well made (perhaps the best made short in this set) and very poignant.
'Wag Mo 'Kong Kausapin was part of Cinema One 2018's lineup of short films, and my feelings about it have not changed. It's still a lovely little film about regrets and confronting inner demons.
See you later at the movies!
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