Looking Closer at Smaller and Smaller Circles

I went into Smaller and Smaller Circles blind, having not read the original source material by F.H. Batacan beforehand. My perspective is thus limited only by the film, and while it seems to follow some of the elements of a crime thriller, the film evolves into something more profound by its closing credits.

The film follows forensic anthropologists Father Gus Saenz and Jerome Lucero as they investigate a spate of grisly deaths in Payatas. The victims are young boys, their bodies horribly mutilated. They race against time before the killer kills anew, but at every turn the system is turned against them.

Those versed in the mystery genre will immediately notice something off about the film. For one thing, it does not follow the conventions of the genre that many are accustomed to. A very crucial piece of evidence - that the murders are being committed on the first Saturdays of the month - is not treated with much fanfare. The killer's identity is deducible if one pays close attention, though the film does leave an ample supply of red herrings for the viewer to follow. Most of the first half hour burns slowly, and numerous subplots seem detached from the main plot. It is when we look closer at what the film is trying to say when the film starts to make a lot more sense. Smaller and Smaller Circles is not (just) about a serial killer, but a society that creates serial killers, a society where these killings are but a small part of a larger and more cancerous social malady.

The film examines this cancer under the microscope, revealing its metastatic spread throughout society. We have become a people obsessed with outside appearances, often resorting to shortcuts and lies instead of facing inconvenient truths. We see a society demarcated sharply by class, with people in power capable both of good and unspeakable evil. And with such power comes systems of abuse, institutionalized and almost made tradition for the sake of perpetuating said power. It manifests even at the very start of the film, where Saenz laments the fact that the abuser he's been chasing for years has managed to evade justice, with the abuser being reassigned instead of being prosecuted and jailed.

Raya Martin's films have always challenged cinematic convention, often trying to reconcile our history and the postcolonial realities of the present day. In perhaps the same way he used the aesthetic of early Hollywood and silent movies in films like Independencia (2009) and A Short Film about the Indio Nacional (2005), Martin uses elements of the crime genre as a means to reflect on our painful history.

Though subject to a more mainstream treatment, his influence seeps into the film's infrastructure. For example, he plays with temporality: the film takes place in 1997, but it is not explicitly stated as such. For all I knew the film could have easily taken place in the present day. The killings are juxtaposed with echoes of atrocities committed during Martial Law, memories largely forgotten in place of a sanitized, 'bloodless' version. The past and the present meld and become one, and within it lies the tragedy of our people.

Many have said (and rather eloquently so) that Martin's films try to evoke a sense of national identity. In that regard, I come back to a certain part in the film where Fr. Lucero remarks on the method of killing. The boys' faces, hearts and genitals have been removed - everything that, in Lucero's words, "makes them human." He notes that this is due to the killer depersonalizing his victims, or perhaps, himself through them. I'm not very familiar with the term in a criminal profiling or sociological context, but I am familiar with the psychological definition of the term: the disappearance of self, a sensation of detachment from the world, a feeling of unreality, dislocation and vagueness, and looking at the world as an observer. 

In many ways, we as a country have undergone a sense of national depersonalization, trapped  in a sense of unreality, viewing the rest of our own selves through a pane of glass, catalyzed through deep and lasting trauma. In many ways, we are the killer, dehumanized by years of abuse and left to dehumanize others. And in many ways as well we are Father Saenz, observing from the outside, trying to reconcile the realities of the world.

Perhaps one would think that the film is mired in cynicism, that it shows the futility in doing good in a society drenched in darkness. But that is not the case at all. During the last part of the film, Saenz is visited by his journalist friend, Joanna, who presents him with another case of murdered children. Saenz looks tired and ready to give up, but Joanna quotes Voltaire at him: Il faut laisser aller le monde comme il va, "We need to let the world go the way it is." In Voltaire's original story, Le Monde Comme Il Va, the protagonist Babouc is tasked by the powerful being Ituriel to observe Persepolis, if Ituriel should destroy a city full of evil men and evil deeds. Babouc realizes that one can have a compromise with the world: tout n'y est pas or et diamants - "all is not gold or diamonds." While it can be interpreted as a sense of venality or resignation, with it comes the notion that there is still wisdom and beauty in the good that men try to do, a notion that evokes William Somerset's words at the end of David Fincher's Se7en (1995) when he quotes Hemingway: 

""The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part."

this is not a review of Kamandag ng Droga

this is a poster

1. 

I'm making good time but I'm thinking I might arrive late to the party. The LRT is packed like sardines, but this is normal; one of many things you have to live with in this country. Drug abuse and addiction is a serious problem that has to be addressed properly. I have no pretensions that this movie is going to be in any way based on reality. I predict something like Reefer Madness, only shitty and even more misinformed.

That's the thing, I guess. The basis for this advocacy is dubious at best, borne probably from well meaning intentions.

I'm thinking about how I'm going to title this thing when I write it. Am I going to go simple? Drugs. Bad. Movie. Do I use a sentence? Should I just copy the synopsis, write grammatically terrible sentences and put 3/5? Do I use corny alliterations? "Dangerous Drugs." "Asinine Advocacy." "Moronic Movie." Forget that shit. This isn't going to be a review. I'm going to push what a review can do to its absolute limit. An experimental film review.

I make it in time. Fuck. So I guess I have to watch this.

Channel 2 is my favorite channel daw but not really.

A kid dies in the middle of the concert, and it's probably due to DRUGS OOOOOOOOO. Sarah Lahbati, who was the lead singer of the band in said concert, is sad. She's not sad because the kid died, she's sad because she's not sure if she sang well in the concert. Her bandmates console her, telling her that she did really great.

really great

REALLY GREAT

.

.

ȑ̸̛̰̼̮͇̺̥̯̩͒͗͛̑͜͠é̛̼̰̹̣̳̦͉͂̿͘ȁ̤͈̬̹͚̮̱̜̩̥́͋̋̑̍̆̕͠l̶̞͈̯͙͍̓̎̋̎͝͝͠l̷̜͔̤̼̟͒̍͋̃́̚͟y̨̭̪̼̥̺̰̰͋͑̆̆̍͝ ģ̶̯̰̞̰͕̱͔̔̅͆̍̇̍̌͑̚r͕̘̥̞̱̃́͒̑́́͂͢ͅe̷̜͎͖̲̜̻̺͑͌̊̈́͑̓̄͊͘ą̦̰̟̙͔̳̩̌͌͂͋͐̂͋͗̚͡t̤͇̤͉̭̯̹̊̐̌͆̅̈

.

3, the loneliest number.

This movie doesn't really have a unifying plot it just combines different separate plotlines like that Chinese drug lord and the altarboy who becomes like one of his lackeys and that band and this one brother whose girl is like a pusher and his brother is also a pusher and those other things and those other guys and this script was written like a train of thought sequence of an old, senile man that goes from one idea to another with little rhyme or reason and doesn't really stop or anything

4.44444444444444444444444444444444444444444444 

A treacherous (?) lackey has his neck broken by minion #1. Well, not really.  But he falls down though. He's picked up by said minion and he tells the... corpse(?) "Buhay ka pa?" and sets him down. It is unsure whether he really is alive or not. The two women behind me in the theater laugh at this stupidity.

I am in good company.

5ive. 

Mark Neumann tells his mom, Lorna Tolentino, "Thanks ma." Or at least that's what the subtitles say. He doesn't say anything in real life. The guy who did the sound for this is ★★★★★

Also a five star guy: Mark Neumann's character. He doesn't take drugs, but his dad (Christopher De Leon) sees Marky Mark get kissed by a girl on campus and you'd think he saw them doing a Dirty Sanchez on the grass. For fuck's sake, it was just a peck on the cheek, not a Rusty Trombone. Apparently PDA is bad. PDA IS DRUGS.

PDA = D MEANS DRUGS = R MEANS REPTILIAN INVASION OF EARTH IS REAL

FUCK YOU GUYS YOU DIDN'T LISTEN TO ARLENE MAGUILAR

Sex. 

The film shows us a newspaper headline in the old timey way of "someone throws a newspaper at the floor and we see the headline." This seems to imply that this particular bit of news is trash, because who the hell throws a newspaper at the floor. Why not a table?

Why not choose from over 30 Awesome DIY Newspaper Projects?

﹩℮√℮η.

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The colossus that bestrode the world! The rock against which the hordes of Asia dashed themselves in vain! 

Ate. 

A concerned father brings his daughter to the... police? A priest is also present? It's rehab, I guess. But there are no doctors (maybe nurses). I think it's obvious that the filmmakers don't know how rehab centers work, so obviously said daughter doesn't stay there for long. "No one admits they are a victim," police person says. A theme begins to form.

Nein. 

A pimp (whose name is Madame O) berates his stable of prostitutes, not because all of them are like 50 years old (they are) but because they don't take showers and they smell. [slap yourself] At least he's not ageist... and there comes the ageist joke. Another younger group of females comes in... and are those the girls from the rehab center? [slap yourself again] Apparently drugs make you into prostitutes. Makes sense.

by the way guys, please don't google what a Dirty Sanchez is. Jesus will cry

Meanwhile, Menggie Cobbarubias is an older pimp (?) that wants Rehab Escapee Daughter to do something nasty for her client. [youyouyou] We really don't know what this sex act is, but horny client guy rubs it in by incessantly coughing (then coughing once more for good measure just as he removes his belt.)

Later, this prostitution ring is busted, in front of the most worthless news anchor ever (he doesn't even ask a question or anything, he just stands there like an idiot.)

あなたは、ピックルジュースを飲んで、人間の呼吸の記録を聞いている間に、あなたが他の誰かの髪の毛で作ったシャツを身に着けて、それにティッシュマークが付いたアンティークのロッキングチェアに座って読んでいますか？

TEN.

The Chinese Druglord, Chuatong (Nino Mulach) seems to be enjoying his drug money. 

Hisu drag maneh

In comes his daughter who speaks in a heavy Chinese accent, despite the fact that her father speaks perfect Tagalog. Not only insulting, but racist. But considering the political affiliation of this film, this is not very surprising.

11.47795

Assunta de Rossi

      spends most of the film

      drunk off her ass

Considering 

     the fact

       that she's

         appeared in 

           both

     Higanti

          and this film

I can't blame her.

XII.

A bunch of African drug smugglers give their friend a Journalism book... FULL OF DRUGS.

JOURNALISM = DRUGS, GUYS. TIME TO GO HOME N' SHIT

12.5.

The forming theme gains its shape. "Drug users are animals," one person says.

There is a standoff with dirty police in front of Chuatong's laboratory. Of all people, the priest is the one who faces the dirty cops while holding an assault rifle. I remember the bad shit I took just today. It was bad. Just like the dialogue in this scene.

EXT. OUTSIDE CHUATONG'S LAB.

Corrupt Cop TJ Trinidad

"Mananagot ako... SA BATAS? Sino'ng may sabi sa inyo?"

CJ Caparas

"Si Duterte."

十三.

There are tears down Ming Chuatong's eyes. She implores her fat druglord father for an answer. She asks him with earnestness:

"Ano Ikaw Gawa? Ano Ikaw GAWA!? ANO IKAW GAWAAAAAAaaahahahah"

and she dies or something but I don't see it because my eyes are closed because I'm laughing too hard

Katorse.

Mark Wahlberg's dad Christopher De Leon is the worst dad ever. Because he constantly bullies Mark Ruffalo, his son, that he's a drug user even when he's not, Mark Zuckerberg... wait for it... turns to drugs too! Way to go, asshole. There's a weird flashback sequence where Christopher De Leon does drugs that doesn't make any sense until we find out that Christopher De Leon did drugs in the past and is STILL DOING DRUGS.

That's the moral lesson, kids. Drug users cannot and will not change. They are beyond salvation and should be exterminated or put in jail. There are ZERO other solutions. 

ohai Mark

But wait, there's more!

『f』『i』『f』『t』『e』『e』『n』

In a seedy conference room, various eeeeeevil people want to kill our most beloved and holy President and his only begotten police chief. But it turns out that these multiple assassination attempts end in failure because our president is like super cool. Then police barge in, including a BATO IMPERSONATOR?

probably not this guy.

We don't really know for sure since he disappears after the next shot. Maybe Bato merely joined this anti drug operation in spirit, because he's super cool like that.

INTERMISSION

the heart.

ⓢⓘⓧTEEN

Next up, the Mocha girls are seen dancing. I think this is the first time they've all appeared in a movie. They sure have come a long way. Mocha stops the rehearsal to say she's worried that her brother Jeff has been doing drugs or something. Just in time, Jeff wanders in, remorseful. Mocha brings him to the VACC where Dante Jimenez... uh... absolves him or something?

He also talks to the camera like he's fucking Billy Mays (rest his Oxyclean soul)

Before this segment, we see a clip of our most exalted, perfect best President in the entire universe saying that there really is no need for Rehab and to go shoot drug users when one sees them. The film seems to contradict this, but not really. The real message here is: don't use drugs. If you do, you're fucked. Unless you're related to someone in the government like Mocha. In that case, you can get help.

Slevinteen

"Tutol kayo sa kontra droga, diba?" asks an extra. I don't think the double negative was intentional based on succeeding dialogue.

No, the old guy retorts. I think he's a popular actor but I'm bad with faces. Drug addicts are dying, he says, and I paraphrase. Don't mind the corpses. 67% of people agree with the drug war. I'm not sure where he got these statistics. 

Old Guy is killed by Chuatong because he didn't cite his statistics. Or something.

Bad CGI soldiers later raid Chuatong's beach island escape. No doubt this CGI, which was probably made in Windows 95 or something, will, like Angela Markado, win the FAMAS award for best special effects, because the FAMAS guys OBVIOUSLY have impeccable standards.

protip: they don't

18+ Content

Sarah Lahbati is now like totally addicted to drugs, and she's looking for a stronger fix. With the ashen makeup, she looks like she's in pretty bad shape. Meanwhile, one of her other bandmates, who looks COMPLETELY NORMAL, offers her a drug which is, like, super effective. No doubt this bandmate has the metabolism of a Komodo Dragon.

Of course, Sarah Lahbati has an overdose and becomes catatonic. In fact, almost everyone who uses  or has used drugs is killed, dies, or is arrested. Except Sarah's bandmate, because she's cool.

91.

CJ Caparas' character seems to be the only rational human being in this film (this assessment also includes all of the special guest stars, mind you). He seems to be going through his own arc, as haphazardly plotted as it is.

So what the hell is this four split screen sequence with CJ Caparas DURING THE LAST THIRD OF THE FILM? Why the hell is he in Cebu? Why do we only know about his girlfriend just now, 2/3 of the way into the movie? Why do all this storytelling now??won gnilletyrots siht lla od yhW ?eivom eht otni yaw eht fo 3/2 ,won tsuj dneirflrig sih tuoba wonk ylno ew od yhW ?ubeC ni eh si lleh eht yhW ?MLIF EHT FO DRIHT TSAL EHT GNIRUD sarapaC JC htiw ecneuqes neercs tilps ruof siht si lleh eht tahw oS

It's because, even if you ignore the film's politicization, it's still garbage. Carlo Caparas and whoever wrote this shit are incapable of creating a logical story. His way of setting up scenes are pretty terrible and the technical aspects of the film are borderline amateur. This isn't a new problem: it goes way back to the nineties with his sensationalist massacre dreck.

דבר 20

Mark from Perfect Strangers also ODs and is hospitalized. Christopher De Leon and Lorna decide to euthanize him in front of a doctor. This is not only unethical but illegal too. Which I guess fits the message of the film: you can bend and break the law and do all kinds of illegal things as long as your victim is a drug user. Well and good, I guess.

I thought this was a pretty great series until the Fire Nation attacked

Also, Lorna euthanizes her son by removing his oxygen mask, which is the stupidest act of euthanasia I have ever seen. It doesn't work that way, guys.

Blackjack

Everyone receives their own comeuppance. Ronnie Lazaro (who by the way also has a drug lab) is arrested, and he's keen to point out to the police that he isn't wearing any pants. An old lady calls an NBI agent "Mr. NBI." 

˙ɥƃᴉS ˙sɔɹɐ ɹǝʇɔɐɹɐɥɔ ǝʌᴉʇɔǝdsǝɹ ɹᴉǝɥʇ ʇnoqɐ ǝɔuǝᴉpnɐ ǝɥʇ llǝʇ ʎǝɥʇ ǝɹǝɥʍ ɥɔɹnɥɔ ɐ uᴉ sǝuǝʌuoɔ ǝuoʎɹǝʌƎ

Did I like the movie or not? What do you think?

Cecil B. DeMille made an actual Egyptian City for The Ten Commandments (1923). The Wachowski Brothers hired hundreds of twins for just one very short scene during the Matrix (1999). Every piece of armor in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy is unique. That Ben-Hur (1959) Chariot race? That was legit. During times of clarity, one remembers Akira Kurosawa's Ran, and the castle he built for one long take, burning under the shadow of Mount Fuji.

And Kamandag ng Droga is a movie.

WE HAVE ENTERED A NEW AGE

Cinema One Originals 2017 | Call Me By Your Name

Luca Guadagnino's adaptation of Call Me By Your Name begins with the first movement of John Adams' Hallelujah Junction, and in many ways it summarizes the film to come: it starts out playfully as two pianos conversing with each other, both patterned by the rhythm and syllabism of the word Hallelujah, the first syllable uttered like a breath indrawn. These are words of celebration, almost of relief, at finding each other, these musical voices finding holy meaning within the words they utter. And they are juxtaposed with images of ancient statues, chiseled and perfect yet relegated to the past: a picture-perfect  distant memory, remembered yet again.

Love, meaning and memory form the center of the film, and the film as an adaptation of Andre Aciman's novel captures its essence without resorting to cheap theatrics.

Set in the balmy summer of 1983, in a Northern Italian town like any other, the film follows 17 year old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) as he grows attached to, and falls in love with, his father's research student Oliver (Armie Hammer). The film feels like a dreamy summer memory, its concerns removed from the rest of Italy, of Bettino Craxi and the Years of Lead. It's textured with piano music, from Bach to Ravel's Une barque sur l’océan to Ryuichi Sakamoto that evokes the calmness of the Italian countryside and the Meditteranean sea.

Call Me By Your Name finds meaning in meaning; meaning as in a definition, when the etymology of words are traced back to different roots - an apricot finds its meaning in the words precocious or  ripeness, both loaded with images of youth and sexual awakening - and meaning as in intention, finding meaning behind action and non-action, in words and in silences. "Your silence is killing me," Elio writes, frustrated. Most of the film's most important scenes eschew dialogue, inviting the audience to read what is going on. The film finds its place in that stage where potential lovers grope in the darkness, trying to feel out each other's intentions. This stage is captured and visualized in a scene where the two of them dance to Psychedelic Furs' Love My Way, each one awkwardly approaching each other but seemingly not mindful of each other's presence.

And the love that blossoms from this kind of relationship is a pure kind of love, a love that turns into something more powerful than one's self. Yet it is the kind of love that is destined to be doomed, the kind of love that goes hand in hand with heartbreak. It is the kind of love that destroys you. The film knows that state between loving and knowing that one is loved in return, and it finds the pain in knowing the finite nature of this love.

The film's tone plays on memory, and our conception of it, and how film itself can serve as an idealized memory. In the original novel, the events of Call Me By Your Name are recalled by an older Elio. A similar treatment was planned with James Ivory's original script, but Guadagnino removes it to give the film a sense of immediacy while still retaining the wistful nature of the novel's point of view. The images and visuals presented by the film seem too perfect, as if it were an ideal dream. And many love stories seem this way in hindsight, playing out in our heads like a music video, but never going beyond that, remaining as memories. And when we see Elio during the final scene, and Sufjan Stevens' Visions of Gideon comes on, we are asked: is it a video? We come to question what has come before, pinching ourselves out of our stupor (perhaps, like Elio) and convincing ourselves that this wasn't a dream, that this love was real.

Trip Ubusan: The Lolas vs. Zombies

For many Filipinos, Lolas Tinidora, Nidora and Tidora are fixtures of noontime television, imparting both somewhat snarky comedy and important life lessons to people young and old. In their first starring cinematic feature, Trip Ubusan takes the Lolas into a Zombie film, leading to mixed results.

When a (lechon-induced) Zombie outbreak breaks out, the Three Lolas and their granddaughter (Caprice Cayetano) head for safer ground. Meanwhile, a bunch of civilians manage escape from the outbreak as well, commandeering a tour bus to head for safe haven. These people include a couple planning to elope, a convict, a rude and standoffish woman and Ryzza Mae Dizon, who quite frankly belongs in a category of her own. The film tries to develop these characters, giving them their own motivations.

Trip Ubusan finds itself diverging into two narratives: a semi comedic story of the Lolas on the run from zombies, and the relatively serious story of the people on the bus. To be fair, the latter story by itself could have been a half decent teen horror movie for the holiday season. As many have said before, the movie tends to have a split personality, trying to futilely balance horror and comedy. It's not as if Zombie comedies are impossible to make; one doesn't have to look very far to find films like Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead (2004) or Ruben Fleischer's Zombieland (2009). But the Lolas turn out to be the film's weakness: they stick out like a sore thumb in a relatively serious movie. It's like seeing the Three Stooges do wacky stuff during Cannibal Holocaust, or Jerry Lewis slip on poo and pratfall  during Salo: 120 Days of Sodom. Their inclusion in the movie does nothing to allay the tonal clash that's going on.

The film ends abruptly, with the sort of feel-good moral lesson (don't eat Crispy Pata too much...?) that helps MTRCB members sleep at night with notions of "redeeming social values." While there's enough to keep viewers (especially Eat Bulaga fans) interested in the film, the film is ultimately unsatisfying for either zombie fans or fans of comedy.

[Reflexive Cinema Series] Bomba Queen and the cinema of lust

As part of the Reflexive Cinema Series, the Society of Film Archivists of the Philippines, the NCCA and the CCP screened Bomba Queen starring Sarsi Emmanuelle. But first, a little background.

The era of Bomba films in Philippine Cinema grew out of a very interesting time in world cinema. In the first half of the 20th century, pornographic films were taboo in places like the United States, with short "stag films" shown only in male gatherings or brothels. Erotic film production in the 1950's slowly grew in the US to become the Sexploitation genre in the 1960's, when "nudie cuties" and "roughies" started to be shown in grindhouse theaters and small theaters. 

Following the heels of documentaries like Pornography in Denmark (1970) and fiction films like Mona The Virgin Nymph (1970), the film Deep Throat (1972) brought the genre to critical and public attention. Soon, cinemas were showing hardcore pornography during this time, with a particular period during 1972-1973 in which movies bucked artistic conventions. Ralph Blumenthal wrote an influential article in the New York Times in 1973 describing the higher visibility of porn among the public and celebrities, a phenomenon which he described as "porno chic." There was a notion of film and sex blending together, part of a larger subset of wild, bold, weird and ambitious thinking during that era. But changing moral standards and tastes and technological advances doomed this idealism. The movement eventually died down with the rise of the home video industry, where the porn industry mostly stands today, as a primarily video only genre.

In other countries, there were also concurrent softcore erotic film movements as well. The Japanese had eroductions like the Pinku eiga or Pink Film, erotic productions that pushed standards and bypassed extremely strict censorship laws. Some pink films, such as the Roman Porno films produced by studio Nikkatsu, are well known, such as the Angel Guts series and Ichijo's Wet Desire (1972). Pink films became a genre of its own, and some films, like The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai (2003) received critical praise. Some directors of Pink Film moved on to other genres of film, and directors like Koji Wakamatsu produced art films like Nagisa Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses (1976), notorious in the day for its depiction of sexual activity. Europe had its own softcore phase with France's Emmanuelle (1974) starring Sylvia Kristel, and copycats such as the Italian Black Emanuelle (1975) starring Laura Gemser. South American countries like Mexico and Brazil mixed softcore porn and comedy in their films.

In comparison, the Philippines had its own distinct era of Bomba films, and later, the ST (sex trip)  films of the mid to late nineties and sexy films of the early 2000's. Yvonne was one of the early "bold" stars. She starred in films like Climax of Love (1970) and Naked in the Dark (1971). The advent of Martial Law restricted the production and showing of such films, but they slowly trickled back during the latter half of the decade. With these films came some level of experimentation and inclusion of social commentary. Yvonne later starred in Ishmael Bernal films like Scotch on the Rocks to Remember, Black Coffee to Forget (unreleased) and Ligaw na Bulaklak (1976), the latter of which garnered her a Best Supporting Actress nod at the Gawad Urian awards. 

Inspired by Yvonne's life story, the 1985 film Bomba Queen was made. Produced by Robbie Tan and directed by Efren Piñon, Bomba Queen is a heavily fictionalized take on Yvonne's life and career. After being tricked by a duplicitous, sleazy recruiter (Rita Roman), Rose (Sarsi Emmanuelle) is thrown into a white slavery joint under the pretense of getting into the showbiz industry. She gets out thanks to a concerned party (Ronaldo Valdez) who takes a liking to Rose.

It's clear the movie raison d'etre was to titillate; it is a strange patchwork of dripping sensuality and gaudiness.  Rose indulges (or is indulged) in coital pleasures with the many men who 'save' her from her predicament. This mostly proves to be a trap as she is merely being used for their needs. The sole exception seems to be stuntman Ador (Roy Flores) who genuinely loves her, but is a casualty of her stardom.

Bomba Queen wants to tell a story of female liberation and independence, but it is held down by the constraints of its own genre and the prevailing thinking of the times, which was still deeply chauvinistic. Rose, now Yvonne, only achieves a sense of independence and stability through women; she gains her refuge through Lorna (Myra Manibog), and later gains financial means through Odette (Odette Khan), who runs her own business. But Lorna is a sexy dancer, and Odette, her employer, with the sexually charged performances not unlike similar exhibitions in Thai red light districts. Similarly, Rita Gomez's Mama Carol, in all her campy Bond villain-esque glory, is the most powerful woman in the film, but she runs a white slavery ring. The women in Bomba Queen are powerful, but they are still used in the service of men.

The film tends to veer into melodrama and patented sampalan scenes, the once innocent Rose slowly metamorphosing into the world weary Yvonne. The soap operatics ramp up towards the last act of the film, culminating into a gunfight that neatly resolves several plotlines.

At 140 minutes, the film tends to drag. Much of this running time consists of extended sex scenes, mostly performed by Sarsi Emmanuelle. However, the most intriguing sex scene for me happens at the end of the film, between Lorna and her lover. It's probably the longest sex scene in the film, and the one most inconsequential to the plot, but there's something about it that sets it apart from all the other sex scenes in Bomba Queen. For one, Lorna and her lover indulge in sex that is more give and take, sex that seems to be more in the service of pleasuring both woman and man rather than just one or the other. And if her trembling arms and body are any indication, the orgasmic climax of that scene (pun intended) may not be just for show.

Cinema is defined by its past, its history and culture. Artistic excellence and commercialism go hand in hand in forming its definition. In examining cinema from this point in our history, we help form a picture of Philippine cinema more whole than any idealized vision.

Motherland takes us to the world's busiest maternity hospital

The Philippines is one of the fastest growing populations in the world, driven by many sociocultural factors and a conservative culture that balks at providing women with responsible reproductive health services. One of the epicenters of that population growth is the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, the busiest maternal hospital in the country, and quite possibly the entire world. The hospital is called a "Baby Factory" because of the sheer volume of patients coming through its doors every day. I have colleagues and friends who have trained or had a tour of duty at Fabella, and nothing really prepares you for it. As a doctor, and having trained in a similar government tertiary institution myself, the birth rate statistics we see in pie charts and graphs aren't merely numbers to us. In the maternity wards and delivery rooms of the Philippines they're very tangible and real.

Ramona Diaz's documentary, Motherland, takes us on a tour through Fabella and the patients who stay there. The topic has been explored before in fictional narrative films like Eduardo Roy's 2011 film Bahay Bata, but few films have captured the hospital in such a comprehensive manner. The crew of Motherland spent several weeks in the hospital, documenting and following the lives of a number of patients. The film is immersive and lets us see the hospital as is, letting stories unfurl naturally. These patients are some of the poorest of the poor, with little to no money to cover the medical expenses of giving birth. To foreigners, especially Americans with their astronomical healthcare premiums, these prices may look like paltry sums, but to patients like these who barely make 50-150 pesos (1-3 USD) a day, the expenses incurred are crippling debts that may never be paid.

The film shows us the myriad problems that Filipinos face regarding health seeking behavior, cultural problems and lack of education regarding reproductive health. There are no incubators, so hospital staff has to improvise and provide alternatives for premature infants. A woman who has not had even one prenatal checkup for her pregnancy learns that she is giving birth to twins on the day of birth itself. A very young mother, the oldest of ten siblings, refuses to have an IUD installed because her mother disapproves of it. Mothers talk about their unemployed husbands who have trouble finding steady work and financial compensation for their children. These are mothers with four, five, even six or more children, far more than what they can sustain financially. These people share their voices and their stories to us to help us understand the problems they face whenever they bring a new life to the world.

The film shows that reproductive health options are readily available to these women. The bottom line is, they either don't know about their options or they refuse these options because of misguided beliefs or ignorance or societal pressure. The onus is up to medical professionals, educators and policymakers to help our fellow Filipinos know about reproductive rights and the implications of these rights on their lives. It's also a wake up call for men to get off their pedestal of privilege and actively help as a partner in their spouses' reproductive responsibilities.

One might expect that Motherland is grim and dark, but the film has a good deal of charm and humor. Despite the many hardships these women face on a day to day basis, they're very upbeat and humorous about it. The medical staff also helps these mothers by cheering them up every once in a while. That is, in my opinion, a very Filipino way of dealing with things.

Motherland is an essential documentary that I think everyone needs to see, especially lawmakers and people in positions that can make a difference. No cultural tenet, screed, scripture or belief can beat seeing a previously nebulous problem become palpable reality by giving these women a platform to help them speak for themselves.

***

Motherland is part of the Active Vista festival that aims to discuss human rights and intersect them with film, visual art and other media. Find out more at their official website. Another public screening of the documentary will take place today at the Shang Cineplex.

Cinema One Originals 2017 | The Third Murder

At first glance, it seems that the case at the center of Hirokazu Kore-eda's The Third Murder is open and shut, showing the vicious murder of a factory president. The culprit, Misumi (Koji Yakusho), confesses immediately. Elite defense lawyer Shigemori (Masaharu Fukuyama) and his colleagues are assigned to the case. But nothing is as it seems, and the case gets even more complicated as Shigemori wades through a web of lies and deceit to get to the truth.

What began as a simple legal drama becomes something different in the hands of Kore-eda, known more for directing family dramas like Our Little Sister (2015) or After the Storm (2016). The Third Murder becomes a deft examination of the justice system and a critique of the death penalty, with Japan being one of a handful of countries that still practices it.

As the investigation continues, we see that Misumi's behavior is erratic, and he has a criminal history - he had been tried and convicted previously of murder, by Shigemori's father. Without his lawyers' knowledge, Misumi talks to a reporter about another possible angle behind the murder, and ultimately, when the case begins to involve the victim's daughter Sakie (Suzu Hirose), who had befriended Misumi, his actions begin to unravel the case and cast serious doubt as to his innocence or guilt. The trial and execution thus becomes the titular third murder.

In a film where the truth becomes abstruse and hidden behind deception, the film communicates the fact that truth and justice are not always congruent. Convenience and procedure supersede the truth, co-opting it for the sake of harmony. In the context of our society, justice is colored by the judgement of men. But who judges those who judge? 

The film dares us to find the truth in the words of its characters. Kore-eda films his subjects in extreme closeup, filling the frame with their faces, daring us to extract the truth from these characters' expressions. A striking scene near the end overlaps two faces on top of each other, reflecting one person's desire to connect with the other. Yet the truth still lingers out of reach, and in challenging us to find the truth from their faces, Kore-eda has made us into judges as well.

The film wouldn't have worked without excellent performances from the main cast. Masaharu Fukuyama and Koji Yakusho play so well against each other, and Suzu Hirose's Sakie is reserved yet full of hidden emotions bubbling just beneath the surface.

While unassuming on the surface and deliberately paced, The Third Murder is a tantalizing work, an impossible cipher that begs to be solved, another feather in the cap for one of Japan's most talented directors.

Cinema One Originals 2017 | On Body and Soul

Enyedi Ildiko's latest film, On Body and Soul (Testről és lélekről) finds love in the strangest of places: a slaughterhouse. Much of the first part of the film focuses on the slaughterhouse's daily activity, in all its bloody and gory detail. The act feels savage, but this act is practical - it's a means to produce food. Endre and Maria, two of the slaughterhouse's workers, form a bond after they realize they have been sharing the same dream of two deer in an icy forest. Endre is a partially disabled man with a distant demeanor; Maria is a socially awkward yet brilliant mind with an attention to detail and with tendencies both obsessive compulsive and neurodevelopmental in nature. They seem to build a deep emotional connection in their dream state, while struggling to build a similar connection in the waking world.

The Body-Soul dichotomy implied by the film's title is anything but subtle: there are images of brutality and empathy, the stark reality, absurdity and coldness of the real world and the pure, almost noble grace of the dream world. Ironically, it is in reality where absurd situations happen; take the slaughterhouse scenes for example, or the act of stealing sexual enhancers from cows, which catalyzes the film's narrative development. The film makes a case for a certain sense of spirituality and deep emotional connection that we have discarded and replaced with shallow connections and disposable relationships. The film asks us why it is so difficult to form a bond between people in a world like this, bound and constricted by shyness, social restrictions and decorum. These antipodes battle each other out, trying to find a balance of sorts between body and soul.

The film's treatment is gentle and deliberate. It starts off as a bit slow but builds up steadily as Endre and Maria begin to explore their true feelings and come to a realization about them. The last third of the film comes off as a little too melodramatic, but the ending, which can imply a number of different things, is interesting. It could be the final nail in the coffin, showing us the banality of bodily relationships. Or perhaps the film is making a case for symbiosis between body and soul, between idealism and reality, between that which is vulgar and sacred.

On Body and Soul is a fascinating, surreal romance with an arthouse sensibility. It demands patience and attention, but the results are pretty rewarding.

Cinema One Originals 2017 | Before We Vanish

For a movie about an alien invasion with apocalyptic undertones, the aliens in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Before We Vanish aren't in too much of a hurry to end humanity as we know it. The film's Japanese title, Sanposuru Shinryakusha (translated roughly as "invaders taking a stroll") reflects a film more concerned with examining humanity's foibles rather than delivering cheap thrills. It's something more uplifting from Kurosawa, something more like Journey to the Shore (2016) than Pulse (2001), even though the apocalyptic imagery is more in line with the latter.

The film follows two narrative threads: illustrator Narumi (Masami Nagasawa) is married to Shinji (Ryusei Matsuda), but the two of them aren't exactly on the best of terms. When Shinji mysteriously disappears then reappears with most of his memories gone, Narumi sees this as an opportunity to reconnect with her estranged husband, who is now mellower  and kinder compared to his older self. Meanwhile, a family is brutally murdered and the prime suspect, the family's daughter Akira, is missing. Jaded journalist Sakurai (Hiroki Hasegawa) is sent to investigate. Neither Narumi nor Sakurai know that the people that they meet are part of an alien invasion force, tasked with learning about humanity before exterminating everything on earth.

Before We Vanish examines the meaning behind human concepts. The aliens learn about humanity by absorbing and taking away a person's conception of things, like "family," "possessions" and so on. While it seems like a horrible thing having certain conceptions taken away from you, the effects are strangely liberating, even cathartic, to the 'victims.' Removing the conception of "work" turns a lecherous boss into a free spirited man; removing the conception of "family" removes a young woman's hangups about independence. The film questions the relevance of the importance we place onto social constructs, and how we restrict ourselves by doing so.

At its very heart, however, Before We Vanish is a love story, and it is the concept of "love," and the lack or abundance of it, that drives the film. It's almost strange to call this a romantic comedy, but in many ways it is, and instead of resorting to cheap theatrics, it moves towards a deeply emotional ending. A love story such as this can be trite in the hands of a lesser director, but Kurosawa handles it well, creating something that can be deeply resonant. 

The film suffers from a couple of flaws: it juggles its tone from time to time, and it may not prove to be effective from everyone. Also, the plot gets rather predictable, and attentive viewers may figure out how the story plays out from certain scenes from the middle of the film. But despite that, Before We Vanish transcends these flaws. It is a powerful film that champions love in all its myriad forms and its power to redeem and transform.

Editorial: on this year's Metro Manila Film Festival

Recently, the Metro Manila Film Festival announced the four remaining qualifying films for their 2017 edition. These four movies were finished films submitted to the festival that underwent some sort of screening process to be selected. At least I hope that's the case because there really isn't any transparency between the MMFF and the general public, in almost anything.

We don't know who the selection committee is. Are they the same people as the executive committee, which would constitute a gigantic conflict of interest? There's also the fact that way before these four films were announced, an earlier batch of four films, were chosen. These first four titles were not finished films. These films were based on submitted scripts, based on the following criteria:

• 40% artistic excellence
• 40% commercial appeal
• 10% promotion of Filipino cultural and historical values and
• 10% global appeal

Compare this with the MMFF 2016  criteria, which is as follows:

• 40% Story, audience appeal, overall impact
• 40% Cinematic attributes and technical excellence
• 10% Global appeal 
• 10% Filipino sensibility 

See the second criteria in the new guidelines? Commercial appeal. The 2017 MMFF isn't interested in showing you a good movie, it's trying to sell you a product. NO OTHER FILM FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD HAS CRITERIA LIKE THIS. And as capitalism is as capitalism does, it's far more easier, and far more profitable to create films as fast and as cheaply as possible to maximize returns. Heck, if I'd want to make tons of money, I'd probably do something similar.

The 2016 edition of this festival was something else, something that reflected genuine change. Films were judged on even ground, based only on their quality and overall merit. And people wanted to watch these films. Perhaps the festival's only drawback was that there wasn't a kid-friendly movie to bring their kids to. (Aside from the quirky Star Cinema romantic comedy or the animated movie that was in said film fest).

But instead of moving forward, the festival moved backward. Like Newton's third law stated, "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Weeks before the start of MMFF 2016 two of the most prominent rejects of the festival, Enteng Kabisote 10 and Super Parental Guardians, booked cinemas and stayed in theaters for as long as four weeks.

Remember this shit? I did.

During the film festival itself, provincial cinemas asserted the fact that they were not covered under the mandatory period of exhibition, eventually replacing some of the MMFF films early, pulling them out and replacing them with the above films. Even in previous MMFFs, four films are made into sacrifices under the promise of a full run. They're then pulled out for the sake of other films. There is no fairness to the whole thing. 

Serial plagiarist and generally horrible person Tito Sotto held a Senate hearing after MMFF 2016, requesting that "indie" films should have their own film fest. I'm sure he'd tell you that it had nothing to do with his brother's film not getting in and receiving subpar returns thanks to an early run. Good thing no one listened to him and didn't separate indie from mainstream, right?

This year's first four entries are very predictable. A rom com. A Vice Ganda comedy. A movie featuring one of Star Cinema's hottest draws, Coco Martin and a movie starring (gasp) Vic Sotto. Just lovely, am I right? I have no reason to believe the MMFF if, say, they stated that the scripts for these four films represent the finished films in any form. For all we know, the scripts submitted during this process consists of lorem ipsum text for 50 pages. If you've read this article, you wouldn't believe them too.

That is why, I cannot in good conscience support the first four films chosen by the MMFF (The Revenger Squad, Ang Panday, All of You and Meant to Beh.) I personally have nothing against these films, and there is the remote chance that one or more of them may actually be good. But they were chosen under a lopsided judging system that favors certain groups and persons more than others and exploits and victimizes others. This isn't about indie or mainstream, adults or children, or money or art anymore. It's about being fair and just in how this once great festival selects movies.

As far as the film industry is concerned, I'm a nobody, some cheeky fatass with a blog that gets a few hundred to a couple thousand hits a month. But for the last ten months I have seen almost every local film released in cinemas and I have paid for almost every screening with my hard earned money. I've made my financial contribution to the industry, and in this case, I'm speaking with my wallet. In the past eleven months, there have been a lot of good movies and a ton of garbage. I think in this case I deserve better. YOU deserve better.

The people who run MMFF think that movies are more business than art? What's the best way to bring down a business? Don't support it.

In addition, I won't be covering the above four films in this space. No posts, no nothing. Instead, I will spend my hard earned money ordering take out or buying gifts or watching the new Star Wars film.

Because presumably they were chosen on the basis of merit, I will probably cover some of the other four MMFF films (Siargao, Haunted Forest, Deadma Walking, Ang Larawan) in this blog and I'll do my part as a paying audience member to support these four films as much as I can and try to stop them from being taken advantage of by those other films.

Dear audience member, do you still want to treat your kid to a movie? The remaining four films were chosen fairly, so you might want to take a look at that. 

Do you think the same way as I do? Then call your local theater and demand for these films to be screened. Take action, spread the word as the movies come out. If these other movies are good, tell others, spread word of mouth. Remember, you deserve better, but the industry isn't going to move for your sake.

Dear filmmaker, if this festival fails to change even next year, consider not submitting your film to the festival next time. If you choose not to listen to me, do not hold any pretensions that your film will be treated fairly if you get in.

If you think our films are worth fighting for, then take a stand and fight.

Or you could let the status quo reign supreme and be content with an unjust, exploitative system. Your call.

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By the way, kids, this is still in IMAX theaters during Christmas:

Tell your parents to take you to watch it. Have fun ❤❤❤❤❤❤<3 p="">

Trekstravaganza: TV Trek 2017 Edition - Star Trek Discovery (Season 1A)

Ever since Star Trek Enterprise ended in 2005, Star Trek fans have waited for the franchise's return to TV. Sure, JJ Abrams rebooted the series in 2009, but Trek has always been a TV show. Since I didn't catch Enterprise during its original run, I've been waiting for new Trek for almost two decades now.

When Star Trek Discovery was announced in 2015, I was hopeful but skeptical. The series would be another prequel series, set 10 years before Star Trek The Original series. It would not be an ensemble series in the normal sense, and for the first time in the franchise's history, the captain would not be the central character.

Having seen the first half of the series (comprising episodes 1-9,) Star Trek Discovery may very well be one of the strongest first seasons of Star Trek ever. With its serialized, long form storytelling (as opposed to the usual episodic storytelling we've seen in most of Trek,) it's a different storytelling method than Trek fans are accustomed to seeing.

Some Star Trek fans have come out against the series, saying that it's not Star Trek. I think it's both: while it doesn't immediately show us the hopeful and promising future we've been accustomed to in Trek, I think it tells a story about how we got there eventually, and the later episodes seem to be approaching that ideal.

Let's take a look at each episode of the first half of the first season of Star Trek Discovery.

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The Vulcan Hello/Battle of the Binary Stars

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Story Description: Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) is the first officer of the USS Shenzhou. While investigating the destruction of a communications relay, the crew of the Shenzhou encounter a faction of Klingons who threaten to unite and present a clear and present danger to the Federation.

Thoughts: These two episodes make up the prologue for the series, setting up some of the characters, premise and story. It boasts feature film-level production quality and great performances from all involved. Michelle Yeoh is the kind of Starfleet captain we'd like to serve under - she's sort of like a proto-Jean Luc Picard. As for the Klingons, the makeup isn't exactly working in their favor as they act, and Klingon isn't the most elegant sounding language for acting. It's fun, but it's not exactly descriptive of Discovery as a series. Moreover, some of the character actions come as a bit weird or too contrived for my taste, but that's subjective stuff.

Context is For Kings

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Story Description: En route to a penal facility, disgraced Starfleet Officer Michael Burnham is intercepted by the USS Discovery. Discovery's captain, Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs), assigns Burnham on a mission to investigate the mysterious events surrounding the Discovery's sister ship, the USS Glenn.

Thoughts: Not gonna lie, I hated this episode when it first came out. Aside from our main character Michael Burnham and her previous shipmate Saru (Doug Jones), none of these characters were in any way likeable. They were all mean to Burnham and uncharacteristic of what we knew about humans in the 23rd century: that they were above pettiness and other 21st century emotions and concerns. It took me a while to justify their attitude towards Burnham, but to be fair justifications do exist. I've come to think of this early part as a consequence of switching over to serialized storytelling. Way back when Trek was episodic, the premiere usually introduced all of the characters in one go. In any case, this is Discovery's true first episode.While I can't say it worked for me, the concepts introduced in this story help set up the rest of the half season.

The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry

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Story Description: The crew of the USS Discovery deal with a potentially dangerous creature. Meanwhile, on the Klingon Ship of the Dead, the heir to T'Kuvma's legacy gets embroiled in political intrigue.

Thoughts: Here's where Discovery starts to find its legs. It's inspired by a number of classic Trek Episodes, namely TOS's Devil in the Dark, TNG's Tin Man, Encounter at Farpoint, Galaxy's Child and so on. Finally, it takes a stand that Starfleet isn't composed of a bunch of warmongers, but scientists and explorers. The Klingon scenes tended to drag, but I suspect the events of this episode will reverberate in the second half of the season.

Choose Your Pain

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Story Description: Lorca is kidnapped by the Klingons and meets conman and criminal Harry Mudd. Meanwhile, Saru and Burnham butt heads over the ethical repercussions of what a rescue attempt might entail.

Thoughts: The A story, where Lorca is kidnapped, is pretty solid. It reintroduces us to the Discovery-era Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson), who is more serious than his TOS counterpart. The plot also introduces us to Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif,) who is one of my favorite characters of the series. The B plot continues the plot from the previous episode, and the ending is very Star Trek. Also, it has to be said: I'm glad that the series seems to consider The Animated Series canon.

Lethe

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Story Description: Sarek (James Frain), Burnham's adoptive father (and Spock's dad), is near death after an assassination attempt. Burnham must race against time and find him before it's too late. Meanwhile, Admiral Cornwell (Jayne Brook) meets up with the Discovery and finds out something regarding her old friend Lorca.

Thoughts: Discovery deviates from the main arc a bit for the next two episodes. This is a character-centric episode that focuses on Burnham's relationship with her adoptive father. There's a good bit in there too about her relationship with her adoptive mother, Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirshner). All in all, it's a really nice breather episode that further develops Burnham's character and helps her open up emotionally to her new friends on the Discovery. Personally, this is the episode where Discovery finally finds its footing and ends up being genuinely enjoyable for me.

Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad

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Story Description: Harry Mudd traps the USS Discovery into a time loop in order to unearth her secrets and sell the ship to the Klingons.

Thoughts: My favorite episode of the series thus far. The basic premise of this episode is similar to the TNG episode Cause and Effect. It uses the time loop concept to tell a love story, and for the most part it works. It reminded me of the episodes of Classic Trek that are fun, engaging and endlessly rewatchable.

Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

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Story Description: Saru, Burnham and Tyler are sent to the planet Pahvo, where they must negotiate a treaty with the native species and use their giant transmitter to act as a sonar that can detect the Klingon cloaking device.

Thoughts: "If you want peace, prepare for war." This episode mostly acts as setup for the midseason finale, while also acting as a character episode for Saru. His race, the Kelpiens, are historically prey species, and are thus born afraid (one wonders how someone like Saru could get through Starfleet!) Saru experiences a life without fear and the results are intoxicating to him. This episode was written by Kirsten Beyer, who wrote a number of Star Trek Voyager novels and she knows the canon inside out.

Into the Forest I Go

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Story Description: Faced with the destruction of Pahvo, the USS Discovery is the planet's sole line of defense against a Klingon attack.

Thoughts: The nice thing about serialized storytelling is that when it pays off, it does with much greater magnitude compared to an episodic form. Into the Forest I Go (the title comes from a line by John Muir) is a very emotionally satisfying episode and at least for the moment resolves some of the series' arcs. There's a scene in this episode where Burnham looks at Saru and it was hard not to get teary-eyed. Also, in this episode Klingons were finally made to speak in English, and their scenes flow far better than their all Klingon speaking scenes. But as season finales go, it needs to have a little cliffhanger to excite us for the season continuation and it delivered. The next episode is directed by none other than Jonathan (Cmdr. William T. Riker) Frakes, who also directed a number of Star Trek episodes and two Star Trek The Next Generation movies.

So while Star Trek Discovery took a while to get off the ground, it personally turned into one of the most engaging and interesting science fiction shows currently out there. There are still a number of aesthetic and design choices that I'm not fully on board with, but I can live with it.

Star Trek Discovery resumes January next year, and once the season is finished, I might do another one of these. Till then, live long and prosper~