Editorial: Hope along Weeping Rivers

I'm back. I guess.

I'm going to tell you all now a story that doesn't go the way it could, but kinda loops back into the way it should.

A couple weeks ago a bunch of people criticized Liza Soberano for starring in the fantasy TV show Bagani, because she doesn't look ethnic or something. I don't know enough about the show to make an opinion. I don't know if, within that context, this casting was justified, and to be honest it isn't the poor girl's fault; it's primarily a profit and artist-oriented decision made by a corporate entity. If anything came out of this it's that people should look at the crooked, outdated system that perpetuates decisions like this and change that first. Now this isn't an essay about representation, or at least representation in this particular case. Soberano responded to these criticisms with a meme-able tweet about her being Filipino, since she was raised by two Filipinos since childhood and she loves sinigang. She might have missed the point of the criticism, but I found something relateable in the way she defended herself.

Intentional or not, Filipinos (and people in general) have this mentality to "other" people who don't look, talk or act exactly like them. We as a people love to stereotype. In response, these people who are "othered" tend to have this feeling that they have to defend their Filipino-ness to others if they don't fit this mental picture of what a Filipino should be, and that's what I think Liza Soberano was thinking when she made that tweet. This stock Filipino self-image is pretty clear: both Filipino parents, relatively conservative, Roman Catholic or at least Christian. When one is half Filipino like Soberano, I don't think Filipinos look at their Filipino-ness. I am of the opinion, unfortunately, that other people (consciously or not) define her by her mixed-ness and not the fact that she's Filipino (and I think she is), because I've experienced this kind of thinking too.

When I was a child, I was the sole Muslim kid in a predominantly Christian/Catholic school. While for the most part, my classmates were accepting of me (they don't give a shit, they're kids), each year there would always be questions from curious teachers or parents about having four wives or praying five times a day or not eating pork. The sentiment was mostly benign, stemming perhaps from curiosity, but even as a child I knew I was different from everyone else in school. Instead of shutting myself away, I embraced being different. I was the weird kid in school that was kinda funny and good at math.

And I wouldn't blame people for thinking that way; it's perpetuated in this country's popular culture. Ask yourself; in mainstream media (TV, movies), how many people don't fit the "stock Filipino self-image?" How many Muslim main characters are there? Are they portrayed as terrorists, or to patronize us, are they portrayed as someone in the military or police, fighting against their own people? How many Chinese Filipinos are portrayed as rich businessmen with thick accents? How many comedy shows do you know make fun of half-black Filipinos because they're ugly, while glorifying their half Caucasian counterparts as paragons of beauty and style? How many assume that people are good at basketball just because they're half black? How many shows portray the probinsyano as a dimwitted person, usually part of the help, who doesn't know the odds and ends of city life?

Through local media, I have always experienced the life of someone else. I have always lived, through movies and TV, someone else's story. I have always lived someone else's idea of me. And I doubt I'm the only one who feels this way. 

What, then, should we do? How do we change this paradigm? Is there hope? The answer came to me from an unlikely source.

I get invites to movies from friends and classmates every so often, but this time it was different. The invitation came from my father. This in itself is an anomaly, as my father rarely goes to watch movies in the cinema, and his idea of a good movie is something like Glitter Man or Blood Sport. Even then, watching a movie at home generally serves as a way to put him to sleep. He told me he was going to watch a film with dialogue in Tausug. I asked for a title or synopsis; perhaps I had seen the movie before. He proudly showed me a text from his classmate inviting him to see the film: apparently, the film was 2016's Women of the Weeping River. As it turns out, Sharifah Pearlsia Ali-Dans, who plays Farida in that film, was his highschool classmate. He offered to treat me to join him, (also a rare event), so I agreed.

For the next two hours, my father and I watched the film, me for the second time. For a man invested in blockbusters and ADHD-appropriate action films, he was hooked; he did not sleep at all, and Women of the Weeping River isn't the most fast paced of movies. He was invested in the film, commenting on what was going on, translating dialogue to me despite the fact that subtitles were there, breathing meaning to words lost to me through atrophy and disuse. I often ask myself, what is the power of regional cinema? And here beside me was the answer: it's power is in making a man pay rapt attention to a film that would otherwise have turned him away, because this film is his story; it's the story of his people, a story that hasn't been told in mainstream avenues.

After the film, he gave me a CD. "It's from our highschool reunion," he told me. It was full of  school photos and pictures from Jolo, Sulu, before and after the Burning of Jolo. Some of those pictures are in this post. I still look at the CD from time to time.

short thoughts on Mr. and Mrs. Cruz

When we see Gela (Ryza Cenon) and Raffy (JC Santos) arrive at Palawan, the premise feels oddly familiar, as if it were cast from the same mold as other local romantic comedies: the film takes place in a scenic location (Palawan), and it features two characters finding each other while dealing with their respective heartbreaks. Comparisons can be made with this film and other recent romantic movies like Siargao or That Thing Called Tadhana.

But it would be a disservice to call the film cliched, as it innovates on the genre in interesting ways: the nature of Gela and Raffy's heartbreak is both similar and dissimilar -  both are rooted in leaving a long term relationship, but they mirror each other at the same time - creating an interesting dynamic towards the end of the film. In addition, during its last third, it becomes strangely self aware, its characters seemingly cognizant of the fact that they're in a romantic movie.

Mr and Mrs. Cruz acknowledges the artifice of the romantic comedy; the film reflexively contemplates the unlikely events that led to Raffy and Gela meeting in the first place, and perhaps audience expectations that, by the end of the film, Raffy and Gela will have found each other and life happily ever after. At the same time, it manages to tell an interesting story about two broken people trying to understand the root of their heartbreak through someone else's perspective. To that end, the film is mostly packed with long conversations between Raffy and Gela, ruminating on the nature of love and commitment. But it's not only in the conversations that the film manages to make its point; it's in the meaning behind words, in subtext, in silent gestures. There's a great scene near the end of the film where the two characters, now having achieved a certain level of trust with each other, just pour their hearts out. It's a wonderful performance by both Cenon and Santos, whose chemistry together elevates the film.

Director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo's filmic work traverses a variegated patchwork of romantic permutations: first love in Ang Huling Chacha ni Anita, old love in Lorna, love in terms of distances in Kita Kita. Mr. and Mrs. Cruz looks back at what has come before and reflects on these notions, going straight to the root of all relationships - communication, empathy and understanding - and building something entertaining and meaningful from it.

a few thoughts on Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes

(Busting this out as fast as I can because it's busy time.)

Lianne and Cindy Reyes are both happily married to their husbands. Or at least that's what it seems at first. When they learn that their husbands are having an affair with each other, they team up to get to the bottom of the situation.

A lesser film would have taken sides. A lesser film would have played it out in the tried and true tradition of the infidelity film and made the thing sensationalistic, trading nuance with trashy drama. A lesser film would probably make Lianne and Cindy the heroes of the story, while categorically condemning the husbands. A lesser film could also have championed the husbands' exploits while dismissing the real pain they inflicted on their wives. But the writer/s and director of this film understand that the situation is far more complex, and ultimately that's to the film's benefit.

It's right to be true to one's self, but it's wrong to do so without a sense of transparency and candor. It's right to be angry at someone for abandoning you, but it's wrong to be petty and vindictive. The film tackles all that and includes the social factors that shape each character's decisions. There is no communication because of a culture of shame. There is ignorance, which breeds confusion. There is a sense of righteousness because people do not stop to empathize.

And remarkably, as nuanced and thoughtful as this all sounds, this is still a very entertaining, "mainstream"-flavored Star Cinema comedy. Judy Ann Santos and Angelica Panganiban have great chemistry together, and a minor supporting performance by Nico Antonio is so noteworthy, his character almost steals the show.

Ang Dalawang Mrs Reyes is a great example of a film that remains attuned to mass sensibilities but still manages to make its audience think and manages to address relevant contemporary social issues as well. 

Happy new year one and all.

Present Confusion 2017 Rundown Part 3 - World Cinema Favorites

((((smooching sounds))))

When someone tells you that he or she has watched all of the movies in 2017, he or she is probably lying. For the world makes so many films each year it would probably be impossible (or at least very difficult) to watch each one of them. But people watch what they watch, and inevitably they have a number of cinematic experiences that are for keeps.

Today I'll be talking to you about fifteen of my favorite films from world cinema in 2017. This list does not include Philippine films, which we tackled in the two previous parts of this yearender special. This is hardly a representative sample of the entirety of cinema around the world to be sure, and opinions can change over time. What I want to do is provide a snapshot of my moviegoing life in 2017, perhaps for posterity, perhaps so that I can laugh about it five years from now, perhaps both.

First I have to mention films from that weird place in between 2016 and 2017: Oscars Award season films. I'm not including them in this list, since they occupy the limbo between a 2016 release date in the US and a 2017 release date here so I'm not sure where to put them (and that would expand my list to 18 films, which would bloat my list too much for my taste.) Three of the films for consideration in the 89th Academy Awards are excellent enough to mention, and in rough order from 3rd to 1st, they are: Damien Chazelle's La La Land, Barry Jenkins' Moonlight and Denis Villeneuve's Arrival. All three are great films: the first is a nostalgic (if a bit rose-tinted) look at old Hollywood, the second is a fascinating bildungsroman intertwined with heartbreak and broken dreams, and the third is astounding high concept science fiction with a very human heart.

Honorable mentions for this year include Naomi Kawase's Sweet Bean, Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, Yoji Yamada's What a Wonderful Family! Ildiko Enyedi's On Body and Soul, James Gray's The Lost City of Z, Oliver Assayas' Personal Shopper, Joachim Trier's Thelma, Andrey Zvyagintsev's Loveless, Robin Campillo's 120 BPM, Naoko Yamada's A Silent Voice and Hong Sang-soo's On The Beach at Night Alone.

With that out of the way, I present to you:

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John Tawasil's

2017 World Cinema Favorites

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15. Okja (Bong Joon-ho, 2017)

This was a year where streaming services caught the attention of the movie establishment in a big way. Bong Joon-ho's Okja premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to both cheers (because of the movie itself) and jeers (because it was sponsored by and is primarily distributed via Netflix). Controversy aside, Bong's latest film may not be top tier Bong, but it's still a fascinating film about the corporate machine and about language itself through translation.

14. Newton (Amit Masurkar, 2017)

2017 was a year where democracy faced attack from fronts both overt and insidious, where deceit and lies obscure truth and justice. But what is democracy anyway? What is the responsibility of an electorate? Masurkar's film, Newton, explores the meaning of democracy by looking at an uncompromising, almost intransigent poll worker working in one of the most dangerous polling stations in India. His idealism instantly clashes with the social realities of the world's largest democracy. Newton traces its roots back to some of the most meaningful Indian political satire films and continues that tradition, which puts forward the notion that in a democracy, true and lasting change comes only from uncompromising, unceasing work.

13. The Third Murder (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2017)

Meanwhile, while other democracies fall, others stand on dubious ground. Films like The Third Murder explore their respective countries' justice system and how broken it can be. Whether it be institutional corruption or notions of convenience, the dilemmas explored in The Third Murder ring true in countries like our own.

While it can be frustrating to those used to the mystery or crime procedural drama genre, the questions raised by this film are in my opinion far more meaningful than any concrete answer or admission of innocence or guilt.

12-11. (Tie) Call Me By Your Name (Guadagnino, 2017) and Before We Vanish (Kurosawa, 2017)

Call Me By Your Name and Before We Vanish both explore different kinds of love: the former dwells on a finite love that lingers painfully for a long time, while the latter dwells on a love that is infinite, a love that changes the world, a kind of love that can be just as painful.

10. Breath (Narges Abyar, 2016)

This year seems to be the year of child's perspective films; the Philippines has Nervous Translation, Spain has Carla Simon's Summer 1993, and there's Sean Baker's The Florida Project. But in my opinion the film that did it the best this year is Narges Abyar's Breath (Nafas), whose whimsical, playfully meandering story takes place during the devastating Iran-Iraq war.

9. Clash (Mohamed Diab, 2016)

There were many films about the fallout of the Arab Spring released in this year and the last, most of them were about the continuing civil war in Syria. In Clash, a group of protesters from opposite sides of the Egyptian civil war are trapped inside a hot, claustrophobic prison van. It's tense all throughout up to a certain tragic point where we realize back in the day, these were people united in a cause to overturn a dictatorship, and now we see them deeply divided, clutching at each others' throats.

8. Logan (James Mangold, 2017)

2017 seems to be the year where I have officially become fed up with superhero movies. But there are a few exceptions, and Logan's the best exception of them all for 2017. Maybe it's because it's such an un-superhero movie, since it deconstructs the whole mythos of being a hero in the first place. It's the Wolverine movie I've always wanted for a while, and a perfect send off to Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. It uses the Western genre to perfectly capture the end of an age and the enduring legacy of a beloved character.

7. Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017)

Before I knew Jordan Peele as just "that guy from Key and Peele." But after seeing Peele's remarkable first film Get Out - horror film, satire, and critique of white liberalism all in one package - Jordan Peele has cemented himself as a filmmaker to watch out for in the future. It's a dark and twisted subversion of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, made even more relevant in post-Trump America.

6. Bad Genius (Nattawut Poonpiriya, 2017)

Thailand had a great output of films this year both mainstream and arthouse, and Bad Genius counts as one of this year's best. This tense thriller about academic renegades plays out like a bank heist, except the target is not a huge cache of gold, but answers to test questions. It's by far the most riveting two hours of cinema I've experienced this year.

5. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (S.S. Rajamouli, 2017)

In a time where conventional Hollywood blockbusters have lost much of their luster comes brave and bold filmmaking from the largest and most prolific movie industry in the world. Baahubali as a combined epic is ambitious, technically masterful and poetic, and it's a shame not a lot of people outside of India managed to see this film. Baahubali isn't just my favorite blockbuster film of the year, it's also my favorite superhero film of the year as well.

4. In this Corner of the World (Sunao Katabuchi, 2016/7)

In 2016, Sunao Katabuchi's In this Corner of the World served as a foil to teenage romance anime films such as Your Name and A Silent Voice. Katabuchi's film may draw some similarities to Ghibli classic Grave of the Fireflies, but this film differs significantly in that it's unabashedly hopeful despite its (at times) overwhelming darkness, finding happiness in perseverance and in hope itself.

3. Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017)

A caveat: had Arrival been included in this list, I would have counted that as the better film instead; nevertheless, Villeneuve's follow-up to the 1982 Ridley Scott science fiction classic is amazing science fiction in itself, discussing human relationships and connection, (un)reality, and existential questions of purpose and being. It's one of my most unforgettable experiences on the big screen this year.

2. The Square (Ruben Ostlund, 2017)

The Square is an interesting creature, exposing the hypocrisy of highbrow art circles and examining the social contract under a microscope. The characters in The Square are kept walking in circles by their own egos and notions of self importance, unable to see real societal problems happening underneath their noses, unable to effect real social change.  Of course art can be used as a force for good, but when misused or buried underneath postmodern gobbledygook, what happens to it? That's one of many questions asked by this film.

1. Harmonium (Koji Fukada, 2016/7)

A thematic evolution of Fukada's earlier films, Harmonium dissects the Japanese family unit with surgical precision, tackling themes of redemption, social responsibility and parenthood. Slow-paced yet absorbing, and devastating up to the very last frame, Harmonium is my favorite film of 2017.

***

That's the end for Present Confusion in 2017. Thank you all for spending the time to read this blog for the past year. This has been the blog's most prolific year, and I only wish for the site to grow more in the coming years. I'm not as young as I used to be when I started writing about movies in 2005, but I think I still have a few more years left in me. I've always told myself I'll keep doing it as long as I love doing it, and I still do.

Now, for a little announcement: for real life reasons, I probably won't be around as much for the first few months of the year, but worry not; I'll still be around. Happy New Year and see you guys at the movies in 2018!

Present Confusion 2017 Rundown Part 2 - Philippine Cinema Odds, Ends, and Unfavorites

I ran out of captions lol

A yearly recap, as I've come to learn, consists of so much more than just a list of the year's favorite films. And I say favorites because people are varied and so are experiences, so instead of insisting on the "best" I say my favorites instead. (It's easier that way.) And reducing the entirety of a year to a small list of 10-15 films lacks nuance, as some films may not be overall as great, but had something in it that made me take notice anyway.

John Tawasil's

Special Citations for Philippine Film in 2017

Most Pleasant Surprise: Throwback Today (Dir. Joseph Teoxon, 2017)

I was ready to dismiss this film outright when I saw it at Cinema One Originals, and that was wrong of me. I've learned never to judge a film by its cover and leave all expectations at the door. This film and its permutations of fate and taking control of one's destiny doesn't feel as epic as I thought it would have, but it still ultimately works.

Favorite Local Horror Film [not in the top 15]: Hinog (Second Part of Triptiko; Dir. Mico Michelena, 2017)

Triptiko as a whole is pretty hit and miss, but in terms of what it does with the body horror genre, Hinog, the movie's second part, is pretty great stuff. It features great visual effects, and it has a fun little story that reminds me of the Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits.

Funniest Comedy (Unintentional): Ang Guro Kong Di Marunong Magbasa (Dir. Perry Escano, 2017)

It's still not a good movie by any means, but have you ever seen a movie that gets everything so wrong, the result is hilarious? I'm not going to recommend this to anyone, but my reviews really haven't been about recommendations.

Funniest Comedy (Intentional): Si Chedeng at si Apple (Dir. Tabada/Red, 2017)

I'm not including Patay na si Hesus because that was 2016's funniest comedy. This time around, the funny Bisdak road trip takes a different approach, empowering two women relegated to the sidelines for far too long, and the result is pretty wild.

Runner-up: Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha (Dir. Mes De Guzman, 2017)

Best Film Festival Sponsor: Gardenia

When that Gardenia truck parked at the CCP during the last half of Cinemalaya 13, I felt like a giant thorn had been plucked out of my chest. A true patron of the cinematic arts eats a loaf of bread during a film festival. There is no alternative.

Favorite Restored Film: Moral (Dir. Marilou Diaz-Abaya, 1982)

To say that Moral was ahead of its time is an understatement; this is a fabulous film about womanhood set in a time when people still didn't know what that word fully meant.

Creepiest Male Romcom Lead: Joma (Jericho Rosales) from Luck at First Sight (Dir. Dan Villegas, 2017)

Sure, we had our share of stalkery types this year, but for what those guys were worth, they had good intentions. Joma is the embodiment of the creepiest guy you could ever get as a romantic partner: emotionally manipulative to a fault and addicted to gambling, all buried under pretty boy looks and charm. So not only will he take advantage of you emotionally, he'll also do it financially. At least he (spoiler alert) gets it together in the end.

Most Candy Coated Example of Cheating: Can't Help Falling In Love (Dir. Mae Cruz-Alviar, 2017)

If the person you're cheating with is your movie love team partner, does that justify the cheating? 

Most Explosive Food: Exploding Lechon, Awol (Dir. Enzo Williams, 2017)

I'm not talking about explosive diarrhea here. Absurd as the premise may be, an exploding roasted pig becomes the impetus for the tepid action movie that is AWOL, and that's something.

Craziest Thing Done to an Animal on Film: The Goat in Ladyfish (Dir. Jason Orfalas, 2017)

Dry humping a goat is one thing, actually humping a goat and streaming it online is a completely different thing. You see nothing of the actual humping but it's implied, letting one's imagination run wild. Now that's filmmaking.

Most unfortunate geologic formation in Philippine Cinema: The rock in Requited (Dir. Nerissa Picadizo, 2017)

No pile of rocks deserves a facial. Sadface.

I was considering including a list of favorite performances for the year, but that would take up most of the space of this article, since much of Philippine Cinema is defined by its actors and actresses. Notable performances include Maja Salvador for I'm Drunk I Love You, Dexter Doria (and the entire cast, for that matter) for Paki, Dido Dela Paz for Respeto, Jally Nae Gibaliga for The Chanters, Eula Valdez for Neomanila, Joshua Garcia for Love you to the Stars and Back, Joanna Ampil for Ang Larawan, and Jojit Lorenzo and Agot Isidro for Changing Partners (to name a few.)

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Favorite Short Films:

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This year was not a good year for me and short films, as I did not manage to watch a lot, even in major film festivals. But here are a few I really liked, in rough order:

Babylon (Dir. Keith Deligero) is a trippy, wild and out of this world film that explores rebellion and tyranny and micro-sizes it, putting the action in the context of a small town. What transpires is just as absurd as if it had been a president and not a baranggay chairman who was assassinated. It's thoroughly engaging and inventive fare.

Si Astri Maka Si Tambulah (Dir. Xeph Suarez) is QCinema's best short film. It successfully captures how hard some people have it in terms of their sexual identity just because they're different than everyone else, AND it relates this experience through a cultural lens that honestly hasn't been explored yet. 

Kun di' Man (Dir. Phyllis Grande) is a very sweet film that won me over from the very beginning, because I'm a sucker for old love. It's as simple as that.

In his Island (Sa Saiyang Isla; Dir. Christian Candelaria) is an excellent film that manages to discuss so many important issues, while still staying within the boundaries of the short film medium. And it does so without bloating the film or its content. That in itself is amazing, considering that this short is a thesis film by a first time filmmaker.

***

Now that we've gone through my favorites, It's now time for some of the worst this year. While some of the films on this list have their share of fans, to me they represent some of the worst (and sometimes most hilarious) cinematic experiences of my year. From films that just stopped trying, to films that mean well but lose something in their execution, everything is in the following list. Watching bad movies is hard, guys. 

The Portrait of the Film Reviewer as a Filipino (Tawasil, 2017)

John Tawasil's

Unfavorite Local Films of 2017

Yes, unfavorite is a word, I don't make shit up like "dramaturg" or whatever the fuck that is

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Special Citation: Joel Lamangan (Bes and the Beshies, Foolish Love, This Time I'll Be Sweeter)

Seriously, is this guy even trying anymore? Sometimes I wonder if I'm missing something, but I feel like his films are just lazy attempts nowadays. Other directors have been more prolific with a far better output. His films may not be the worst, but they are still quite disappointing.

10. Double Barrel (MASTER DIRECTOR Toto Natividad, 2017)

This film is relatively low on the list (which is a good thing) because I don't really know what it's trying to say. It's a particularly trashy example of the movies exploring the current state of the Drug War (there are many on this list) and this by far is the tamest. It's barely watchable, but even then the ending leaves a lot to be desired.

9. Ang Guro Kong Di Marunong Magbasa (Dir. Perry Escano, 2017)

I don't hate this film. No, really. The fact of the matter is, I kinda enjoyed it, which is why the film is still pretty low on this list. But it's a wholly misguided attempt to promote its (VERY relevant) advocacy. In particular, the way it genericizes Muslims and indigenous peoples just doesn't fly with me. Couple that with absurd plot developments and one of the most unforgettably insane character deaths in local cinema and what you have is a bad film that means well.

8. Requited (Dir. Nerissa Picadizo, 2017)

This film is my least favorite Cinemalaya experience this year. Its toxic romance is insufferable from beginning to end, it has annoying characters (not the fault of the actors) and its major dramatic twist elicited chuckles and groans instead of gasps. At least I got a bar of soap for my trouble.

7. Baklad (Dir. Topel Lee, 2017)

Horny Fish Boys is the sleaziest film of the year, and remember this is a year where we had a movie where we had people livestreaming bestiality. But that in itself isn't enough to merit an inclusion on this list; more than the nauseating sleaze, the film feels very unfinished. It's as if after making 2/3 of a film the crew rushed this thing to meet a deadline.

6. The Barker (Dir. Dennis Padilla, 2017) 

Speaking of unfinished films, have you ever had a moment where you can't finish a film properly, so you decide to just half-ass the thing by shoehorning in a dance scene at the end? That's how I felt when I watched this film. It feels like a cheap attempt to cash in on Kita Kita and that feels so wrong.

5. Amalanhig The Vampire Chronicle (Dir. Jun Posadas, 2017)

Characters making stupid decisions is a trait possessed by  a lot of horror films, especially of the slasher variety. But Amalanhig takes that notion up to infinity. These are the most determined characters in any film I have ever seen. Had I just a fraction of the academic knuckleheadedness of these kids in real life, I probably would ironically have won the Nobel Prize by now. Then again, these characters are morons, so I don't think I'd go very far if I shared their traits.

4. Higanti (Dir. Rommel Ricafort, 2017)

Higanti proves that you shouldn't judge a movie by its title to notable extremes: for a movie literally titled "Revenge" there isn't a lot of revenge going on in this film. Its biggest sin, however, is not the fact that it's misleading, it's simply boring to watch.

3. Across the Crescent Moon (Dir. Baby Nebrida, 2017)

This award-winning film (I'm not kidding) likes a lot of things. For example, it likes repetition, since it repeats the same statistics twice in a row during a narration segment. It also says something about how human trafficking is bad, while having a character berate a human trafficking victim for not being lucid enough at the same time. It has exciting chase sequences where a boat runs out of fuel mid-chase. And allow me to apologize to my parents once again for not bringing down any Human Trafficking syndicates to date, as an unmarriageable son, I shall commit Seppuku once this year is over.

I've eschewed the usual movie poster for a flashback to my actual reaction to the next film.

2. DAD: Durugin Ang Droga (Dir. Dinky Doo Clarion, 2017)

I really don't know where to start describing this film. Whenever I see legitimate film critics from other countries say so and so is the worst film of 2017, I laugh, because I know they are wrong, and I think to myself, bitch, you haven't seen Durugin ang Droga. Borne out of our current political quagmire, Durugin ang Droga is the kind of film that tries to espouse some kind of moralistic message about how drugs are bad. I kinda feel sorry for every aspiring filmmaker with a good story and untapped talent who will never get to make their story into film, while people like Dinky Doo excrete turds like this and release them willy nilly in cinemas. The world is not fair. The only reason this is in second place is because of its singular gift to Filipino cinema, a flashback scene so epic that it defies human logic and common sense.

me, after watching the #1 film on this shitlist

1. Kamandag ng Droga (Dir. Carlo J. Caparas, 2017)

I think, in the future, whenever people look back at 2017, they will note the beginning of a new era, an era started by this masterpiece of shit by 2016 FAMAS Director Par Excellance Carlo J. Caparas. Films will be categorized into pre-Kamandag and post-Kamandag movies, and retrospectives will be carried out in hallowed halls. Maybe. Even without the overt politicizing, Kamandag ng Droga is Caparas at his most exploitative: basking in the crime itself, the sleaze, the heinousness, the devastation it brings, relegating victims to undignified cinematic deaths, granting them no respect. All this, hidden under the pretense of concern, itself a veneer of condescension. But then, I remember, this is nothing new: I remember watching Caparas' Vizconde Massacre 2 back in the day and wondering why a sequel had to be made, and indeed the proof is in the pudding. While Lauro Vizconde appears in the film to thank Caparas for his effort, it's ultimately a misguided attempt: it merely revisits the crime over and over, inflicting repeated trauma on the family members left behind, exploiting the poor ghosts of the Vizcondes for entertainment and curiosity, usyoso at its most extreme. That's the kind of movie Caparas tends to make, and it doesn't get any worse than Kamandag ng Droga.

Perhaps I've not made myself clear enough. Suppose, in a fit of artistic inspiration, our 2016 FAMAS Director Par Excellance decides to take an actual shit on camera, it might be preferable to this film.

***

The final part of this year's roundup is Present Confusion's World Cinema Favorites list of 2017. Stay tuned.

Present Confusion 2017 Rundown Part 1 - Philippine Cinema Favorites

Donald, Donald, Donald...

The end of the year is fast approaching, and it's time to look back at the year that just passed by. 2017 is an interesting year for Philippine Cinema. 2016 was a great year, but there were only a few films that I found were truly outstanding. This year, on the other hand, had a lot of standouts. It won't be surprising if best-of film lists for this year vary wildly in which films are included, perhaps with the exception of a handful of truly exceptional films.

I've seen 80-85% of the local films that aired in cinemas this year, much more than previous years. I challenged myself to write something about all of these movies, and aside from ten or so films, I succeeded. I'm going to be honest with you guys, it isn't easy. Films disappear quickly in Philippine cinemas, so it's a bit difficult to catch every one. I salute the person who watched 100 percent of 2017's local films, but then again, cinephilia is neither a competition nor a race.

Big studio movies made their mark in 2017, mostly banking on star talent and love teams. As of this writing, most of the highest grossing local films were made by the Star Cinema juggernaut. But a quirky little film called Kita Kita surprised many by grossing more than 300 million pesos, making it the highest grossing local independent film of all time.

The usual film festival players came back to show quality films, although some fests like Cinefilipino took a break this year. My favorite film festival for the year is the 2017 edition of Cinema One Originals, whose lineup was nothing short of remarkable. Every film tried to push the envelope, and the documentary section was extraordinary. Even the worst film in Cinema One Originals' lineup was not that bad. QCinema was hot on its heels, expanding its coverage and delivering a quality lineup of films as well.

Cinemalaya, now on its 13th year, had a lineup that was mostly okay to passable, but it had two really great films that did a lot despite the fact that these films had smaller financial grants compared to their cousins from other film festivals.

The other minor fests had their day in the spotlight, too: Sinag Maynila kept chugging along, and ToFarm Film Festival, the most unlikely marriage of agriculture and cinema ever, had its share of interesting fare. (Unfortunately it looks like ToFarm will be taking a break next year.)

With progress comes regress, and the trainwreck that is this years MMFF is the best example. It's evidence that when faced with good but uncomfortable change, people tend to go back to the status quo, shitty as it is, because money and short term profit, not art, is their bottom line.

And did anyone notice we had a bunch of interesting genre experiments this year? 2017 had two found footage films (Darkroom and Salvage), a science fiction film (Instalado), two musicals (Changing Partners and Ang Larawan), a time travel film (Throwback Today), several crime dramas, and weird horror movies like Nay, Bloody Crayons and Pwera Usog. It isn't all romcoms and comedies this year, which I thought was a step in the right direction. Sure, it didn't all work, but hey, everyone gets credits for trying.

Even more than that, I appreciate all the new friendships I made with fellow cinephiles in 2017. I really like talking about these films, and I believe good discourse stems from a tightly knit community, so I wish all of you the best in the coming year and I hope to see you all at the movies.

Because I have so much more to say than normal, we will be splitting this year's yearender feature into three parts: Part 1 will tackle my 15 favorite local films from 2017, Part 2 will tackle special "awards" and the worst local films of 2017, and Part 3 will tackle the rest of the world.

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John Tawasil's

FAVORITE LOCAL FILMS OF 2017

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Honorable Mentions

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5. Tu Pug Imatuy (Arnel Barbarona, 2017) - seldom do we see films about the impact of militarization on Mindanao's countrysides and the marginalization of indigenous peoples that stem from it. In that regard, Tu Pug Imatuy (the Right to Kill) is an important film. It may be relatively simple compared to other films in this list, but it's no less powerful.

4. Love You to the Stars and Back (Antoinette Jadaone, 2017) - Fresh from JoshLia's debut in Vince and Kath and James (2016) comes this interesting romance, a romcom that seems to follow convention but subverts it in interesting ways. Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto are the tandem to beat. Also, that's one of the best posters of the year.

3. Ang Larawan, (Loy Arcenas, 2017) - MMFF 2017's best film is a faithful, if at times safe, adaptation of Nick Joaquin's Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. A perfect foil to the creative stagnation of MMFF films, the very heart of the film celebrates a sense of rebellion against the world. Contra mundum indeed.

2. Balangiga: Howling Wilderness (Khavn, 2017) - the Khavn film that finally won me over, it's his most accessible film, and perhaps one of his most polarizing. This film isn't in the top 10 only for the fact that I've come to learn that it isn't finished and reflects only a part of Khavn's ultimate vision for the film. Sure, I had my problems with it, but I really enjoyed it and I'm eager to see future iterations of the film if it ever gets polished a bit more.

1. Nervous Translation (Shireen Seno, 2017) - nostalgia is a powerful thing, and I'll be the first to admit it helped in my appreciation of Nervous Translation, but aside from that, it's just a very well made movie about the strangeness and innocence of childhood and how children perceive the world around them. Of all the films this year that try to capture a child's perspective (there are a LOT), Nervous Translation is one of the films that does it the best.

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TOP TEN FAVORITE FILMS OF 2017

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10. Salvage (Sherad Anthony Sanchez, 2015/2017) - Salvage is a film that seems to take the found footage route but later evolves into something stranger and more profound. Its final 15 minutes count for some of the most haunting filmic images I've seen this year.

9. Birdshot (Mikhail Red, 2017) - Mikhail Red released two films this year, and I prefer this one a bit more. It's a tense thriller about corruption and its insidious effects on society as a whole. Technically it's one of the year's most skillfully made, showing a director whose skills belie his young age.

8. The Chanters (James Robin Mayo, 2017) - I love The Chanters. It's a film about old traditions and new, cherishing both without rejecting one or the other. It makes an interesting case for the symbiosis of tradition and technology, a melding of old and new, past and future, into something lasting and beautiful.

7. Kiko Boksingero (Thop Nazareno, 2017) - There is sometimes merit in simplicity, and Kiko Boksingero manages to succeed where other, more complex films, baggage and all, do not. It's not the sports drama I expected it to be; what I got instead was something far more interesting: a little coming of age film that proves to be genuinely affecting in its last few minutes.

6. I'm Drunk, I Love You (JP Habac, 2017) - It's easy to forget a film like I'm Drunk I Love You among the slew of romantic films released this year, especially since it was released way back in February. But JP Habac's film is more a coming of age film than it is a romance, and I gravitated toward it more than I expected. Maja Salvador was a revelation, delivering one of the year's best performances.

5. Smaller and Smaller Circles (Raya Martin, 2017) - I still haven't fully read F.H. Batacan's original book yet, but that doesn't really matter in this case. Smaller and Smaller Circles as a film in itself transcends the crime genre to make observations on our society and the darkness that seeps into it.

4. Changing Partners (Dan Villegas, 2017) - Dan Villegas' best film so far. While in itself Changing Partners is a capable musical production, Villegas uses the elements of cinema to further enhance the experience, creating a movie that is more than just "theater on film." The four leads are perfect for their roles, with Jojit Lorenzo and Agot Isidro delivering career-best performances.

3. Paki (Giancarlo Abrahan, 2017) - Abrahan's sophomore feature, Paki, was made with a certain aesthetic and sensibility that I just love; I guess I'm just a sucker for films like this. It has one of the best ensemble performances of the year, and Dexter Doria's performance makes me emotional just thinking about it.

2. Motherland (Ramona Diaz, 2017) - This year's best Filipino documentary is about a topic that is very close to my heart: reproductive health. The film says something we health professionals, patients and health advocates have been saying for years: women need access to and education regarding their right to bear (or not to bear) children. Anything other than that is a violation of their human rights. Diaz elects to show reality as it is without narration or judgement, revealing fundamental truths about how we treat (or mistreat) our women in society.

1. Respeto (Treb Monteras II, 2017) - in the dozens of Filipino films I've watched this year, not one film has matched the emotional resonance and intensity of Treb Monteras' Respeto, especially its last few minutes. It's a film that broke all my expectations by doing something amazing: it takes the hip hop film genre and connects the past to the present in ways I didn't know were possible. In this era of trashy, condescending movies about the Philippines in the middle of a disastrous war on drugs, this is one of the only films that does it justice.

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Up Next: Favorite Comedy? Most Surprising Film? Most Brain-Meltingly Bad Local Films of the year? We got it all in part 2 of Present Confusion's 2017 Year in Review.

MMFF 2017 | Deadma Walking

When John (Joross Gamboa) finds out that his cancer is terminal, he recruits his best friend Mark (Edgar Allan Guzman) to fake his death and stage a fake wake. The mechanics and the motivations behind this are kinda iffy, but in essence John wants to see how the people in his life react to his passing. (Apparently in this universe there are no ghosts. Hehe.)

It's hard not to compare Deadma Walking to last year's Die Beautiful, but other than the fact that there's a wake, the two films diverge in what is explored because of the wake. Deadma Walking is more about the unique relationship between the two leads, a once-in-a-lifetime friendship that's pretty hard to come by these days. While played mostly for laughs, the wake puts a bit of pressure on the relationship between the two.

It goes without saying that the film is funny, mostly thanks to the two lead actors. Edgar Allan Guzman gives one of his best ever performances as Mark; his performance overflows with wit and charm.

The rest of the film, however, leaves much to be desired. There's a lot in the execution of Deadma Walking that left me wanting. The editing is weird at times and the script, as award-winning as it may be, has some third act problems. While there's a certain dramatic turn near the end that delivers a genuinely emotional moment, it feels too abrupt so as to seem contrived; add that to the fact that the film doesn't dwell on it too much, and ultimately it ends a bit too abruptly for my taste (a few end credit scenes do help in that regard.)

The film is relatively enjoyable, but other than stellar performances by both actors, there's little holding Deadma Walking together.

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That ends my MMFF 2017 coverage and my local film coverage for the year. Stay tuned for this year's rundown of the best and worst of 2017.