The 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival ends today,
January 7. Well, supposedly. It was extended until January 10 because
the demand is that high. And honestly, after years of the Same Old
Shit, it isn’t surprising. Much has been said about this MMFF
renaissance and I would only like to reiterate the essence of it: it
should have always been about cinema that intends to make the
audience—Filipinos, first and foremost—raise the discourse
regarding art, and in turn, critique life vis à vis the silver screen. This was the core during its inception in 1975, and it should still be that way today.
Thus, this will be a quick roundup of MMFF
2016. But before that, I would just like to say that Tito Sotto is a
walking piece of garbage who wastes the taxpayers’ money. (Context:
here.) He is *insert negative adjective here* (but my 3 personal picks are:
useless, stupid, and pathetic).
Background: Admittedly, this was only the 2nd year
that I have participated in the MMFF. The first time was in 2015,
when I watched Honor Thy Father. (But then again, it’s not often
that I watch movies on the big screen anyway.) HOWEVER!! I am proud
to say that I watched all 8 films!!!! On December 27, 28, and 29, I
watched 2 movies each. IT WAS EXHAUSTING TBH. I DON’T KNOW HOW
FILBURT DEE DOES IT BUT WHEW. I then watched the last 2 films last
January 3. It was also nice that Mina Esguerra had a nice promo so yay I got
free e-books! So yeah, there it is!
This is my ranking of the MMFF 2016 films:
4. Oro
5. Seklusyon
6. Saving Sally
7. Kabisera
 |
| Taken from Cinema Bravo |
Sunday Beauty Queen deserves its Best Picture
title. Period. This groundbreaking documentary presents the classic
tale of the OFW but it’s made more interesting because it focuses
on the fabulous niche of the Hong Kong workers who relieve a week’s
worth of work by holding beauty pageants. The beauty pageant is an
inseparable part of Filipino pop culture—one famous quip says
that the crime rate in the Philippines is zero during two events: a
Manny Pacquiao fight (yuck) and a Miss Universe competition—and
it is brought to a foreign land where Filipinos have to struggle with
many issues such as homesickness, unreasonable labor policies,
shelter, etc. The premise itself drips with melodrama, and sure
enough, it made me shed a few tears, but the movie is still genuinely full of
heart.
It’s a 10/10 for me, in spite of the fact that,
unlike most documentaries, the narrative between the stories was not
that tight. In its defense, I would argue that each of the stories of the
OFWs is different from one another. IIRC the focus was only on 5
people, but there were thousands in the background—living,
breathing fellow natives who have their own 6 days’ worth of
problems that they shrug off their backs come Sunday beauty pageant
time. It’s a must-see not just because of its cultural relevance (I
am noting again that I actually liked its editing) but because this
is the larger picture that most of us will probably never get to see nor
experience, and that is an exposition that is both humbling and
eye-opening.
Die Beautiful is another film about byukons
(beauty contests). The film is lacking in terms of its narrative and
its discourse, but the identity it presents is sometimes overwhelming.
Trisha Echeverria (Patrick who?) is a friend, a daughter, a sister, a
mother, a victim, a friend, a woman. At certain points in the film, we see
Trisha as one of these things, but we have to remember that she is
all of these. That truth can be hard to digest (and honestly, the
non-linear nature of the movie doesn’t help) but that’s why this
story is fun to dissect. TBH I was confused about the chronology of
the movie just before its ending, but everything made sense in the
end anyway. I wasn’t satisfied though. But that's the point: the story has a lot of room
for improvement, and the little details are important, like the fact
that Trisha didn’t die of a sex-related disease or the pangs of
single motherhood.
These two films are the most important ones in the
festival because it is not often that we get to see women of color—cis and trans—as stars on the big screen. I am saying this not
just because these cinematic stories exist, but also because they are
done well and sensitively. This Rappler article mentions an anecdote
about a taxi driver being disappointed that Die Beautiful wasn’t a
“happy” movie. I’m sure he’s not alone, and I can’t blame
them. These people have probably only seen the tropes of The Sissy
(watch The Celluloid Closet for more information—it’s on
YouTube) or The Gay Comedian in the movies, both one-dimensional
sexless accessories, and the common parlorista in real life. But Die
Beautiful breathes life into these often overlooked people, made
powerful by career-defining performances from Paolo Ballesteros and
Christian Bables. Trisha as an all-consuming, multifaceted person can
be too much to handle at times, even to me, but this is a story worth telling,
especially to people who may not even know that these people have a story
in the first place, stories that go beyond the makeup, the swishing.
This is important.
I’ll talk about Oro and Kabisera concurrently
because I feel that the strengths of the former can be used as a
reference to improve the latter. I believe Kabisera is the first Nora
Aunor-starrer that I have finished watching and I know that that’s
an embarrassing thing to admit lol. (I never got around to finishing
Himala and I remember being in and out of interest with Bona—but that was because I felt sleepy that day lol x2.)
Anyway, both films are based on true events and both cases are still
unresolved. However, animal abuse controversy aside, Oro successfully
contains the story in scope. While Alvin Yapan paints the film with
not-too-subtle strokes, it has a focused narrative. Kabisera, on the
other hand, is long—too long, in fact—and yet it doesn’t feel
complete nor satisfying. Oggs Cruz describes it as “severely
underwritten” and you can just read his review here. No one can
argue against the timeliness and relevance of both films, but Yapan
makes Oro the superior one because, as per the opening shot, the
risks and stakes are clearly presented.
With Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2:
#ForeverIsNotEnough, where do I even start? It’s weak. The comedy
is too uninspired. I laughed like only 5 times for the entire
duration of the movie. Compared to the first movie, this sequel is
laced with drama, with Kean Cipriano’s character having a subplot,
which didn’t get me invested AT ALL. Like, I honestly couldn’t
care less what happened with his story???? GOD. Focusing on the
comedy would’ve been a safer bet but no, things always get bloated
in sequels! But anyhow, Khalil Ramos should have gotten a Best Supporting Actor
nod for his performance here. LMAO.
Next, I think everyone can agree that Saving
Sally’s visuals are its saving grace (hehe). The different styles of
animation here are awesome. But many aspects of the story don’t mix
well together. Why is 90% of the movie in English? (I know the reason
is because of the producers’ intent for a general release
but a suitable excuse could have been integrated into the story tbh.)
For example, Marty and Sally could have been speaking to each other
in English because, similar to Marty’s perception of society being
infested with monsters, it is their only way to cope with this dark,
dark world. I have no doubt that the captivating visuals will hold up
in the future, but the story? It is obvious that with the 11-year
production time, the story did not age well. Sad, because the leads
were actually charming. I just wish the story was just as compelling as its images.
With Seklusyon, the premise is interesting enough
to be told. It feels like the mediocre
horror film that is churned out on a monthly basis, but under Erik
Matti’s masterful direction, it turns out to be artistically
substantial as well. The actors portraying the isolated priests could
do a bit more workshop though haha. On the contrary, the Phoebe
Walker and Rhed Bustamante tandem is a highlight. The story is
straightforward enough; there is not much to be gained from watching
this movie for it however, except for the “beware of false prophets
in sheep’s clothing” aspect. That’s all??? I feel like this would have been more effective as a long short film (the kind of horror short that lasts around 20 minutes).
Last but definitely not the least, Vince and Kath
and James was a surprising favorite for me. The landian would
sometimes cause me to make my eyes roll, but for the most part, the
chemistry between Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto is palpable. The
most commendable thing about this movie is that all three characters
of the love triangle are fully realized: flawed, all with their
respective desires and goals, given redemptive moments. Sure, the
film is far from flawless. It is sometimes weighed down by rom-com
clichés. Comedies—romantic and otherwise—tend to fall apart in
the second act either because of the melodrama (let’s become
serious, everybody! there has to be a plot! closures!) or the chaos
(unnecessary cameos! unrealistic scenes! grand gestures! Everything Is Mayhem!), or
both. However, the second half of Vince and Kath and James is an
experience to behold, especially with Vince’s tearjerker scenes
with his mom, anchored by a memorable visceral performance by Joshua
Garcia. There is a huge blemish in the ending with regard to the
“Mahal kita” thing (YOU COULD HAVE ADDED 4 MORE WORDS???) but
overall, it’s a fun-filled movie. It’s youthful, silly,
hilarious—all qualities of which do not go overboard—everything
that a great romantic comedy should be.
So there. Another wonderful film festival ending
(sort of)! An interesting aspect is that the productions of
mainstream companies, Vince and Kath and James and Die Beautiful, by Star Cinema and Regal Entertainment, respectively, were two of the festival’s highlights, while a couple of the “indie” movies were disappointing. For the latter film, I DON’T
GET IT. I saw Mother Lily’s name as one of the producers of Die Beautiful! Why are you fooling us with your capitalist tactics
disguised as victim complex?????? (Context: here.) Disgusting. Anyway, this dichotomy is getting more and more absurd tbh.
Not all “indie” movies are good and not all “mainstream”
movies are bad.
Anyway, support, support, support! I am absolutely
sure that Philippine cinema will just keep getting better and more
ambitious from this point onward, and not even the likes of Mocha
Uson can stop it. Cheers to a brighter local cinema!
P.S. Don't take this review so seriously. It's still your call. After all, what do I know? I'm just a viewer.
