ANIMATION AND THE (PHILIPPINE) CONGRESS

I am a huge fan of Waltz with Bashir (2008), the first* feature-length film of Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman—I have nothing but praise for it. FYI it is a film about Folman’s own experiences in the 1982 Lebanon War, except he doesn’t remember it. Hence, the movie is presented in the form of a documentary with Folman interviewing people from his past. Oh, and it’s animated!

A fictionalized version of Folman (left) looking to assemble

lost images from his experiences as a soldier.

much beauty

such art

The fact that Kung Fu Panda beat it in many categories in several awards ceremonies still baffles me. The animation is both unique and gorgeous, and the ending made me cry (always a plus).

This is the ending, but I won't give the context. I only post spoilers

when necessary. Just watch it for yourself please.

Because of this, I watched The Congress (2013) a few months ago. Critics called it a sophomore slump from Folman, and I must agree on some level. A hybrid live action-animated movie, The Congress, while boasting wholly different but equally fascinating animation, suffers from a messy narrative. It is about a time in the future where technology is so advanced that one can now sell their “image rights,” and an actress does so to a movie company where they can animate her image in whichever way they want to.

Opening shot: Robin Wright (from The Princess Bride and Forrest Gump

among others) plays a fictionalized version of herself

The animation is one of the most overwhelming I've seen in a film. It's like those psychedelic scenes in drug-themed movies when the characters take acid, only 20 times longer. The experience is not unlike watching a film from Studio Ghibli.

Welcome to The Congress!

In the world of The Congress, anything

is possible. Just stay animated at least.

"How do I know if I'm dreaming?"

Despite its structural flaws, it reminded me why I love animation so much. The possibilities in cinema are infinite, but the possibilities in animated cinema are more infinite. The Congress is as surreal as a movie can be. Conversely, Waltz with Bashir would never have been as interesting with mere scenes of people talking about something gruesome that had happened more than a couple of decades ago. Animation provides that ability to manipulate the screen even if the backdrop is something unspeakable like war and trauma.

There are people who still believe that animation is for children, and that’s unfair to both the movie producers and to children. Mature themes have long been integrated in animated cinema. Just look at the cat orgy in Fritz the Cat (1972). But this post will not be about those ignorant people lol

(An aside: Folman is currently creating his third film based on The Diary of Anne Frank, again an animated feature, and judging from the promotional photos, the animation is going to be a uniquely immersive experience as well.)

When the credits for The Congress were rolling, I was surprised to see that 6 international animation studios were outsourced to create the film, and one of them was Snipple from the Philippines.

The animation for both Folman’s films seems done through rotoscoping, but apparently, it’s not. To explain simply, rotoscoping means like the movie was shot in live action first, then animation was done over each frame afterwards. That’s how I understand it at least LOL

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is: we have a gold mine of mostly untapped talent for animation. Let’s look at the history of animation in local cinema. I believe at one point in our lives, we’ve all seen a local superhero or sci-fi film with bad special effects. For the longest time, the role of animation was to sweeten the film in an imaginative or comical (pun intended hehe) way.

But then, the first(!) fully animated film that we have was only less than a decade ago: Urduja (2008). The second one, Dayo: Sa Mundo ng Elementalia, was released in the same year. The first completely computer-animated (and 3D!) film was released two years after: RPG Metanoia (2010). That’s it. It’s pathetic, really. You would have thought that there was some progression at least with an almost entirely unexplored genre but no, it seems like it was just a fad to convey “yeah, we have proved that Filipinos can do it, but we won’t bother anyway lol bye.”

Oh, there’s also Manang Biring (2015). However, it seems rotoscoped???? I’m not discrediting animators who use this technique though. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We’ve proved that we can do traditionally hand drawn, computer-animated, and rotoscoped(?) animation. I didn’t even know of Snipple before watching The Congress and they did that mesmerizing animation up there?! W-O-A-H.

But again: that’s it? Sure, we’ve had sprinkles of animation in some movies of recent years to make them fantastical, cuter or more “bagets-oriented” (e.g. Sleepless [2015]—wonderfully subtle, This Time [2016]—extremely painful to watch, etc.). The crux of the matter is: the animators need our help. (I don’t know why the video isn’t working but the point remains.) If I’m going to be honest about it, I felt that RPG Metanoia was mediocre—but only in terms of its story. But with the animation, there’s potential there. Its magnificence is still lurking behind but I’m excited to see where it goes. Like I’ve said, there are infinite permutations we can translate to the screen with animation. There are even other mediums we haven’t utilized yet: watercolor? stop motion? AAAHHHHH the possibilities are so exciting!!

Our artists deserve better. They can create so many things (not just movies!) with the right amount of resources. They can learn more, and even go beyond their lessons. The filmmakers here are so talented it's unbelievable, and it's disappointing that we've only just dabbled with this medium at the turn of the century. It's also funny that we are parallel with Israel's animated cinema: Waltz with Bashir was the country's first animated film in nearly 50 years, only the second one overall. (Another animated movie was also released that year: $9.99, a quirky flick that asks what the meaning of life is.) These two films tackle mature themes, but then again, censorship in Philippine media is another convoluted topic that needs a long discussion.

But of course, we have to start somewhere, and like these three starter films of the Philippines, our animated cinema is still youthful. Wouldn't it be wonderful though, to watch a home-grown R-rated animated feature in Gateway Cinema? One can only dream.

I don’t know about you guys but I feel like we’re entering a renaissance in Philippine cinema again. With the lines between “indie” and “mainstream” cinema as blurry as it can ever be, auteur directors getting recognition both locally and internationally, and regional cinema becoming more and more visible, the future of the local film industry of the Philippines has never been brighter. I just really hope our local animators can flourish in the screen with it. #MakeThePhilippinesAnimateAgain #AndAgain #AndAgain #AndAgain

P.S. Please watch Saving Sally, one of the films screening at this year’s MMFF. I can already tell it’s going to be groundbreaking. Teehee.

*I know that it isn't technically Folman's debut film but that doesn't really look good on paper LMAO