And here it is, Cinemanila!, part 3

So far, so good in regards the films that I saw in this year's edition of Cinemanila International Film Festival. In no small way that travelling to such a far venue as SM Aura (in Taguig) became less of a chore, what with the quality of films shown. 

"Heli" by Amat Escalante (Mexico) 

Last year, "Post Tenebras Lux", which won the Best Director trophy for Carlos Reygadas in Cannes, was shown in Cinemanila. In this year's edition, another Mexican film, "Heli", which also won the Cannes Best Director award for its helmer Amat Escalante, was likewise featured. In one way or another, Mexican cinema never fails to provide us a provocative viewing experience, the kind that unnerves, disturbs, makes us feel uncomfortable (at some times, even titillates!), with films like "Macario", "Like Water for Chocolate", "Solo Con Tu Pareja", "Amores Perros", "Battle in Heaven" (to name just a few). "Heli" is the latest addition to such. The spotlight here is on the extent and depths of human cruelty, thus be forewarned that this is a grim and depressing film. And it is in a number of instances that the violence and cruelty depicted here are almost unbearable to watch, with some of them even happening abruptly. From the unsettling opening shot that serves to provide both a contextual frame and a sense of foreboding, the film goes on to show how one brash action can escalate into an unpleasant chain of violence and tragedy. What is even more disturbing in the film is how such abominable acts contrast with the calm beauty of the natural surroundings or the relative peace of the domestic household. The director orchestrates this damned tableaux in a cold and deliberate manner that one may not avoid the uneasy feeling that everything is not going to end alright. Escalante once served as an assistant director to Reygadas for "Battle in Heaven" and in some ways his mentor's unhurried pacing and evocative framing, and puzzling concepts of miracle and redemption, have borne their marks on "Heli". Prior to seeing the film, I was actually intrigued by its title, not having the slightest idea of what it refers to. Not until I watched the film did I find out that it is really the name of the young male protagonist, who is grappling with both desire and responsibility and who has not seen it coming that his sense of moral duty would be his own and his family's undoing. But somehow it was not really that remote from what I immediately thought of upon hearing the title for the first time - for we become witness to the kind of hell that the young man and his loved ones have to endure, as a consequence of what he thought was just the right thing to do. Heli just unwittingly met the "God of the damned". 

"The Great Beauty" by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy) 

This film is simply dazzling in every way. To say that it is contemporary cinema's "La Dolce Vita" is an understatement already. And it is certainly heartening and overwhelming to see Federico Fellini's cinematic spirit coming to life on the screen again. This one really has to be seen on the big screen to fully appreciate its larger-than-life dimensions - all the grandness, flamboyance, ebullience, garishness and vigor! Not since Volker Schlondorff's "The Tin Drum" and Fellini's "8 1/2" have I encountered a work of cinema wherein there seems to be no let-up in the succession of one memorable set-piece after another. And much like in Fellini's epic scaling through his beloved city of Rome, it is just astounding to see how all these energy and excess in "The Great Beauty" really mask decay and void, in a moral and spiritual sense. Since "La Dolce Vita", it was kind of hard for us to encounter films again where one's beloved city - and Rome at that, the seat of Catholic faith and hierarchy - is put to a litmus test. And of course, providing an invaluable amount of ferocious energy to the film is no less than Toni Servillo as Jep Gambardella, the world-weary and glum novelist-turned-high-society gossip writer. Much like the legendary Marcello Mastroianni's paparazzi character of Marcello Rubini in "La Dolce Vita", one just can't think of any other actor that would fit perfectly in the complex and intriguing character, like hands in gloves. Just imagine all kinds of emotions that register on Servillo's face alone and the various reactions that they trigger from us. If he won't be at least nominated for Best Actor in next year's Oscars, then the world is really unfair. Stepping out of the theater after the film, I felt that I had just been through an amazing roller-coaster ride!

Amat Escalante's ''Heli'':Violence against a calm backdrop