What is Cinema?

As it were, 2017 has been a wonderful year with regards to the international films that were locally released in our theaters. Whether on a regular run or through festivals, there wasn't a dearth this year of films that were excellent, exemplary, awesome, memorable or just simply good. Those beautiful films that made our lives, well, better. I can probably cite as many as possible that can be bestowed such qualities. But rather than making a Top-10, -20 or -whatever list of the best films shown this year, I'll simply single out my favorite international film for 2017. And this is with emphasis on "favorite", which means that this is purely a subjective choice and not necessarily the best. The choice being made based on what for me constituted a unique cinematic experience. Regarding the "best" films, I'll leave that to the seasoned critics who, of course, know much better than I do. To put it bluntly, being my favorite film, I allow no dissenting opini...

The first image that we see in Laszlo Nemes' " Son of Saul " (2015, Hungary) is that of a green forest - blurred, out-of-focus, barely visible. The camera lingers on it for some more seconds until a barely-recognizable figure emerges, walking towards the camera until we clearly see in close-up the face of a man (Geza Rohrig). Another man briefly speaks to him and then they go about their "work" which, we eventually learn, involves rounding up newly-arrived Jews from all over Europe (men, women and children, young and old alike;what they term as "transports") in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, at the time of Adolf Hitler's fascist rule and his implementation of the "Final Solution", under the pretext that they are to take a "shower" before working at the camp's "workshops", but in reality they are just being herded towards the gas chambers - their death. As screams and bangings are heard from the gas...

In a nominal sense, the title “ Call Me By Your Name ” may sound preposterous and absurd. But as one goes deeper into viewing Luca Guadagnino’s latest film, shown in the World Cinema section of this year’s Cinema One Originals (Nov. 13-21 at Gateway and Ayala Mall cinemas;Nov. 22-28 at Power Plant cinema) and which had its premiere in this year’s Sundance film festival, the phrase takes on a meaning that’s intended to incorporate the other person, to make him as part of one’s being. Making such a level of relationship particularly special is that it’s same sex in nature. Of course, cinema has been a witness for a long time to a wealth of homosexual relationships of varying nature and outcome. In that regard then, "Call Me By Your Name" can't be considered as something unique or revolutionary. What's noteworthy, however, is how the film is made up of seemingly small and freewheeling moments, but when taken altogether add up to a meaningful whole. Those of us who we...

(Note: The recently-concluded QCinema International Film Festival (Oct. 19-28) had a new section called Digitally-Remastered, which featured, among others, " Blow-Up " (1967, UK/Italy), Antonioni's cult classic and first English-language film. That was a rare chance that I didn't let pass. It's in this regard that I have re-posted this piece, which I wrote back in 2003.) With Michelangelo Antonioni's emergence as a filmmaker, a new face was given to Italian cinema. It was not the oppressed and hard-luck face one sees in Vittorio de Sica's films (" The Bicycle Thieves " and " Umberto D. "). Nor was it the superficially flamboyant and jolly face one notices in Federico Fellini's works (" La Strada " and " La Dolce Vita "). Rather, the kind of face one encounters in Antonioni's films bears the stamp of contemporary urban life - blank, weary, estranged, lost. In essence, Antonioni can be considered as the ci...

There are spectacular sci-fis and there are philosophical sci-fis. From the former, we can count, for example, the " Star Wars " films of American filmmaker George Lucas;from the latter, we can cite some of the works of Russian auteur Andrei Tarkovsky, particularly " Stalker " and " Solaris ". Denis Villeneuve's new film, " Blade Runner 2049 " (2017, USA), properly belongs to the second group. After the recent release of Christopher Nolan's viscerally-thrilling " Dunkirk ", Edgar Wright's coolly-original " Baby Driver " and Darren Aronofsky's bonkers-as-hell " mother !", here's another film funded by a major Hollywood studio that's not exactly "mainstream". These films are just pure cinematic experience of the highest kind. Of course, given the nature of the material and with Roger Deakins on board as the director of photography, "Blade Runner 2049" is not short in ...

It's rare to see a Filipino film having rap poetry as part of its narrative. Rarer still, is to see a Filipino film using such poetic form to take a sharp look at a system of government-sponsored violence, prevalent then as it is now. Such is the feat of " Respeto ", the first feature film of ad and music video director Albert Monteras II, which won the Best Film award in the recent Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival (aside from a host of other awards). At first glance (that is, if we are to base on the trailer and other promotional materials, prior to watching the film), "Respeto" seems to be just another clichéd and lackadaisical follow-your-dreams story, with some hip-hop rap thrown in to make things appealing to the followers of this sub-culture. But just like some truly great films that prefer to have their identity in low-profile, until you've actually seen them, "Respeto" rather deceives you with its seemingly bland allure, ...

If a director makes his/her first feature film and it's kind of a mixed bag (if not an utter disappointment), you start to wonder if he/she will be able to redeem him/herself in the next film, if ever such a project is still possible. First impression does still last. In this regard, I didn't exactly warm up to Mikhail Red's debut feature " Rekorder ", which was shown at the 2013 edition of Cinemalaya. It's a paranoid footage thriller with an atmosphere that's rather frenzied and a main character (played by Ronnie Quizon) who, for the most part, is actually distant. The film, while technically accomplished, just left me cold. Four years later, the young director (son of Palme d'Or-winner Raymond Red) has a new film called " Birdshot ", an entry in the first-ever Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (Aug. 16-22) in which it won the Critics' Choice award. How does Red's sophomore feature fare? It has a carefully-controlled pace, deliberately...

I was able to watch four of the nine competition films in the recently-concluded Cinemalaya (Aug. 4-13 at CCP and Ayala Mall cinemas), a yearly festival of independent Filipino films (which started way back in 2005). How I wish that I did like all the few films that I saw. As it turns out, only one really won me over. And that is, " Kiko Boksingero ", directed by Thop Nazareno. The director, whose short " Eyeball " was an entry in the short-film category of the 2013 edition of Cinemalaya, may have made just a small film (compared to the other films that I saw that have such "big" concerns), but it isn't without a big heart. Gentle and heartwarming, without being syrupy and didactic, this is the kind of film that will appeal to those who prefer their family dramas to be simple and quiet. The story, for all its worth, doesn't really break any new ground and somewhere along the way, we can already see how it will end, but the film isn't afrai...

One drawback perhaps of making a film as thrillingly original as " Baby Driver " (2017, USA) is that it may spawn a spate of inferior imitators, working under the guise of an admiration or an homage. Or when writer-director Edgar Wright, due to the film's box-office and critical success, makes another film of the same mold, with the result being that "Baby Driver" becomes just a mere hindsight. But setting aside such qualms, what we have here is a work of pure cinematic delight, oozing with a masterful command of the medium. The fact is "Baby Driver" is more style than substance. And it may even be remembered as such. But perhaps, this is the only film that we would get to see this year that utilizes such an incredible sound design. Every sound, noise, and beat that we hear and every action and movement that we see in the film translate into a kind of musical cue or track, or add up to one whole symphony. Such a style really stems from the nature of...

A couple of months before " Dunkirk " (2017, UK) was released, director Christopher Nolan reiterated in an interview what has long to be known as the absolute essence of a film: that a film is meant to be seen in the cinema. Nothing, absolutely nothing, really compares to watching a film on the big screen, inside the cold and dark theater, being fully immersed in the distinctive cinematic world while being virtually "shut off" from the outside world, even for just a number of hours. It greatly helps if the film that we're watching provides us with a truly wonderful experience. "Dunkirk" is one more reason for a film to be really experienced inside the cinema. Regardless of the fact that Nolan shot the film on 70mm, "Dunkirk", simply put, is pure spectacular cinema. Seeing it in another medium would definitely be a lesser experience. To my mind, this is Nolan's best work since the time- and mind-bending " Memento " (and this w...

Of the few films that I saw in the just-concluded ToFarm Film Festival (July 12-18), " Instalado ", written and directed by the Pampanga-born Jason Paul Laxamana (" Babagwa ", " Magkakabaung "), is what I find to be the most intriguing, ambitious and imaginative. If only the director was able to consistently maintain his vision, then it would've made for a truly compelling cinema. As the film goes on, it turns out to be a rather bumpy fare. Fairly speaking, the film has its merits, but then it can't be merely the sum of its parts. The film imagines a not-so-distant future where going to the classroom and learning from the teachers are rendered near-obsolete to give way to that mode where studying a course can be done in just the blink of an eye through the installation of a "portable" module in a person's brain, for a hefty cost. Those who avail of such a procedure are called "instalados", as opposed to the "gra-gra...

The 20th Eiga Sai, a festival of contemporary Japanese films (Shang Cineplex Cinema 2, July 7-16), has included in its lineup two films where food is a major character. The one is a love letter to an institution in danger of fading away, while the other is an ode to life and human kindness. " Tsukiji Wonderland " (2016), a documentary by Naotaro Endo (and his debut full-length film), brings us to what is considered as a world-famous and venerable wholesale seafood market in the Tokyo district of Tsukiji, home to an astounding array of fish and other seafood products and the popular tuna auction. As one food critic in the film points out: If the Pyramids of Egypt is a required destination for archeologists, so is Tsukiji Market a required destination for chefs. Even if one has not (unbelievably) heard of the market before (like myself), the film still holds our interest and attention because of the way Endo tackles his subject (and besides, who wouldn't be interested in...

Despite being awarded the Grand Jury and the FIPRESCI Prize in the 1990 Cannes film festival, the Japanese film " The Sting of Death " (1990), written and directed by Kohei Oguri, based on a 1960 autobiographical novella by Toshio Shimao, seems to have rested in obscurity already. If one is to search about the film online, there's only a handful of reviews about it (nothing published in such known film magazines like, say, Variety and The Guardian) and there are no trailers to be found, not even in YouTube. If anything, the director himself (already in his 70s) has only made five films thus far, with the last one back in 2005. But obscurity doesn't mean that there's no reason for the film to be rediscovered. That's why it's a good thing that "The Sting of Death" was recently screened in Eiga Sai, organized by the Japan Foundation Manila, as part of its 20th-year anniversary (the film was part of the line-up of the festival's first edition h...

The French Film Festival, organized by the French Embassy, Institut Francais, Alliance Francais de Manille and Film Development Council of the Philippines, has just held its 22nd edition in the country (June 8-17, Central Square and Greenbelt cinemas). This is the festival that brought to Filipino cineastes on the big screen such acclaimed French films as Jean-Luc Godard's " A bout de souffle " and " Pierrot le fou ", Jean Renoir's " La grande illusion ", Louis Malle's " Ascenseur pour l'echafaud ", Eric Rohmer's " La boulangere de Monceau ", Marcel Carné's " Le Quai des brumes ", Olivier Assayas' " Late August, Early September ", Patrice Chereau's " Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train ", among many others. For the 2017 edition (the only time that I was able to attend again the festival after many years of absence), I was able to watch three contemporary films from the n...