What is Cinema?

After the Danish and German film festivals, the Italians followed suit with their own fest this month (Nov. 14-18). Italian cinema will always be associated with Neo-Realism, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Luchino Visconti, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren. Italy is also a host to one of the "Big Three" of international film festivals: the Venezia, some of whose films were featured in the 4-day event. " Red Desert " (1964) by Michelangelo Antonioni: Antonioni's first color film is one of the most studied and influential works in cinema history (see, for example, Todd Haynes' " Safe "). Even after repeated viewings, one feels that the film still hasn't revealed enough of itself. It's like the mysteries of the film are really as unfathomable as the deep blue ocean or the distant wide outer space. "Red Desert" marks the first collaboration between Antonioni and cinematographer Carlo Di Palma,...

As if last month's C1 Originals and QCinema were not enough, a number of international film festivals this November would still keep Filipino cineastes on their toes in order to satisfy their filmic cravings. Among these festivals were the Danish Film Festival and the German Film Week, both held from November 8 to 11. Danish cinema introduced us to the works of Carl Theodor Dreyer, Lars von Trier, Susanne Bier and Thomas Vinterberg, among others. While German cinema witnessed the birth of such legendary film movements as Expressionism and New German Cinema. " Land of Mine " (2015, Denmark) by Martin Zandvliet: The film doesn't blink an eye in its depiction of the cruelties of post-World War 2. But more than the physical level, "Land of Mine" is likewise uncomfortable on a moral level. The title alone posits a dual connotation. On the one hand, it refers to the northern sea coast in Denmark where hundreds of dangerous mines were buried by the German forc...

Here are a few more international films that I was able to watch in the recently-concluded QCinema International Film Festival (Oct. 21-30). " A Land Imagined " (2018, Singapore) by Yeo Siew Hua (Asian Next Wave): The director's bold ambition in the film must have been what caught the attention of the competition jury (presided by Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke) in this year's Locarno festival that led to the film being awarded the Golden Leopard. While being guised under the noir genre, the director not only puts light on the sub-standard migrant labor conditions in his country, but also brings into question the identity of Singapore itself. A Chinese migrant worker at a land reclamation site suddenly goes missing and a native, world-weary police-detective has been tasked to investigate the disappearance. It's a set-up we've already seen one too many in films. But the director has a different thing on his mind. He doesn't even intend to solve the mystery...

QCinema International Film Festival has already become a much-awaited yearly event for Filipino cineastes due to its heavyweight world cinema lineup. This year, which marks the festival's 6th edition (in 2013, there were only three Filipino film entries), is no different, offering a roster of films that premiered in Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Locarno and others. Attending the festival is really a dreamland for those who take their love for cinema seriously. Here are some of the international films that I was able to watch during the festival run (Oct. 21-30). " Malila: The Farewell Flower " (2017, Thailand) by Anucha Boonyawatana (Asian Next Wave): Man's confrontation with his mortality hovers in this tale of a young farmer who returns to his hometown to care for his cancer-stricken former lover. As much as the latter is suffering from a physical ailment, so is the former - though his ailment is more of an emotional/spiritual kind. In that he carries the burden of g...