What is Cinema?

It has been close to 3 months since I wrote something about the government’s flood control projects and the massive corruption that surrounds it (see “Hard truths,” September 20). A lot has already happened since then. And I mean a 𝘭𝘰𝘵, whether directly, indirectly or not related at all to the issue in question. As I have noted before, the plot thickens. And like a good long novel, the turn of events is of varying hues: surprising, disappointing, outrageous, hilarious, bizarre, shocking, delightful, frustrating. Like when former House of Representatives (HOR) Speaker Martin Romualdez, in a beguilingly rare occasion, already showed up in public to attend the hearing on the flood control project anomalies conducted by the Executive Order (EO)-mandated Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI). Startlingly, this specific hearing (as well as the others) was done privately and, after that, Romualdez emerged from it with apparently clean hands. That would eventually proved to be his...

For this year’s edition of QCinema International Film Festival (Nov. 14-23), I was able to watch 11 feature films out of the dozens included in the lineup, across various sections of the festival.  Here they are, listed according to my personal ranking, with 1 being the highest: 1. (tie) A USEFUL GHOST, directed by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke (in Thai language, with a bit of English) THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE, directed by Hasan Hadi (in Arabic language) 2. (tie) RENOIR, directed by Chie Hayakawa (in Japanese language, with a bit of English) THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania (in Arabic language, with some English) 3. (tie) BRAND NEW LANDSCAPE, directed by Yuiga Danzuka (in Japanese language) HUMAN RESOURCE, directed by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit (in Thai language, with a bit of English and Korean) 4. DIVINE COMEDY, directed by Ali Asgari (in Azerbaijan and Persian language) 5. SIRÂT, directed by Óliver Laxe (in Spanish, French, Arabic, and English language) 6. ONCE U...

We all know that government corruption has been in existence, unfortunately, for the longest possible time. But never has it been more exposed to intense public scrutiny and outrage than in the issue of flood control projects that is currently besetting our nation. It is because we, the citizens, have directly felt the dire consequences of the corruption involved in such projects: the massive flooding in Metro Manila and all the other nearby provinces. This is to such an extent that it does not take a typhoon anymore to submerge ourselves in deep floodwaters – even a “simple” rainfall would do. A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece in which I stated how the plot of this flood control projects saga thickens by the day. The recent developments or turn of events in this issue attest to this even further. Things are becoming more interesting, whether you like it or not. However, I will not delve into the details of these developments anymore. Rather, I will just state some hard truths (“takeawa...

The issue of the anomalous mega-budget flood control projects undertaken by the government is becoming more complicated and more interesting by the day. The plot thickens, as I posited in my previous piece. However, will this lead to anywhere at all? That is to say, will some big names be held accountable and eventually tried and punished for the plunder that they made to the national coffers? Will this mark the beginning, once and for all, of a new era of a corrupt-free nation? Let us take a look at some recent developments, whether directly or indirectly related to the issue at hand. President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., in an attempt to show that he is a hands-on leader, recently visited a flood control project site in the province of Bulacan, a project that cost about 55-million pesos (imagine, such a huge amount for a single site alone?). Unfortunately, nothing to be found on the site at all (this is in Barangay Piel, Baliuag), even if the project was supposed to have started last Febr...

Comedian Vice Ganda is being bashed left and right by netizens because of his allegedly insulting jokes about Former President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Rodante Marcoleta. Has-been actress Liza Soberano has just revealed that she and former onscreen partner Enrique Gil have parted ways for quite some time already. Nadia Montenegro, a former staff of Senator Robin Padilla, is being suspected of smoking marijuana inside a Senate comfort room. Jaime Santiago has recently resigned from his position as National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director, for rather vague reasons. And then some. Don't you find it strange that these “issues” have successively come up in the midst of a more important and more urgent issue that is currently besetting our nation: the massive failure of the billions-of-peso government-sponsored flood control projects and the culture of corruption associated with it? If we are not vigilant and critical enough, we could easily be “distracted” by these non-flood i...

What now? President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 28, which also marked the formal opening of the 20th Congress (both the Senate and the House). This SONA is particularly interesting because, aside from this being at the halfway mark of Marcos' presidential term, it came at the tail-end of a week-long barrage of typhoons (Crising, Dante and Emong) and southwest monsoon ( habagat ) that caused massive flooding in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.  The devastating effects of the natural calamity put into spotlight the current government's ineptitude, inefficiency and corruption. The billions-of-peso flood control projects that Marcos boasted in last year’s SONA proved to be one epic failure. More likely than not, he really had no idea what he was talking about. There was no denying that the funds flowed not into some concrete, viable and long-term solutions, but into the pockets of all the persons concerned (government of...

What I'm about to write is not about cinema, as what I've always done. Instead, I'll write something about some of our country's current events, especially those that happened this past week. Though what transpired in the news can be an ideal material for cinematic storytelling, something not out of place in the biting satires of Luis Buñuel and Ruben Östlund, or in the political cinema of Costa-Gavras, or in the social-realist stories of Mike Leigh and the Dardenne brothers.  I rarely write about current events (not that I don't care). It's only that the things that have happened lately are of such a degree that I really need to voice out my seething sentiment. I'm not a political analyst (and don't pretend to be one). I'm just an ordinary citizen who, for the longest time, has always hoped for a better political leadership and a better nation. Just like everybody else. The number of typhoons, coupled with the southwest monsoon (or habagat ), that h...

TAMPOPO, Jûzô Itami's sophomore feature, is inarguably the best foodie film and one of the best Japanese films ever made. If I recall it correctly, this was the first foodie film that I ever saw. I instantly fell in love with the film the first time I watched it that I took it upon myself to seek out the other foodie films that followed. Let me just say that Itami never made another film similar to TAMPOPO.  The other foodie films that I was able to see afterwards were: BABETTE'S FEAST (1987, Denmark), LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE (1992, Mexico), EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN (1994, Taiwan), BIG NIGHT (1996, USA), THE BIG FEAST (1973, Italy/France; this one came before TAMPOPO), JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI (2011, USA) and, of late, THE TASTE OF THINGS (2023, France). All of these films are certified gastronomical delights. However, TAMPOPO is really a foodie film like no other. It's a league of its own.  If the greatness of a film is measured by its power to change or affect our lives, then TAM...

Martin Scorsese is perhaps the last person you can imagine who would finally give up on watching films in theaters. He is one of the very few filmmakers whose deep knowledge of and love for cinema shows in his films, some of which are regarded as classics (TAXI DRIVER, RAGING BULL, AFTER HOURS, GOODFELLAS). As someone who once declared that a Marvel movie can never be called cinema, Scorsese is a true auteur without a doubt.  That is why it comes as a surprise (even a shock) when, in a recent interview with veteran film critic and long-time friend Peter Travers, Scorsese admits that he no longer watches films in theaters because of, no surprise, bad audience etiquette. By this, he refers to the constant use of mobile phones, the parade of foods and drinks, and those who can't keep their mouth shut while the movie is playing. I may as well add the children who turn the movie-house into their playground, the latecomers, those who laugh out so loud to the point of being obnoxious, and...

I’ve been wanting to write a film review these past few days, it’s only that I don’t know what film to write about. It’s not that I haven’t seen any film at all. Quite the contrary. Based on my notes, since the start of the present year I’ve already watched 63 feature films, mostly through streaming platforms (like Mubi). That’s an average of 12 films per month. Most probably because I’m not a professional critic writing for online film journals or magazines (for example, Variety and The Guardian). I’m just a simple slave to cinema. Thus, I’m not under obligation to submit an article to anyone. That’s likely the reason why I’m not able to write any film review at all. No so-called deadline, therefore no reason to write. I only write as leisurely as I can. Perhaps, I can write another review by the time of QCinema International Film Festival, which is about 6 months from now. Whenever I attend a film festival, I make it a point to write something about the movies that I get to watch t...