A Pilgrimage to Cinema

Film director Erik Matti is on an inspired streak. After " OTJ " and the two aswang chronicles, " Tiktik " and " Kubot ", comes another exemplary work, " Honor Thy Father " (2015, 105 mins.). An entry in this year's Metro Manila Film Festival , the film might just be the best among all the other 7 entries (I just saw one other film, " #Walang Forever "). From start to finish, we can clearly see the marks of a filmmaker's utmost dedication to his craft, materializing his vision onscreen in a precise, astonishing and uncompromising fashion. Films that are crafted with perfection are hard to come by these days, but when they do we are the more rewarded for it.  The film, written by "OTJ" and " Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan " collaborator Michiko Yamamoto, essentially tells the story of a middle-class Baguio-based married couple, Edgar (John Lloyd Cruz) and Kaye (Meryll Soriano), whose quick-return investment sc...

At one point in " Ari: My Life with a King ", an entry in this year's MMFF New Wave and directed by Carlo Enciso Catu, the "king-poet" Francisco Guinto wonders in front of the highschool student Jaypee (Ronwaldo Martin) how they are still able to understand each other despite the fact that the former speaks in pure Kapampangan while the latter speaks in pure Tagalog. This is an illustration of the magic and mystery of the Filipino language, which also constitutes the essence of this beautiful film. The young man just doesn't have it in his heart to speak his hometown language and would rather prefer to converse in the general and widely-spoken one. In that sense, he's yet to "come of age". The film subtly argues that not until one has wholeheartedly embraced his/her native language, will one be lost in finding his/her true self and identity. This is illustrated in the opening scene where Jaypee is lost and drags his motorbike named "Gab...

For this year's edition of the still-young  MMFF New Wave (Dec. 17-24 at SM Megamall, Glorietta and Robinsons Manila cinemas), which serves as the "precursor" to the more "mainstream" Metro Manila Film Festival  and yet is already able to stand on its own, I was able to see 3 of the 5 new independently-produced Filipino films in its line-up. Let's see if there are any stand-outs among these.  • " Tandem ", dir.: King Palisoc, written by Zig Marasigan, 85 mins.  I was first introduced to King Palisoc by way of the Makina  episode of last year's " Bang Bang Alley ". It was the more impressive episode among all the others, displaying tension and sharpness in its portrayal of an unlikely criminal who's virtually a walking time-bomb. Palisoc's new film, "Tandem", is similarly impressive, tense and sharp. As with Makina , more than an "action" movie (in the manner that Filipino cinema would generally have this sp...

There are really a number of familiar terrains in " Creed " (2015, USA), the new film by Ryan Coogler, director of the Sundance-winning " Fruitvale Station " (which has the same lead actor). An underdog boxer;mentor-trainee dynamics;unresolved father issues;triumph of the spirit. Shouldn't really be a wonder, since "Creed" is meant to be the 7th installment in " Rocky ", an iconic film series that's molded according to some known archetypes. So more or less, we already know in what direction the film will take. It's a habit of custom, so to speak.  Yet, despite the familiarity, the film still manages to be a rewarding and satisfying viewing experience. It's because the director is able to imbue the film with humanism and artistry. Regarding the first aspect, the two lead characters of Sylvester Stallone (as the initially-reluctant mentor Rocky Balboa - excellent) and Michael B. Jordan (as the determined yet troubled prodigy Adonis...

Without a doubt, the most ambitious film shown in this year's Cannes International Film Festival  or, for that matter, the most ambitious offering from world cinema this year is Miguel Gomes' " Arabian Nights " (2015, Portugal), a three-part epic based on the literary classic One Thousand and One Nights . The ambition doesn't simply pertain to mere logistics (budget, production, casting, etc), but, more importantly, also to the serious intent of putting under the spotlight Portugal's contemporary socio-economic woes and maladies, by way of the aforementioned literary collection of Mid-Eastern tales. Filipino cineastes just had the unimaginable fortune of being able to see Gomes' epic on the big screen, as it was part of the selection in the World Cinema section of the recently-concluded Cinema One Originals (Nov. 9-17 at Megamall, Trinoma, Glorietta and Resorts World cinemas). This film being shown in our local cinemas is like a now-or-never situation.  ...

In " Police, Adjective ", a police investigator is tasked to follow, catch and question a boy who's suspected of smoking hashish (a dry weed). In lesser hands, such a story will probably be reduced to a series of tense cat-and-mouse chase sequences and brutal interrogations, highlighting just the spectacle of the story. In the hands of a more thoughtful filmmaker though, like Corneliu Porumboiu, such a seemingly simple story becomes a springboard for the exploration of the moral - and not just the legal - ramifications of one's job as a police officer. It becomes a question of the ethics  of duty, responsibility and law. The same filmmaking inclinations can be said of " 12:08 East of Bucharest ": rather than focusing on the spectacle of a national revolution, Porumboiu turns his gaze on the question of the extent of actual participation of the masses in the revolution (in the film's context, it's in regards the city of Vaslui). It becomes a matter of...

The two other foreign-language films that I saw in the World Cinema section of this year's Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival were: Grímur Hákonarson's " Rams " (2015, Iceland) and Hou Hsiao-hsien's " The Assassin " (2015, Taiwan). Both of these films had their premiere in Cannes last May and even won awards there.  While I was watching "Rams", I couldn't help thinking of Andrei Zvyagintsev's " Leviathan " (Best Screenplay winner in last year's Cannes and shown in last year's QCinema ). Not because the former was monumental and had political provocations, but because, just like the latter, it appears to me that it had biblical allusions. Such an allusion becomes even more pronounced, ironically, by the fact that the film's story is so seemingly simple - and "uneventful". Consider: A man's jealousy and hatred toward his own brother lead him to commit an act of retaliation which, in turn, leads ...

After QCinema International Film Festival , there was just a sort of one-week "break" and now comes another film event, Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival (Nov. 9-17 at Trinoma, SM Megamall, Glorietta and Resorts World cinemas) which, just like the former, has included in its selection since last year a number of foreign-language films. Most of this selection from world cinema are arthouse favorites, have initially rounded prestigious film festivals abroad and are even award-winners. This year's selection includes new works from the likes of Hou Hsiao-hsien, Roy Andersson, Yorgos Lanthimos, Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Hong Sang-soo. Two of the remarkable films that I saw were: Lanthimos' " The Lobster " (Ireland, 2015) and Andersson's " A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence " (Sweden, 2014).  It's curious to think how "The Lobster" is bookended by scenes wherein we are left hanging for an answer. The film begins with a...

Interestingly, there were two feature films shown in the recent QCinema International Film Festival (Oct. 22-31 at Trinoma, Gateway and Robinsons cinemas) that made use of the one-shot take during their entire length. One was Sebastian Schipper's " Victoria " (Germany), an incredible stunt of a film that dazzles and devastates at the same time with its tale of youthful lives spiralling out of control. The other was our very own " Anino sa Likod ng Buwan ", written and directed by Jun Robles Lana. His previous festival-circuit work, " Barber's Tales ", was a consistently assured and impressive piece of women's cinema, helped greatly by telling characterizations all throughout. With his latest work, though, I have mixed feelings.  In terms of formal aesthetics, "Anino sa Likod ng Buwan" is undoubtedly daring. As far as I'm concerned, this is the only other  Filipino film to date to utilize an unbroken take for its whole length (the ...

There was such a strong and impressive international film line-up in the recently-concluded QCinema International Film Festival (Oct. 22-31 at Trinoma, Gateway and Robinsons cinemas) that it became such a cinematic wonderland for avid cineastes. The films were just irresistible that it was practically a now-or-never scenario for us. I was able to see 12 of all the international films shown and if I were to choose just one best film among them (no matter how hard), that would be Indian filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane's perceptive and striking " Court ", which makes use of the absurdist trial of an ageing folk singer to lay bare the failings of the Indian legal system as well as the class differences of the court denizens. Yet, one of my favorites, if not the best, among those that I've seen was Ana Lily Amirpour's " A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night " (2015, Iran).  Not since I saw on the big screen Alexander Payne's " Nebraska " and Pawel Pawlik...

This year's edition of QCinema International Film Festival has just wrapped up (Oct. 22-31 at Trinoma, Gateway and Robinsons cinemas), with one of its highlights being the Director in Focus section. Last year, the featured filmmaker was South Korea's Park Chan-wook and his Vengeance trilogy (" Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance ", " Oldboy ", " Lady Vengeance "). Filipino viewers were definitely treated to the brand of violence and nihilism that characterize Park's cinematic world. This year, that kind of "shock treatment" continued with France's enfant terrible Gaspar Noé and his trio of provocations: " Irreversible ", " Enter the Void " and " Love 3D ". This would certainly be the first time that cineastes will get to experience on the big screen the boundary-pushing cinema of Noé. It's like one's nightmare becoming larger-than-life.  "Irreversible" (2002) instigated a walk-out when it pre...

Here are some more international films that I was able to see in the still-ongoing QCinema International Film Festival , which is having its third edition this year and, by this point, has already proven itself to be one of the most exciting film events in town.  • " Tale of Tales " (2015, Italy/France/UK), dir.: Matteo Garrone, writers: Garrone, Edoardo Albinati, Ugo Citti and Massimo Gaudioso Loosely-adapted from 17th-century Neapolitan poet Giambattista Basile's motley and freewheeling collection of fairy tales titled Pentamerone , this latest film from the acclaimed director of " Gomorrah " and " Reality " could very well have been taken for a David Cronenberg film, as it also boasts of some grotesque imagery. Yet, Garrone isn't as so much exactly preoccupied with body-horror and its attendant psychology, as with the fairy tale-like nature of the story (or stories) itself, with the ironic suggestion that kings, queens, princes and princesses ar...

The regular screenings of the increasingly-exciting QCinema International Film Festival , Quezon City's still-young annual film event, have just started yesterday (Oct. 23 at Trinoma, Gateway and Robinsons cinemas). This year's line-up is indeed a veritable candy shop for avid cineastes, which includes a number of films that premiered in prestigious festivals abroad (Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance), like Matteo Garrone's " Tale of Tales ", Chaitanya Tamhane's " Court ", Sebastian Schipper's " Victoria ", Apichatpong Weerasethakul's " Cemetery of Splendour " and Sean Baker's " Tangerine ". Further whetting our appetites is the subject this year of the festival's Director in Focus : Gaspar Noé, French cinema's enfant terrible , whose trio of provocations (" Irreversible ", " Enter the Void ", " Love ") will finally make their way to our big screens. At this early, I'm...

The recently-concluded QC International Pink Film Festival (Oct. 6-11, Gateway Cineplex) featured a number of films that won in the Teddy Bear section (a section that focuses on LGBT-themed features, docus and shorts) of this year's Berlin International Film Festival. Two of which were: Jim Chuchu's " Stories of Our Lives " (Kenya), Jury Prize winner and Sebastián Silva's " Nasty Baby " (USA / Chile), Grand Prize winner.  • "Stories of Our Lives" This b/w-shot film is an anthology of five shorts put together by The Nest, a Nairobi-based multi-media arts group, of which the director is a part. Although unified by the question of how is it to live as a homosexual in Kenya, where having a different sexual orientation is tantamount to having a death sentence, each of the short films is as varied as it can be. There's the story of two lesbian students whose affair is condemned by their school ( Ask Me Nicely );of a bootleg DVD manufacturer whose...