SEVEN GOOD REASONS TO WATCH THIS YEAR'S MMFF MOVIES

By the time this blog is posted the winners of the MetroManila Film Festival would have been announced.

After two days of marathon watching the ten films weeks before the festival opened, each and every juror has found his and her preferences.  What is interesting is the assortment of professionals and personalities assembled to constitute the panel to assess the films and to decide on who deserves the accolade to be given on  the night of the 27th of December.  One thing is for certain, all ten films will be shown in Los Angeles as part of the first Manila International Film Festival near the end of January of next year.  That, in itself, is a reward.

As one of almost a dozen jurors, I had the privilege of sitting quietly in exclusive screenings of the ten entries.  This gave me time to properly assess and appreciate the effort invested by the finalists  --- from producers to the cinema artists involved in the projects.  There are entries which rise heads above the others because of their originality and excellence in craftsmanship.  There are others which succeeded in marrying commercialism with commendable calibre in production value.

And it cannot be helped that there might be some which you ask yourself, "Teka, bakit napasok yan sa sampu?"  Whatever.  That was the job of another committee.

So here are but seven  reasons why the Filipino moviegoer should really make an effort to see at least one and at most almost all the entries of this year's Christmas festival.  My reasons are personal --- and I am not saying that my words should be taken as Bible truth.  At this point, I am just a moviegoer with a dash of experience in filmmaking assessing the works of my peers.

(1) Zig Dulay's Firefly breaks your heart without being in-your-face with over the top acting that has become an exhausted tradition in Pinoy teleseryes.  That is, Firefly is a magical story that brings tears to your eyes without the stars on the screen screaming, "Umiyak ka, umiyak ka ... nakakaiyak ang ginawa at sinasabi ko!"  Why?  Because the emotions captured by Dulay are real and not like they were being squeezed from an old toothpaste tube.  And with that ending, how could you fail? The magic in love through people and time is so neatly summarized without being sweet to the point of a diabetic coma and so real with performances so touching. This perhaps is the most honest and genuine film of the ten --- and I am giving Zig Dulay a standing ovation for such restrained and controlled direction.

(2) Needless to add, child actor Euwenn Mikaell carries most of the movie Firefly on his shoulders.  But it is the delicately honest performance of Alessandra De Rossi as his mother that reveberates throughout this film.  There was never a performance moment in De Rossi's portrayal of unconditional maternal love so much so that even in her absence, she solidifies the journey undertaken by her son to find the Island of the Fireflies.  Similar credit should be given to Epy Quizon who makes the most out of the limitations of the role given to him ... but one cannot help but appreciate the sensitive and controlled portrayal of Dingdong Dantes as the narrator of the story.  Somehow this supporting performance of Dantes supersedes the much larger role he portrayed in another entry for it is here that you see his maturity as an actor who imbibes emotion through nuances of characterization rather than indication or physicalization.  I wish Mr. Dantes can be given  more roles that demand this kind of intricacy of character that he proved to be most capable of embodying.

(3) Pepe Diokno's Gomburza could serve as a prequel to Marilou Diaz-Abaya's Rizal, another MMFF entry in 1998.  Chronicling the events that led to the martyrdom of three Filipino priests ( Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora), Diokno threads events as they have been recorded, showing the significance of the movement towards secularization in the Philippines as well as the initial sparks of the Filipino rebellion against the centuries of oppression of Spain.   Admirably, the key role of Fr. Burgos was given not to a big name star but to theater actor Cedric Juan --- which added credibility to what the film had to say about the significance of the character rather than the actor being highlighted by the film.  Juan's performance was formidable as he embodied the intellectual Burgos. The film makes no controversial statements (much like the original Rizal )  but instead shows how the martyrdom of the three priests affected the young Pepe Rizal because of his older brother's affiliations with Fr. Burgos.  Somehow the strength of that historical link provides the significant conclusion as to why this film had to be made and be seen by the younger generations of Filipinos.

(4)  For me, there is one very good reason to watch Mae Cruz Alviar's Rewind: that is Marian Rivera. Despite the highly derivative plot ( for how many second chance movies and a return to the past to correct mistakes have we already seen --- in this case, Gil Junger's 2004 film If Only), the restrained and sensitive portrayal of the suffering wife and mother by Rivera makes the film worth the time and the ticket price.  Whereas other actresses would have gone the route of hysteria, Rivera chose quietness in her character's resolve thereby giving greater depth and pain to her portrayal.  Hers was not only one of the most beautiful faces to grace the local screens but a talent that, when properly honed, creates such intense and definite effect on audiences.  Real life husband Dingdong Dantes also delivers a commendable performance but, as I mentioned earlier, I still prefer him in Firefly where he did not have go through the rituals of hystrionics or highlight acting. 

(5) Let it be said: the tandem of Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon is the pairing that has outlasted the changes brought by time and taste of generations. Till I Met You in Tokyo could have been retitled as Autumn Love --- about two people who did not realize the emptiness and loneliness in their lives as they live through their senior years in a foreign land working as migrants. There is nothing earthshaking about the story of this movie: it is your color by number romance with some things you wish were there and others that you wish they had cut shorter. But then this is all about Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon showing this generation of actors and audiences why they are living legends.  Here they have proven that they can make an otherwise ordinary movie special by sheer power of talent --- and, yes, stardom. It is beautiful to see these two icons portraying roles that only age and years and experience can capture so delicately, sincerely and honestly.  There can never be anyone like them.

(6) Why else would you watch Becky and Badette except for the glaring fact that it stars Eugene Domingo and Pokwang.  This one-two punch of an over-the-top film is pegged on familiar machinations: the personalities of the comediennes --- and the sudden recitation (no, incantation) of familiar lines from old Vilma Santos and Sharon Cuneta movies. But there are downright laugh-out-loud moments that stick to your mind more like memorable gags than part of a much larger story.  Pokwang's re-enactment of the dying scene of Christopher de Leon in Relasyon or ... at its hysterical best, the invitation for Becky and Badette to be celebrity endorsers of an oyster bar sent me falling off my seat.  This is Jun Robles Lana of Ten Little Mistresses at work ... not About Us But not About Us. You pay four hundred bucks for the laughs ... and that is what you will get.

(7) What makes Kampon different is what makes it seemingly not-so-festival.  That comment came from critic who caught the premiere of the film and observed that this is not your jump out of your seat horror movie but something meant for Cinemalaya --- whatever that meant. King Palisoc's direction was characterized by such restraint: no jump scare here but a prevailing feeling of dread and eeriness that prevails throughout the movie.  As someone who caught the special screening commented, "Mataas siya!"  But then again since when was that a demerit in assessing the credibility of a film? The mood and tempo approximated Ari Aster's 2018 film Hereditary where the dread comes quietly and slowly until you finally get the wallop in the end.  In other words, Kampon is not your jump-out-of-your-seat screamfest but one that capitalized on mood and tension.

All ten represent the spectrum of taste adored by the Filipino audiences.  What is important is that we go out and watch these films and give due appreciation to the hard work put in by our film creatives and workers.

Of course there are more reasons to watch the other films: the production design, music and cinematography of Mallari, the sensitive performance of Miles Ocampo in Family of Two or for that single scene when girlfriend and mother have a heart-to-heart talk when the movie went into quiet intensity than nerve-wrecking melodrama. And there is the deconstruction of the entire Pedro Penduko narrative into Jason Paul Laxamana's attempt to redesign an entirely different mythology to a pop culture hero.  All these must be appreciated and placed in proper context to define the significance of this year's MMFF.

The MetroManila Film Festival should be a showcase of what can be done with Philippine cinema. With this year's assortment of entries, a glimpse of that promise has been fulfilled with the hope that 2024 will offer greater opportunities for producers to make great films that the Filipino audience will support with pride.

A FESTIVAL OF TEN FILIPINO FILMS: AFTERTHOUGHTS ON THE MMFF 2023

Christmas in Manila means the annual MetroManila Film Festival.

Yes, I had the good fortune of sitting as one of jurors (again) of the annual festival of Filipino films when local cinema is brought out like the star of a Christmas tree and the Grinches of the world are lamenting why their much awaited foreign movies have to be pushed as far back as the first week of January of the following year.  

Given the present state of cinema patronage in our country, we are only too lucky that it is by law that Filipino movies are given ten days in a year to be shown exclusively in Metro Manila cinemas (and not even in provinces).  

For the rest of the year one only hopes that a movie or two (maybe three) will make money in the remnants of the box office.  Indeed, let us face the sordid truth: bihira nang manood ng pelikula sa sinehan ang tao ngayon. With the advent and rise of streaming platforms and even hastened by the conditions of the pandemic, moviegoing has ceased to be the cheapest and most accessible form of entertainment.

(Consider the mathematics.  The Filipino minimum wage earner takes home P570.00/day for his hard work --- without subtracting the cost of transportation and food.  The average cost of a movie ticket nowadays is between P350.00 to P400.00.  It is quite clear that Aleng Tacing and Mang Juaning together with their offsprings Letlet and Junjun can no longer afford to watch movies.   

Consider this equation again.  If Juaning and Tacing together with their two kids decide to watch a entry at the MMFF, the Tatay needs to dole out between P1400 to P1600 para makapanood lang ng isang sine. Joskuday.  That means that together with transportation expenses and food (kahit man lamang popcorn), he would be spending over P2000.

So there goes the dream of binge watching MMFF movies like what we used to do in the past. 

The annual Christmas celebration of a family is to watch two to three movies on Christmas day or during the stretch of the festival.  You either try to cover as many of the entries you desire in seeing or you re-watch a film that you find as your favorite either by yourself or with new company.  But with the somewhat expensive price of cinema tickets, this has become a luxury and only permissible to the few who can afford to spend close to if not P400 a ticket for each viewing.)

The truth of the matter is that people have become highly selective in the films that they watch in moviehouses especially if they are living on a budget.  

Yes, there will always be those with money to burn or who do not consider the price of tickets as an impediment to their earthly pleasures.  However, a nice question to ask: is this the Pinoy moviegoing crowd? Is this the same crowd who gets excited when a new Kathniel movie is on the rise in the horizon?  Or are these the exceptional few who watch Past Lives or Aftersun in exclusive micro-cinemas?

Having considered all that, the hope is that this year's Metro Manila Film Festival scores as well if not better than last year's edition.

Yes, 2022 was a good reboot from the dearth of two years due to the pandemic.  But still it did not (and could not) come close to the numbers yielded by 2019.  It was like weaning a child to get back to his original form although realizing that nothing can bring back the pre-pandemic age.  

More important is that the box office results of 2022 already indicated a major change in the preference of the market.  

When Viva Films' Deleter of Mikhail Red, starring Nadine Lustre nudged out a Vice Ganda movie to be the top grosser of the festival, something was already said without being openly declared.  The market who spend money for the festival was no longer the masa who loved a good old traditional comedy but opted for a horror film about technology and the dark web, about call center agents who turn nights into days and the lurking dangers in the computer screen.  In other words, this is a completely different audience from what used to be considered as the familiar moviegoer of the past... especially those who feasted on the annual MMFF.

So where did the regular Pinoy moviegoer go after the scourge of the pandemic and the rise in movie ticket prices?

For those who have access to the internet, they are into streaming and YouTube and all the other available platforms that you can have at a slice of the ticket price without having to worry about dressing up, paying for transport or even eating out.  No, they have not migrated to commercial television as well since it seems like even most popular tv shows (by that we refer to the teleseryes from the major networks and now content providers) have also found their secondary platforms through access to the internet-based venues like YouTube.

With all these drastic changes taking place, where does the MMFF hope to bring Philippine cinema?

The curated entries this year have more of the same categories selected through their genres: family-friendly, comedies and horror.  But instead of the usual eight finalists, now it was expanded into ten to give more chances to producers to exhibit during that annual window where no foreign movies are shown in MetroManila.

Whether the addition of two more movies to the roster is good or bad will be revealed after all the ticket sales have been gathered and reported.  By law of averages, only three (or at miraculously most perhaps four) of the original eight finalists make money.  Two or three at the bottom end of the list will collapse due to the sheer weight of competition expressed through uncontrollable funds for the campaign.  Far worse, if a movie reveals a dismal performance in the box office, chances are (as most likely) that it will be pulled out of screenings and replaced by the better performing movies --- or reduced to alternate screenings with equally underperforming entries thus reducing the number of showings by half.

It is a myth (if not an urban legend) to think that all MMFF entries make money.  

The truth of the matter is that it is still a producer's gamble.  Big, small and independent film companies scramble to get into the roster of finalists hoping that their movies will stand a chance of making ample money through cinema screenings.  Otherwise, showing one's films on a regular basis has become a Herculean challenge: last year, for instance, only three Filipino films made a lucrative amount of money to earn profit if not break even.  All the rest of the Filipino movies, although improving in patronage since the moviehouses reopened, still fell short of return of investment.

But regardless, having seen the ten entries of the festival assured me that it would be worth the time, money and effort to see a bunch of them.  The curation of this year's festival gives a glimpse to all possible choices and interests for the cinematic experience way beyond the reductive pleasures of streaming.  More important than that, the road map of Filipino cinema in the year to come can be assessed by the patronage of the local audiences to go out and see their Christmas movies again.

At this point in time, it is not only a question of economics --- but that of survival. Filipino producers must not be dispirted by the lackluster performance in the box office of their products but instead see this as a challenge --- and as a demand for change.  We cannot be diminished to being content providers for streaming platforms: otherwise we will lose the very essence of our national cinema.

Instead we should look over and beyond what we limit as parochial taste and cater to an audience over and beyond the margins of our national territory.  We should stretch the boundaries to an international market, turning our popular culture into an integral part of the soft economy of  the country with the hope of globalizing our cinematic output.

But before we can do that, against all odds, Filipinos must first patronize --- even love and respect Filipino cinema --- before we can proudly flaunt our version of the art form to the world. If we cannot support or even love our own, how can we expect others to give our cinema the respect that it is so deserves.

So this is with the hope that Filipinos do go out of their houses and rediscover the joys of moviegoing.  

Yes, it has become more difficult and inaccessible if not impractical BUT there is no greater satisfaction than stepping out of a moviehouse after a screening and realizing that there is so much of life that can be said in two hours or less captured by a beautiful film.