Monday, December 27, 2021

MMFF 2021: THREE TO WATCH

 I have seen all the eight entries of this year's MetroManila Filmfest as (again) I sat as one of the jurors together with National Artist Virgilio Almario, editor and post-production head Manet Dayrit, musical director Nonong Buencamino, the iconic Ricky Lee, actress Cherry Pie Picache, Rachel Arenas, MMFF Spokesperson,  Noel Ferrer and Senator Christopher Go (represented by CHED Chairman Popoy De Vera.)

For two Fridays the jurors sat through four films per session.  However I cannot publish this until after the Awards Night on the 27th of December since the group mentioned above has not yet sat around a table to deliberate on the winners.  At this point (as I write this), I am not allowed to discuss whatever choices I have picked but while the films are fresh in my mind, let me jot this down.

There are three must-watch films.  They are not your usual pang-Festival films which mean a lot of kilig-kilig, tawa-tawa and frou-frou. That statement was not meant to be demeaning: admittedly the MMFF is a commercial fiesta --- and the most successful films (box office wise) are not the ones most likely to excite the members of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino or your favorite mataray film critic armed with a thesaurus.

There are disappointments in the offerings this year --- but then again, a jury of so many people do not and cannot dictate what the people should or would want.  There are films as there are movies --- and they do not cancel each other.  Some people want to be intellectually stimulated while others want pure entertainment.  They both pay for the same price of the movie ticket --- so they both have the same rights to demand what they want from their two hour escape from reality.

What I have to offer is my opinion --- because I feel that these works deserve a much larger audience than what the other more commercial ones can possibly generate. Sayang if these films do not get the affirmation from the Christmas crowd simply because they have chosen to make statements rather than service popular taste.

A Hard Day (directed by Law Fajardo) is a well-crafted film that packs suspense, boasts of excellent cinematography, editing, sound, music and design added to the exceptional performance of its lead actor, Dingdong Dantes.

The movie is tight, the narrative is clear cut and the performances delivered by the supports enhance rather than diminish the quality of the output.  It did not bastardize nor compromise the original 2014 South Korean film that it remade directed by Kim Seong-Hun and starring Lee Sun Gyun.

If there is anything to be held against this movie, then it is its very asset. It is, after all, a remake of another movie --- and just how much of the Filipino version can be attributed as original and not merely templated.  But that sort of argument is moot and academic: it is a remake, right? And this an excellently crafted one that deserves credit.

Kun Maupay It Panahon ( Whether the Weather is Fine, directed by Carlo Francisco Manatad) is a feat of a first feature film by an editor-turned-director.

Warning: this is not your Pamasko movie.  The entire narrative is based on the personal experience of the director when he returned to his hometown in Tacloban right after the devastation brought by the super typhoon Yolanda.

In what looked like a dystopian universe, the Tacloban recreated here is a marvel of design by Whammy Alcazaren brought to even more chilling levels by the camera work of Singaporean cinematographer Teck Siang Lim.  The movie is a painful slow burn, tracing the remnants of the lives of a young man, Miguel (Daniel Padilla) and his mother Norma (Charo Santos-Concio) as well as his girlfriend Andrea (Rans Rifol).  

The entire film is in Waray, the language of Tacloban --- and moves to the level of surrealism as the survival instincts of the victims reshape their very nature and humanity.  The ladies in the film deliver heartbreaking performances but it is Daniel Padilla who you wish will be given far better, meatier, challenging and edgy roles that would test his mettle as an actor.  Padilla is so good and could even be better if studios make him graduate from matinee idol to real artist in the challenges they give him in projects.  

The popular audience may not see this as the kind of film they want to experience in the Jingle Bells season but it still demands attention and consideration for its sheer scope, ambition and statement.

Jun Robles Lana has a way of surprising his audiences with his film outputs.

Whereas his campy/dramatic Die Beautiful married both commercial and critical success, his evolution as a filmmaker brought him to Khalel 15 and now one of his best works, Big Night.

Again, this is not your Pamasko movie to go hand in hand with your hamon de bola or even Eddam cheese. What Lana offers is a cinematic picaresque tracing the overnight adventures of a small time beautician named Dharna (with an H) wonderfully --- nay, exceptionally portrayed by Christian Bables.  This movie, despite its seeming simplicity, is loaded with such statements that you end up thinking about the film after the screening and wanting to discuss its aspects with people who have shared your experience.

The journey of Dharna is a glimpse into the microcosm of Philippine society in the here and now, present progressive, woven together by the absurdity of Pinoy politics and governance. What is impressive about Lana's work is that it never went in your face nor made the apparent obvious because the material made you think then reflect on the mess that we live in.

Over and above the excellent cinematography, music, sound and editing, it is the performances of the chorus of a supporting cast that makes this film one of the best of the year.  Eugene Domingo, Janice de Belen, John Arcilla and Nico Antonio bring together a beautiful symphony of naturalistic renditions of their role further emphasizing the social statements given by the film.

So is it worth the risk of going to a cinema to watch a film? 

These are three very good reasons to do so.  If only to affirm the bravery and effort of the filmmakers who put these three films together, then please do so.

Somehow A Hard Day, Kun Maupay and Big Night justify why there are still very valid reasons why the MetroManila Film Festival should keep on going.


















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