The Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos personal film festival
Pinagbuklod ng Pag-Ibig – I’m not sure I like to review this back-to-back, or diptych, of a double-starrer, because it fails in so many ways. Suffice it to say that this turns out to be the film at which my old folks back home laughed, as Nora Aunor figures in a rape scene wearing surprisingly long jean shorts under her skirt. But I though it is an apt getup, as she is about to wash the day’s laundry on a river in the countryside.
Kastilyong Buhangin – This is one of those titles that an old film snob once scorned as “pinaghalo-halong konti” or haphazardly patched-up bag of shopworn tricks – a little of this and a little of that, in short. A little piece of action for those with a taste for action, a little romance for the hapless romantic, a little family drama for the drama-inclined, and a little song-and-dance for song-and-dance enthusiasts. But this is one gem that works despite or because of the otherwise shoddy stratagem to magnetize as much viewership as possible. Why? Because the two lead characters fit the mixed bag of roles to a T they could easily be mistaken for the real thing! The heart-tugging scenes never lapse into cornball, the song numbers prove necessary despite being rivetingly entertaining as to stand on their own (who knew there’s such a song as “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face”?), the romance never falters into the pits of banality and sleaze, and the action sequences mercifully do not come off as strained or affected. This long-winded childhood romance story is surprisingly entertaining to the point of excellent. I surprise even myself for being able to blurt that out. I couldn’t even bring myself to scoff at the titular theme song because there is built-in subtlety in there – and subtlety is wisdom or a virtue in the arts. To top it all off, the most beautiful lines of expressing one's love I've heard in this movie.
On a minor note, Alma Moreno supposedly appears here, but is nowhere to be found. Or maybe I blinked. And speaking of songs, I miss the kind of ego-free singing that artists like Nora Aunor used to do.
Having said that, it is hard to believe this is Noel Vera's greatest Pinoy movie of all time.
Tag-Ulan sa Tag-Araw – What if you fell in love with a long-lost first cousin? What if you were a boarder in her parents’ place, of all places, in the city? And what if she fell for you, and... and...? The consequences are a ripe bed for possibilities too daunting to contemplate. But someone’s got to tell such a story that is, as real life goes, stranger than fiction. Only the title and the forced scenes in support of it as a metaphor mars the power of this supposed classic. The mush is unforgiving, the corn just too unrelenting. I thank the director Celso Ad. Castillo, however, forgiving a modicum of open-endedness in the end, or I would not forgive him for putting me through the wringer of the final scenes. So distraught was I, and perhaps that is more than enough hint, if you may call it that.
Dalaga si Mister, Binata si Misis – A young couple swears to be thoroughly modern in their relationship, and this translates to the irony of a noncommittal marriage and experimental sex (instead of the expected trust out of open-mindedness). The result is a series of funny disasters and a roundabout return to irony. What an old yet thoroughly relevant movie this is! But wait, this is the 70s, the apex of the sexual revolution – swinging partners, fornications galore, micro-miniskirts, and silky printed body-hugging/muscle shirts. This tale is actually tame compared to those really wild things we’ve heard about. What’s odd is that the characters and story strike me as even more ‘modern’ and ‘liberated’ than today’s ‘freespirited’ couples and individuals. The casual use of oral contraceptive pills makes a cameo here.
***
Fantasia – This is Disney synaesthesia at its best, the colors and movements of nature, of life, animated by music and story. No delicate sensory detail is spared, as the film exhausts the wonders of animation and film to their limits. It makes up for the lack in tactile and olfactory experiences by conjuring up the right visuals, registering, representing, or distinguishing gauze from gossamer, sparkle from tingle, delicious from pungent. Fantasia is a study in splendor, from the undertow of hidden emotions, to the filigree of narcotic highs. It is imagination’s exuberance made manifest, whether depicting the most popular cartoon character or pink fairies swirling in pixielated stardust. The irony of ironies, however, is that the most beautiful part is reserved for hell and its cabal of demons. Watch it, to see if you disagree. If I may nitpick against find a weakness, the lack of a storyline/narrative and that segment with elephants and ostriches carousing together with other creatures are the film's weakest links. In place of that, I'd insert the most memorable French short film I've ever watched: the animation of traditional French paper cutout art -- a visual and kinetic feast like no other.
The Big Year – Three obsessed birders on a lifetime quest, the manly quest for secretive one-upmanship. Various birding locations across the United States (there was even a thing called birdfall, a windfall of hundreds of bird species). Great shots of wild birds in situ. Wow, here’s the film birders must be waiting for, and only birders can understand best. The comedy film attempts to explain the obsession, though with limited success; what it does well is gently mock at the hobby-outdoor sport as well as the fallen humanity of the enthusiasts. Personally, I would have preferred the seriousness of explaining away the near-religious/spiritual nature of birding. Nonetheless, the hilarity is edged with deep-enough thoughts and in surprising directions, too: the meaning of success and fulfilment, and the wages one has to pay to attain both.
Pinagbuklod ng Pag-Ibig – I’m not sure I like to review this back-to-back, or diptych, of a double-starrer, because it fails in so many ways. Suffice it to say that this turns out to be the film at which my old folks back home laughed, as Nora Aunor figures in a rape scene wearing surprisingly long jean shorts under her skirt. But I though it is an apt getup, as she is about to wash the day’s laundry on a river in the countryside.
Kastilyong Buhangin – This is one of those titles that an old film snob once scorned as “pinaghalo-halong konti” or haphazardly patched-up bag of shopworn tricks – a little of this and a little of that, in short. A little piece of action for those with a taste for action, a little romance for the hapless romantic, a little family drama for the drama-inclined, and a little song-and-dance for song-and-dance enthusiasts. But this is one gem that works despite or because of the otherwise shoddy stratagem to magnetize as much viewership as possible. Why? Because the two lead characters fit the mixed bag of roles to a T they could easily be mistaken for the real thing! The heart-tugging scenes never lapse into cornball, the song numbers prove necessary despite being rivetingly entertaining as to stand on their own (who knew there’s such a song as “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face”?), the romance never falters into the pits of banality and sleaze, and the action sequences mercifully do not come off as strained or affected. This long-winded childhood romance story is surprisingly entertaining to the point of excellent. I surprise even myself for being able to blurt that out. I couldn’t even bring myself to scoff at the titular theme song because there is built-in subtlety in there – and subtlety is wisdom or a virtue in the arts. To top it all off, the most beautiful lines of expressing one's love I've heard in this movie.
On a minor note, Alma Moreno supposedly appears here, but is nowhere to be found. Or maybe I blinked. And speaking of songs, I miss the kind of ego-free singing that artists like Nora Aunor used to do.
Having said that, it is hard to believe this is Noel Vera's greatest Pinoy movie of all time.
Tag-Ulan sa Tag-Araw – What if you fell in love with a long-lost first cousin? What if you were a boarder in her parents’ place, of all places, in the city? And what if she fell for you, and... and...? The consequences are a ripe bed for possibilities too daunting to contemplate. But someone’s got to tell such a story that is, as real life goes, stranger than fiction. Only the title and the forced scenes in support of it as a metaphor mars the power of this supposed classic. The mush is unforgiving, the corn just too unrelenting. I thank the director Celso Ad. Castillo, however, forgiving a modicum of open-endedness in the end, or I would not forgive him for putting me through the wringer of the final scenes. So distraught was I, and perhaps that is more than enough hint, if you may call it that.
Dalaga si Mister, Binata si Misis – A young couple swears to be thoroughly modern in their relationship, and this translates to the irony of a noncommittal marriage and experimental sex (instead of the expected trust out of open-mindedness). The result is a series of funny disasters and a roundabout return to irony. What an old yet thoroughly relevant movie this is! But wait, this is the 70s, the apex of the sexual revolution – swinging partners, fornications galore, micro-miniskirts, and silky printed body-hugging/muscle shirts. This tale is actually tame compared to those really wild things we’ve heard about. What’s odd is that the characters and story strike me as even more ‘modern’ and ‘liberated’ than today’s ‘freespirited’ couples and individuals. The casual use of oral contraceptive pills makes a cameo here.
***
Fantasia – This is Disney synaesthesia at its best, the colors and movements of nature, of life, animated by music and story. No delicate sensory detail is spared, as the film exhausts the wonders of animation and film to their limits. It makes up for the lack in tactile and olfactory experiences by conjuring up the right visuals, registering, representing, or distinguishing gauze from gossamer, sparkle from tingle, delicious from pungent. Fantasia is a study in splendor, from the undertow of hidden emotions, to the filigree of narcotic highs. It is imagination’s exuberance made manifest, whether depicting the most popular cartoon character or pink fairies swirling in pixielated stardust. The irony of ironies, however, is that the most beautiful part is reserved for hell and its cabal of demons. Watch it, to see if you disagree. If I may nitpick against find a weakness, the lack of a storyline/narrative and that segment with elephants and ostriches carousing together with other creatures are the film's weakest links. In place of that, I'd insert the most memorable French short film I've ever watched: the animation of traditional French paper cutout art -- a visual and kinetic feast like no other.
The Big Year – Three obsessed birders on a lifetime quest, the manly quest for secretive one-upmanship. Various birding locations across the United States (there was even a thing called birdfall, a windfall of hundreds of bird species). Great shots of wild birds in situ. Wow, here’s the film birders must be waiting for, and only birders can understand best. The comedy film attempts to explain the obsession, though with limited success; what it does well is gently mock at the hobby-outdoor sport as well as the fallen humanity of the enthusiasts. Personally, I would have preferred the seriousness of explaining away the near-religious/spiritual nature of birding. Nonetheless, the hilarity is edged with deep-enough thoughts and in surprising directions, too: the meaning of success and fulfilment, and the wages one has to pay to attain both.
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