I loved the crazy humor. There was one scene here involving Gnomes that I was literally kicking in laughter. However, the ending was rushed. I wanted more.
It is in Adolfo B. Alix, Jr's ISDA (Fable of the Fish) that I first heard the term "magical realism". Magical realism as it turns out is the combination of the magical and the actual, or in other words the fantastic and the real. I mean, come on- a woman who gives birth to a fish? In the hands of a lesser director and a lesser actress, ISDA would have been a total mess of a film. In order to make the outrageous story work, you have to navigate somewhere between sentimental and comical, and Alix does just that. Cherry Pie Picache shines in ISDA as a woman longing for a child; she completely descends into this poor, depressed character that you really believe what you're seeing onscreen is not some actress playing a poor, depressed character but instead a real human being. If you've read enough articles written about Alix's latest film, you'd already know that the story of ISDA stemmed from that controversial incident way, way back in the 80s t...
Why ANG BABAE SA SEPTIC TANK works as a film and as a work of art is because of its objective- to deconstruct mainstream cinematic conventions as well as misguided aspirations and visions of young filmmakers. Also, it exposes the actors who are in the limelight per se, embodied here as Eugene Domingo playing herself, and we revel as Domingo, representing the glamorous movie star is being brought down to the level of the septic tank (literally and metaphorically). The script by Chris Martinez and the direction of Marlon Rivera with Eugene Domingo's comic timing and caliber as a dramatic actress made ANG BABAE SA SEPTIC TANK a witty critique of some of Philippine cinema's bane of existence-those things a lot of us were enraged about, but can only do so much. A film within a film, we see a trio of filmmakers (director, producer, production manager) do a quick pre-prod at Starbucks, throw bitter remarks at their friend who has become a successful director, and get a dose of thei...
* English title "Shadow behind the Moon" The best term to describe Jun Lana's latest film would be a cinematic charade- a game of identities, of motives, of suppressed passions, and of uncertainty. Or the film equivalent of a Russian doll, if you will. "Anino sa Likod ng Buwan" only has three characters- husband and wife Nando (Anthony Falcon) and Emma (LJ Reyes) and military man Joel (Luis Alandy). What started as a seemingly routine banter among friends gradually and intensely escalated into an examination of society, where the definition of immorality is blurred during a time of insurgency. And in fact, the film does discuss the subject of immorality from various paradigms. When does adultery become acceptable, and to whom? Is sexual liberation more heinous than murder? Why is immorality always a double standard? The film plays out the ideas in endless games. Or are they really games at all? Lana could have stopped there, but he didn...
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