DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

There is much to love in Adolf Alix's ROMEO AT JULIET, a film based on an unpublished novel by Jean Altavas. For instance, there's the heavy use of strong colors a la Almodovar or Wong Kar Wai, to highlight the emotional context of the story, which isn't typical Adolf Alix. There was a lot of play with the cinematography and editing (the split screens are most apparent) and the musical score by Teresa Barrozo is hypnotic.  Sadly, there is also much to dislike. The musical score, however beautiful, cues in inappropriately about once or twice. There is too much exposition on the characters' back stories, which in a way felt like spoon feeding, or preachy if you will. Most of all the abrupt cuts from one scene to the next diminishes, if not completely destroys any piece of emotional attachment the viewer could have with what's going onscreen. Mention the names Romeo and Juliet in one sentence or phrase, and connotations of "love story", "Shakesperean...

In filmmaker Adolf Alix Jr's oeuvre, there are slow films, and then there are really slow films. LIBERACION belongs to the latter, in the tradition of his earlier film AURORA, starring Rosanna Roces. The thing that fascinates me in terms of Alix's visual style is that either in color or black and white, he gracefully presents his elements onscreen, and there is this unwritten, indescribable visual signature that tells you it is Alix's brainchild. For instance, he favors those long takes of his opening scene to establish either the character, the environment, or the scenario. In LIBERACION, we see a couple of Japanese soldiers tunnel out of a dark cave; since Alix follows an ultrarealist or realist approach to most of his films (if not all), we see what the soldiers see. The screen is dimly-lit, therefore if the soldiers are having a hard time visualizing their exit, then so must we.  I held back this review until I've seen Apichatpong Weerasethakul's UNCLE BOONME...

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...

The beauty in the films of Adolf Alix is that they enable you to meditate on their elements, the minutest details even— the color of a blanket, the arrangement of furniture in a house, or the mood changes on a character’s face. Alix likes to start his films by establishing his location. In KARERA, we see the Sta. Ana race track and a nameless figure watching by. Then we see Laurice Guillen as she attends worship at El Shaddai, a religious group convening every week in Parañaque, from night till dawn. Later on we learn that Guillen’s character is named LV, who runs an illegal betting scheme and seems to be influential within the race tracks. People know her, and she commands this implied reverence that probably comes with how long she’s been connected with the race tracks. We also see that LV is superstitious, and does not seem to have the makings of a career criminal. In a way it could imply that there are a lot of people like LV, everyday people, who are good-natured but pressured...