eto na

o siya, here we go with the cine chichiryahan. open up your snacks.

paano ba? ah, in order of appearance na lang sa cine adarna showings...


PISAY
d. auraeus solito

pitch: a four-year sweep of high school life in the famed phil. science high school takes a look at a group of students' developments as students and as citizens of marcos-era manila

catch: loves mo to kung pisay grad ka. if not...

the same guy who directed ufo pictures' (to their dismay) cinemalaya 2005's ANG PAGDADALAGA NI MAXIMO OLIVEROS is back with another teen-featured feature. siya ba ang sulat? oo yata e. laos naman itong cinemalaya website hindi updated. heniwey...

four stages, meaning from freshman year to senior year, may nafo-focus na karakter. pero they circulate within the same vicinity of their social sphere. okay naman siya except that di ko talaga keri ang camerawork sa pelikulang ito, lalo na yung mga arc movements dun sa isang shot na nag-uusap ang teacher at student hay...

saka halatang teatro ang tumitira. from the way it was staged to the blocking of the actors and camera movement down to the acting minsan, lalo na nung bio teacher dude character na secretly teatro ang love. that guy's always a ham. artista siya ng students ko sa thesis nila and i said the same thing. bigyan nga ng isang kilong hamon yang guy na yan... buti na lang at ang ka-sparring niya ay ang lovely theater lady na na-miss naming lahat, si wena basco. grabe para siyang di nag-age. last ko siyang napanood sa isang romeo and juliet retake na may japanese characters chenes. man, ang tagal na nun a. hay... the good ol' days...

pero back to this one. tama, kung di ka taga-pisay, di mo mae-enjoy ito kasi it was obvious aureus did this for fellow pisay peeps. hindi niya nai-translate into universal issues ang nangyayari doon sa loob ng school, not enough to make the other audience want to care. not to mention ang mainstream pa ng approach niya sa materyal. parang star cinema presents ang dating. super...

so did it work for me or not. not really. for the reasons i cited above. may potential siya actually. masyado lang kasing theatrical ang treatment na madalas parang ang feeling i'm watching a filmed stage performance instead of a film staging filmic performances. basta. saka mahirap panoorin ang mga pelikulang mina-mantra-han sa shoot ng "dapat manalo ito ng award" hahahaha labo.



TUKSO
d. dennis marasigan

pitch: the investigation of the death of a provincial lass examines the circumstances beforehand through multiple characters' perspectives

catch: RASHOMON it ain't! please lang! magagalit si kurosawa niyan e, name drop kayo ng name drop ng rashomon...

yet another theater person directs a film. this is his second, i think, with cinema one's SA NORTH DIVERSION ROAD as his first. that one i really love, because i love the material. i was thinking nga how that was staged, considering the set-up, although i get hints.

i guess mr. marasigan works brilliantly well if given a brilliant material. kaya lang...huwaah. ano nangyari dito? i think on paper, it was brilliant, pero execution-wise, hindi nag-fly. kasi kung talagang rashomonic ang type niyang mangyari, there's such a thing, a basic basic thing to consider, and that is film language. as in pov, or limited pov kung literature itong pinag-uusapan natin, which, incidentally, RASHOMON was (a novel turned into a film, about an investigation din as seen through three distinct povs).

ito kasi, hindi distinct ang pagkakagawa. nag-iba-iba lang ng anggulo ang camera etc. oo nga't intersecting siya sa ilang eksena pero ang labas nito e parang kieslowski's RED WHITE BLUE lang e. yung pang pinanood mo yung tatlong pelikula e sasabihin mo "uy yan yung anggulo ng storya ni ganyan" over and over again kasi nga parang nag-i-intersect lang. parang ganito ito. napaka-impersonal ng approach na yun at pinapakita lang ang connection ng isang eksena sa isa pa sa kabilang pelikula, unlike rashomon na attached ka kasi nga you are trying to solve a mystery. sadly, walang ganito sa tukso...

which brings me to my biggest beef of all this fest. bakit ito nanalo ng best screenplay?????????????????????????????????????????????????

labo. kahit yung ibang co-faculty kong friends na nanood e ganun din ang komento. hanlabo talaga men.

maganda sana yung pelikula. it was saved by brilliant moments nga lang of actors who were acting for film, not theater. kasi like ricky davao and that mayor woman, napaka-teatro, much like the rest of the peeps except for the talented irma adlawan and ping sobrang-mana-sa-tatay medina. sila lang yata ang nagfi-film acting dito e. hm. kasi innate silang magaling? hindi rin...e bat si ricky davao, ang artista ng cinemalaya 2007 (dami niyang nilabasan), shines in some films but pans out in some? hm, siguro nga depende sa direktor...

oh well. on to the next film. sana makatagpo si mr. marasigan ng better material to film. at saka sana magsanay pa siya ng paghasa sa pagkilatis ng film language. ayan na o, may artista na siyang magaling sa film e, si ms irma... winner na yan pag nagkataon.



STILL LIFE
d. katrina flores

pitch: suicidal visual artist gets a new lease in life with the help of a familiar female visitor chenes

catch: winner si ron umarte, as usual. saka maganda yung painter's pov visual chenes. saka andito yung song ni cynthia? hm, nupaba?

well, other than that, this one doesn't fly for me. siguro sawa na kasi ako sa mga storyline na suicidal artist chenes. ron capinding just gives the character new life kasi magaling siya umarte. nakasalamuha ko siya when i was hanging out in the late 90s with anton juan's theater group as their photographer, at saka kasi ex-jowa ko e umaarte sa tropa nila nun, but i digress...

luma na storyline. may sakit siya, di na makapinta, gusto nang magpakamatay, bakasyon sa secluded bahay-bakasyunan, may makikilalang tao dun na bago, at dahil sa heterosexist ang earth ay babae ang makikilala niya... tapos may twist. di ko na sasabihin baka ma-spoil senyo. pero kahit ang twist ay hindi keri. i guess it's because of the elaborate ang very elongated set-up of a story often told. kaya you won't miss much if you don't see this one.



KADIN
d. adolf alix jr

pitch: local boy in batanes (tama ba, batanes? basta dulo ng pinas sa north) tries to look for his lost/stolen goat for sentimental and financial reasons

catch: sabi nga ng co-faculty ko, dapat ang title nito e LAKADIN.hahah funny.

bakit? kasi lakad lang sila ng lakad. masyadong nainlab sa sceneries kaya ayaw magputol. oo nga't sinusubukan niyang i-achieve ang filmic language ng mga quiet iranian/afghanistan and chinese/japanese films by being zen about the shot treatment, movement and pacing. bet sana ito kay alang hindi consistent ati! like parang two-cam set-up ang nangyari, with the A cam being the zen cam while the B cam was like the handheld tracking cam ever na hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit ganun, tapos iba pa ang timpla ng visuals. nakakahilo actually yung b cam. di siya super-complementary sa a-cam. kung sadya iyon, di ko makita ang purpose, except kung sasabihin niyang ang purpose niyan ay para ma-feel natin ang pagkahilo ng bata sa kakahanap sa lintek na kambing na yun.

this film would have worked if they eliminated the b-cam approach e. sobra. saka kung tatapyasan pa ng, oh, about 20-30 minutes worth of empty shots. i gues filmic language is also the problem here. if you don't know how to utilize empty shots, then you're in for it. deds. parang ang nangyari lang e "ay, shot dito parang kurosawa, ay shot dito sa eksenang ito parang chen kaige, ay shot dito parang sa osama, ay shot dito parang sa ___ etc etc etc." hodgepodge of shots seen in world cinematic language. the point of directing is to have your own cinematic language, or use existing cinematic language and appropriate it according to the needs of the story being filmed. what worked lang sa style niya dito e napakita niya ang kabagalan ng buhay doon sa parteng iyon ng pinas.

other than that, i love jun aves' cinematog. at least deserve niya ang award dito. it was the best lighted nga. ewan ko lang kung desisyon niya yung b-cam effect though...

kadin nga pala is the term for kambing sa lugar na yun.



ENDO
d. jade castro

pitch: life of 6-month contractuals, one of the most visible in our work sector these days, as they approach their end of contract deals and begin new ones -- in relation to work and love life

catch: anong nangyari sa visual timpla? hm...

anyway, aside from the uneven technicals of the film, maganda siya! best directing? jade should have bagged that. napaka-natural lang ng akting ng mga tao dito. kahit may mushy effect na sa ibang pagkakataon, eg yung pagmamakaawa effect ng main boylet character sa kanyang jowa towards the end, maganda siya kasi wow men, na-capture niya yung totoo! as in, okay, totoong nangyayari ito, nakakatuwa, kasi authentic. authentic sa buhay ng mga tao, maniniwala kang authentic ang buhay at ginagalawan ng mga taong ito sa panahong ito at mga lugar na ito. so maganda ang handling sa materyal at sa akting/karakter, at yan ang dapat kwalipikasyon ng mahusay na directorial job. good work, jade. ganda. now i know why sir nic was raving about it and making kulit sa akin not to miss this one. bet siya.

now only if he could have done something with the visual quality of the film. medyo putik-ish na kasi yung kulay at yung movements minsan hindi akma o keri. well, i guess napaka-mainstream din yung approach. pero i guess di na talaga maaalis sa star cinema peeps ang maimpluwensiyahan ng ganitong approach. sa araw-araw ba namang pagbababad nila sa network e, but i digress...

what he has going for him din is the fact na maganda ang concept. end of contract people sa service sector. marami sila, at maraming makaka-relate dito, much like maraming makaka-relate sa call center life lately. pero mas makulay itong endo life kesa sa call center life e, kung isasapelikula at ikukuwento, kasi mas maraming mapupuntahan at napupuntahan, unless may magaling na matang makagawa rin ng ganito tungkol sa buhay call center. well, maybe next year may ganitong entry.

saka gusto ko yung konsepto na naging analogy ng endo ang end ng relasyon ng bida. na-reflect din ang tunay na sitwasyon ng mga tao ngayon tungkol sa pakikipagrelasyon. may mabilisan, may hinihintay lang matapos para move on na sa next, merong atat ka nang tapusin kasi mas excited ka nang magsimula ng panibago...subtle yet swak. winner.

at saka revelation sa akin yung ina feleo gelay. na di ko alam na anak pala ni laurice guillen at johnny delgado. aba, magaling ang girl, her acting pedigree shows so well here...and in the other films she's in. she's not sickeningly sweet or pakyut and she acts for film! aware siya sa sensitivities ng medium. wala rin siyang sampu samperang quality ng stable actor sa isang talent center baga. unique siya. homaygad ay hab a new kras. heheheheh. chos.


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o sya later na ulit yung iba.