 |
| Dennis Trillo from Ang Katiwala |
Missing
out on the first few days at the Cinemalaya over at the Cultural Center of the Philippines
didn’t make it easy for me to come back and see the other films. I tried hard
not to dwell on what I’ve missed but instead had to psyche myself up for the
film screenings that I still had the chance to see. I was able to see on my
second day of Cinemalaya Ang Katiwala and Mga Mumunting Lihim, two movies with
mainstream stars in it which made me a bit nervous since the frenzy surrounding
Coco Martin the night before was still fresh in my mind.
Ang
Katiwala
Ang
Katiwala is a film by Aloy Adlawan that tells the story of a carpenter named
Ruben (Dennis Trillo) who tries his luck in Manila
as a caretaker of a sprawling mansion. It turns out that this property used to
be the house of President Manuel Quezon. This film really had the potential in
making viewers know more, care about and eventually be inspired by Quezon. But
I think that the film got too ambitious when it included socially relevant
issues to add more weight to the film. In the end, the film lacked focus and
lost the charm that it could’ve probably had. Dennis Trillo gave a fine
performance but I found it hard to believe that he is indeed a poor carpenter
in the movie. It didn’t help at all that his wardrobe throughout the film was very
coordinated and always in a shade of blue.
Mga
Mumunting Lihim
Mga
Mumunting Lihim by Jose Javier Reyes is probably the film with the biggest
mainstream stars for this year’s festival. And as expected, people were already
gathered at the lobby before the screening. The film is about Olive (Janice de
Belen), Carla (Iza Calzado), and Sandra (Agot Isidro) who mourn the death of
their dear friend Mariel (Judy Ann Santos). What was supposed to be their time
to grieve and move one was shaken when Mariel’s diaries were left to Carla and
she decides to read them. Soon enough, secrets that were kept are laid out in
the open that threatening their friendship of the remaining three and tarnish
the memory of Mariel. While the story was not that groundbreaking, the
execution was first rate although I am not too sure about Mariel’s character
breaking the fourth wall. What made this film work for me was its believable
that the four women are truly friends and not just actresses who had to act
like their friends. The film felt too mainstream for an indie festival and yet it
will feel too indie if released by a major studio. But that doesn’t mean that
it’s a bad film at all.
 |
| Judy Ann Santos from Mga Mumunting Lihim with Ryan Agoncillo |
Too
bad that a conflict of schedule made me miss the Gala Screenings of Aparisyon
and Diablo happening the night after I watched Ang Katiwala and Mga Mumunting
Lihim. But I managed to return after skipping one day to see Mga Dayo and The Animals. Below are my thoughts regarding Mga Dayo while
the one for the Animals will be posted on the next entry.
 |
| Roeder Camañag from Mga Mumunting Lihim and Diablo |
Mga
Dayo
Mga
Dayo, a film by Julius Sotomayor Cena was shot entirely in Guam .
The film gives light to the lives of three women Alex (Sue Prado), Miriam (Janela
Buhain) and Ella (Olga Natividad) who are living in Guam .
Alex was recently laid off from her job and is in the process of getting
married for convenience. Miriam, a journalist who also got laid off, spends the
day meeting with friends and trying to hook up with men. Ella, on the other hand,
is a member of the housekeeping department of the hotel that the other two
women, incidentally were staying in. She struggles with her work and having to
find some money for the plane ticket of her mother. This film is not a grand
epic but rather an intimate one showing a human story. But the entire film told
the story in just one day (Thanksgiving Day to be specific) and this didn’t
afford me to know more of the history of the main characters didn’t give me
enough reason to really care for them. Yes, Miriam was sad in the end but I
just remained indifferent to her predicament.
 |
| Janela Buhain and Sue Prado from Mga Dayo |
No comments:
Post a Comment