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| Flavio Chomnalez, Lhuana Lopez, Gerardo Regalado, David Montoya, Pilar Cuadra, Giancarlo Mosciatti, and Isidora Rojas |
The Embassy of Colombia and the Film Development Council of the Philippines presented the first ever Colombian Film Festival in the country at the Cinematheque Centre Manila.
A diverse selection of six films were featured at the festival namely Of Love and Other Demons, Mamá, The Dragon Defense, Keyla, Bad Lucky Goat, and Mateo. The film festival opened with a reception night attended by members of the diplomatic corps, distinguished guests, members of the media, and film enthusiasts. This was followed by the screening Del Amor y otros demonios/Of Love and Other Demons. A fitting opener, I might add, since this is a film adaptation of the novel written by Gabriel García Márquez, Nobel Prize Winner for Literature and very likely the most well known Colombian here in the Philippines.
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| Colombian Embassy's chargé d'affaires David Montoya |
The Colombian Film Festival heads over to Cinematheque Centre Iloilo this August 20-24, 2019 and then will travel to Cinematheque Centre Davao this October 2-5, 2019.
Del Amor y otros demonios/Of Love and Other Demons
Directed by Hilda Hidalgo, the film tells about the story of Sierva Maria (Eliza Triana), the 13 year old daughter of the Marquis, who is whisked away to the convent after getting bitten by a rabid dog and then thought to be possessed by the devil. Enter Father Cayetano Delaura (Pablo Derqui) who the Bishop assigned to exorcise the demon out of the young girl. But Father Cayetano, who firmly believes that she is not possessed, falls for her instead
The animosity of Sierva Maria's parents towards each other and towards her as well, coupled with the contempt that the Bishop and the Abbess have for one another, just made the plight of Sierva Maria and Father Cayetano more tragic and hopeless. Despite the seemingly forbidden nature of their love, it somehow seemed pure and chaste when compared to how repulsive the people around them are.
Like so many films adapted from novels, something had to give. The novel had more layers and nuances that were lost in the film. It is highly recommended to read the book after seeing the movie or even if not seeing it. This is a Gabriel Garcia Marquez work for crying out loud!
The animosity of Sierva Maria's parents towards each other and towards her as well, coupled with the contempt that the Bishop and the Abbess have for one another, just made the plight of Sierva Maria and Father Cayetano more tragic and hopeless. Despite the seemingly forbidden nature of their love, it somehow seemed pure and chaste when compared to how repulsive the people around them are.
Like so many films adapted from novels, something had to give. The novel had more layers and nuances that were lost in the film. It is highly recommended to read the book after seeing the movie or even if not seeing it. This is a Gabriel Garcia Marquez work for crying out loud!
RAd's Pageturners | Gabriel García Márquez' Of Love and Other Demons
Right from the start the book sets up mystery and intrigue with a prologue reciunting on how Márquez, a young journalist at the time, was supposed to have stumbled upon the skeletal remains of a young girl with more than 20 meters of copper hair still intact even centuries after her death.
Reading the pages just reaffirms the inherent difficulty in adapting Márquez' words to the silver screen. Never had descriptions of bowel movements and foul odors emanating from a woman's body sounded so delectable. And these words by Marquez can only be savored by reading the pages of his works.
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