Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2016 kicked off last September 8th and ran for 11 days thru the 18th. The largest film festival in North America hosted more than 1,200 screenings of the 296 films and attracted over hundred thousands of audiences in the busy festival village. It was an
Category: Festival Coverage
Kusina
Something feels right about seeing Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo on screen. Kusina (Eng. title: Her Kitchen) opens with her giving a smile, and her presence alone commands attention; immediately we are drawn in. We don’t see her again until much later, and while the scenes without her work adequately, the film
Lando at Bugoy
I am left with ambivalence upon learning in the credits roll that Lando at Bugoy is actually inspired by a real-life story. Does that supposed to elevate this film when it also happens to reinforce the silent opinion that the straightforward execution makes it look like it’s something you can
Mercury Is Mine
The defining trait of Jason Paul Laxamana’s Mercury Is Mine is its forthright craziness. Never has madness been beckoned with this much vigor; it’s reckless, relentless, and completely unsound of mind. The film opens with the title character, played by Bret Jackson, a young American, who, in the scene, finally
I America
I America, the new film from Ivan Payawal, is by no means a completely redemptive work. It is, instead, a hand-holding piece that argues the unfortunate failure of last year’s The Comeback is merely an unfortunate setback. And with his new film, the young director, at the very least, makes
Pamilya Ordinaryo
The everyday routine of a Filipino family is founded on endurance and survival: surviving the traffic during rush hours, and surviving to make good on their respective jobs; and enduring the heat, the exhaustion, and the every struggle to make ends meet. That is of course unless you are privileged
Sakaling Hindi Makarating
Letters and Romance. Since time immemorial the two have been intertwined like the hands of lovers, or in some cases, the fingers of a pleading man in heartbreak. It is through letters that romance can be sparked, it is through letters that said romance can survive or flounder. Of secret notes
Tandem
The best way to describe Tandem is that it is like the love child of Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive and Erik Matti’s On The Job. In a way, it takes the the 80’s sensibilities of the former and blends it with a plot involving the corruption and the political machinations of those in
All You Need Is Pag-Ibig
There’s no point saying otherwise: All You Need Is Pag-Ibig is an attempt to make a Pinoy Love Actually. Written and directed by Antoinette Jadaone, AYNIP is an assortment of interconnected love stories among tangentially related individuals who believe that their pursuing of romantic love would lead them to their
#WalangForever
There’s a line in Dan Villegas‘ new film, Walang Forever (often stylized as #WalangForever) which I like and perhaps may complement the film as a whole. It is when Cai Cortes‘ character quips to Jericho Rosales‘ Ethan, “Isn’t that what they say about artists? They get immortalized through their works—may it be
Haunted Mansion
Betrayal underlies the conflict in most of Jun Lana’s films. Whether it’s prejudice or acts of sheer deceit—one woman is berated by her own people, another shred into halves by her own nation—the hurt of betrayal in his films rams the atmosphere. Perci Intalan’s debut feature Dementia, whose screenplay is co-written by
Beauty and the Bestie
In one scene in Josh Radnor’s Liberal Arts, a character, frustrated over the success of a certain sparkling vampire book, asks, “So when millions of people like something, that means it’s good?” To which the other character wittily replies, “No, it means millions of people like it. These books make
My Bebe Love #KiligPaMore
Perhaps the best way to sit through Jose Javier Reyes’ My Bebe Love #Kiligpamore is putting down your cynical glasses and throwing your entire expectations out of the window. But a bitter taste is stronger than its tolerable bland-ness, and there is no turning back because, you know, the ticket
Honor Thy Father
When I think about Christmas, the first memories that surge through me are that of family, simbang gabi, warm bonds, and that of all things good and right in the world —even just for one day. Well Honor Thy Father, which opened Christmas Day as part of the Metro Manila Film Fest 2015,
Toto
Persistence is the main takeaway in John Paul Su’s Toto, which means you’re expected to forgive its inevitable Wizard Of Oz reference. Attuned to its hero’s spirits, the film is relentless at satirizing the notion of the American Dream, by way and form of its jocularly naive Filipino with an
Turo-Turo
Why do bad things happen to good people? This might be the central thesis of Turo-Turo, a tale of a persevering father and his struggle to uplift the standard of living of his family of five drenched in the familiar facade of urban poverty. A number of important themes are
Ari: My Life with a King
Geography and culture are largely intertwined. This is the thesis being put forward by Ari: My Life with a King, directed by Carlo Enciso Catu and written by Robby Tantingco. The film’s first shot is of Mt. Pinatubo, now quiet and majestic but had once wreaked havoc and forever transformed
Dahling Nick
The extraordinary brilliance of Dahling Nick is fully realized in its interviews with figures in Nick Joaquin’s life such as: National Artists for Literature Bienvinido Lumbera and F. Sionil Jose; Nick’s niece Charo Joaquin Villegas, his ultimate companion, Elena Roco; and even Communist Party of the Philippines founder, Jose Ma.
Manang Biring
Manang Biring takes off her robe, uninhibited by the darkness of her home (which apparently has not had electricity for a long time) and caresses her right breast, cleaning a wound that has made its way to the lower part of her bosom. The actress, Erlinda Villalobos, plays out this scene with exuberance
Miss Bulalacao
Miss Bulalacao narrates how an entire barrio is sent into a frenzy by the news that a gay boy has suddenly become pregnant. It opens with a small-town drag pageant, during which Dodong (sensitively played by Russ Ligtas) is asked what the essence of being a woman is. His reply:
Dayang Asu
Much has been said about the pacing issues of Bor Ocampo’s Dayang Asu (Eng title: Dognation), and I think that is what makes this film really interesting; it is a nihilistic slow-burner, but it’s more than just a slow-burner. Set in a town of Pampanga, it focuses on a father
Bukod Kang Pinagpala
Faith is its own logic. That’s one reason why religion isn’t a recurring topic at open mics. No one will laugh at those jokes—unless in the audience there’s Donald Trump. Such sensitivities are important in such a sensitive country, but Sheron Dayoc slips in one joke that he knows will crack
Baka Siguro Yata
A ne’er-do-well fat slacker and a bombshell way out his league end up pregnant after a drunken hook-up and learn to love each other along the way. A long-separated couple, now in different relationships, rekindle old flames. A high school couple deals with the pressure of losing their virginity before graduation. If these loglines
The Assassin
I must admit; upon entering the movie theatre, I expected Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin to be a high-energy Wuxia drama with exploding colors, intense fight scenes, and blasting traditional Chinese soundtrack. Instead, it begins in black and white, and there we see Yinniang (Shu Qi, still looking gorgeous sans make-up)
Kapatiran
Pepe Diokno is no stranger to breaking trends in cinema. His first film Engkwentro, a film about two boys on the run from a vigilante death squad was produced under a meager budget of 20,000 USD. His second film Above the Clouds, which was a little more personal, about a grandfather and grandson’s
