Movie magic is back to stay

Those still harboring doubts that the movie industry is indeed back from the dead should only visit the malls to be convinced that the magic of the movies is back to stay.

From the time Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Francis Tolentino also took over the reins of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), he recognized that the future in Philippine cinema lies in the youth and in the independent films they espoused. From 2010, he began introducing the segment for indies dubbed as New Wave. This year had five full-length entries, 10 shorts, a Cinephone category and next year, animation. 

The indies were screened at the Glorietta Makati Cinema One last Dec. 18 to 22, a date no one ever wanted. To make matters worse, The Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings prequel, was still showing. We reached Glorietta around noon, found the lobby filled with people in booths to air trailers, distribute flyers and entertain inquiries. For a P100 fee, one could watch a full-length entry and two shorts, brilliant maneuver to assist the shorts. On the last day, attendance had doubled and screening extended till Dec. 24. We have no doubts what next year will bring.

We swore to watch all entries starting with Grave Bandits, a delightful romp into the world of horror and dark comedy, of alien-infected ghouls, from Fil-American director-producer Tyrone Acierto from Sta. Cruz, Zambales where filming took place. As Vanessa Ulgado, co-producer, puts it, “It was one of the most interesting filming experiences we’ve had.”

The cast and crew of a hundred included locals like Cecille Baun for prosthetics. The bandits composed of Marti San Juan, 11, started as commercial model at age seven; his partner Ronald Pacifico, 17, was a stand-in who so impressed direk Tyrone who cast him instead. Jill Palencia as native Maiya, who holds the secret to the plague that ravaged the island, is a regular on horror films. Robert Nunes from the US plays the scientist intent on finding the secret of the island.

On the scale of entertainment, direction, acting and post-production, Grave Bandits is tops. We didn’t really expect much content, and neither did the horror fans in the audience. Marti as Peewee should get some recognition here.

We next screened Ronaldo Bertubin’s Gayak, one of Allan Paule’s four entries, as he reaches out to a son (Sef Cadayona). There are too many confusing elements — the unique San Juan rituals, the manner both father and son attack admission of homosexuality, the son’s illness — although the cast’s acting and support of Evelyn Vargas with Richard Bradley add to the sadness of a paternal love that comes too late in the day. The sizeable crowd came out of the theater red-eyed.

Matteo Guidicelli’s first indie portraying Saint Gerome in the past and today’s Brother Jerry in charge of children in an orphanage in the present is too much of a responsibility for the actor in Michael Angelo Dagñalan’s Paglaya sa Tanikala. However, we appreciate Matteo’s efforts. In the dual role, he does better as Brother Jerry, but the movie is stolen by child actor Micho Laurente as the street smart rugby addict Berto in the orphanage who will certainly go on to greater heights in an acting career. The film was produced by the Somascan Fathers Foundation.

Ad Ignorantiam (Argument from Ignorance), directed by Armando “Bing” Lao, produced by lawyer Joji Alonso is a critical look at how lengthy court trials become synonymous with justice in this country. Based on an actual case of snatching, the film topbills Ina Feleo and Kristoffer King. We found the film difficult to like as the trial dragged on for years. “That’s exactly the point,” Joji said, adding that Bing would be pleased with our reaction.

The last New Wave entry was Will Fredo’s In Nomine Matris (In Honor of Mother), a difficult merging of the lead Liza Diño’s love for flamenco, her mom and the two brothers who are rivals for her affection. Based on real stories of dancers, Liza shares that direk Will challenged his dancers in such a manner that she and her rival for the lead Maradee de Guzman were no longer speaking with each other as the competition progressed. To us, the participation of Clara Ramona, who runs a flamenco school in the Philippines, and Tami Monsod as real flamenco dancers, plus Biboy Ramirez and Al Gatmaitan as the rival brothers, and Leo Rialp as Liza’s erring dad added important elements to the story. A definite must-watch in our book!   

Among the shorts, our pick would be Obsesyon, Pukpok and Sonata.

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