During college my favorite teacher was Fr. Nick Cruz S.J. Handling numerous classes based on film appreciation, his tutelage was focused on the appreciation of art while at the same time observing the bigger picture. He was all about the bigger picture. Fr. Nick’s “syllabus” consisted of several carefully selected films — ones that had the audience asking questions long after the credits had finished rolling.
Fr. Nick’s film classes reaffirmed my belief that a good film still lingers on after the DVD player is switched off. It stays in your head. Sometimes it doesn’t have a concrete ending and a number of conclusions all become plausible. Sometimes having no conclusion is the whole point. Furthermore, a good film doesn’t need digital embellishments; neither does it need an all-star Hollywood cast or a big name director or producer (although, sometimes, these combinations do work).
Good stories and even better storytelling through tasteful cinematography, for me, are what make a film worth watching over and over again. This truth was concretized when I attended Fr. Nick’s European film class sometime in my third year of university. The quality of storytelling in those selected films is just so superb.
I know — there must be lots of duds out there, too. I make fun of those films. The ones that are so condescendingly artsy fartsy they feel it is an obligation to use “Fin” at the end. But I never felt that towards any of the films that Fr. Nick showed in his class. Watch Cinema Paradiso, Olivier, Olivier, Les Choristes or Babette’s Feast and you will surely share my sentiments. Maybe even shed a tear.
I was able to relive the feeling of being in one of Fr. Nick’s classes during the 14th French Film Festival in Manila, held from June 5 to 14 at the Shangri-La Cineplex. The film festival showcased films that were presented in this year’s Cannes Film Festival, all shown completely free to the public. It surely was a treat. After spending the day at the cinema, I had to remind myself that writing a reflection paper on the films I watched was not required.
With one of its dates falling on Philippine Independence Day, the film festival also presented independent Filipino films in the spirit of the occasion. Having a day truly in celebration of Filipino filmmaking talent was a nice gesture by the organizers of the film fest, namely The French Embassy, CulturesFrance and Alliance Francaise de Manille.
The good thing about festivals such as this one is it adds to our cultural exposure and helps us experience something different. These films won’t necessarily draw lines at the box office and likewise, people might not be that inclined to take a chance on them. But the public loves free stuff, so it is only natural that they did gravitate to the film festival. Aside from the free air conditioning and comfy seats, audiences might actually find that they enjoy watching foreign films.
“This year’s festival brings Cannes to Manila,” Martin Macalintal, Audiovisual Attache of the Embassy of France in the Philippines, told us. “As five Filipino movies are presented in this year’s Cannes Film Festival, we will give the audience a glimpse of the quality of films that qualify for selection in the different sections of the festival.”
The recent success of Filipino filmmakers in this year’s Cannes Festival proves that not all local films are cheesy action-comedy-romance-drama-musical oddities. We can actually pull our own weight in the art-cinema world and represent. Congratulations to Raya Martin, Adolfo Alix Jr., Janice Perez, Aissa Penafiel, Miguel Ocampo and especially Brillante Mendoza for winning the Best Director prize at Cannes for his film Kinatay.
What makes European Cinema unique is its effortless ability to look real. As opposed to Hollywood where nearly everything is exaggerated, European films look and feel like taking a peek into someone’s life. “Cinema” is derived from the roots “kine” which means movement and “mime” which means “copy.” In essence, cinema is a captured, moving copy of real life. Since people have a natural tendency to be voyeuristic, the more real the film is, the better. Perhaps our local entries into Cannes mirrored life in the Philippines so well that they could not help but be considered as selections. That’s actually kind of sad. But hey, it’s only more reason to strive to improve things locally.
Honestly, I am no cinephile, nor do I have the proper credentials to consider myself a film critic. I still like Hollywood movies. But when my fellow countrymen are able to represent the Philippines in something as prestigious as the Cannes Festival, I can truly feel proud.
* * *
E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@yahoo.com.