Uh oh! It is that time of the year again. I remember taking a break from work last year just to catch the films from last year's Cinemalaya. It used to be the granddaddy of film making ingenuity. Now many film entries are shoddy, pretentious and confoundingly contemptuous.
Imagine my surprise when the worst of it, Jose Israel Laban's "Baconaua" won major awards for Jury Prize and (oh God, don't let me vomit!) BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY in a film where half the time you could hardly see anything on screen! Que Horror indeed!
Which made me wonder! What kind of jurors would consider "Baconaua" first-rate film making? Something was amiss. Maybe they skipped their breakfast, lunch and dinner when they deliberated? Baka na hypoglycemia? Baka na change is scamming?
The pervading social discomfiture and political ineptitude have become so contagious.
There's no going around the fact that Baconaua was cinematic garbage - from the storytelling to its execution. So was that manipulative, unforgivably trashy "Bagahe"; it made my skin crawl. Well, most of the films in it, except "Kiko Boksingero". So help me God!
I hope it's a better viewing experience this year, and not a waste of my effort, time and money! Otherwise I will send Laurice Guillen a bill to cover for the days I had to miss work.
Scary!
#cinemalaya2018
