Amateur Hour at the Cinemalaya 2017 - Let There Be Light - Please!

This year, nine films brave to navigate the cinematic dark waters for this year’s Cinemalaya film festival. By “dark”, we’re imputing cinematic theme – and technical proficiency or the lack of it.

There’s illiteracy and terrorism (Perry Escano’s “Ang Guro Kong Di Marunong Magbasa”); a child’s loneliness (Thop Nazareno’s “Kiko Boksingero”); abuse and the government’s lack of empathy for its foreign workers (Zig Dulay’s “Bagahe”); murder and infidelity in a small town (Iar Arondaing’s “Sa Gabing Nananahimik ang mga Kuliglig” and Sonny Calvento’s “Nabubulok”); superstition and drug smuggling in a fishing village (Joseph Israel Laban’s “Baconaua”); obscure definitions of a relationship (Nerissa Picadizo’s “Requited”); artistic struggles in the squalor amidst extra judicial killings (Alberto Monteras II’s “Respeto”) and false hopes and urban legends (Mes De Guzman’s “Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha”).

Despite the provocative plots, there’s scanty good news to be shared from my end. In fact, this was one of the most challenging set of entries I had to endure to watch. I am, in fact, trying to remember the last time it was this bad. But I am getting ahead of myself.

OVERBEARING DARKNESS

Poor production values, pedestrian direction, clunky writing, cluttered exposition, miscasting and overwrought performances hobble the entries. One common characteristic is darkness. While I understand the preponderancy of atmosphere and dimly lit scenography, it’s a different matter altogether when the silver screen is but a patch of black. One geriatric viewer had to remark: “Wala akong makita”. No, lola, it isn’t your cataract nor your macular degeneration. It’s the film you’re watching.  I’m not talking about a single title. There were several: “Baconaua” leads the guilty parties. Wouldn’t it have been appealing if we actually recognized the color “red” when the sea turned bloody? 

Here’s a trivia about colors: you need light to distinguish them! Isn't the concept basic in photography (cinematography)? When the sea spits apples, and all you find are silhouettes, you’re doing the audience a disservice. From my seat, the apples looked like mounds of excreta! The same affliction characterized “Sa Gabing…” and portions of “Nabubulok”. “Maybe they’re experimental?” quipped one hopeful viewer, I had to laugh in my dark corner.

BACK TO SQUARE ONE

In the early days of the Cinemalaya, the audience were patient of such film-making gaffes. But, boy oh boy, that was more than 10 years ago. There’s been tremendous advancement in technology, and indies aren’t two-bit artistic inventions anymore. Or are we back to square one?

Let’s take Perry Escano’s “Ang Guro Kong Di Marunong Magbasa”, about a farmer who’s tasked to takeover teaching duties at a remote grade school in Muslim Mindanao. Here’s the clincher: Aaquil (Alfred Vargas) is himself illiterate and doesn’t have the foggiest about his three R’s. 

While undeniably an interesting concept, the film is clunky at best, the performances abominable, particularly from Vargas who’s too well scrubbed and healthy to represent a marginalized sector of the countryside. This is a curiosity because we’ve always considered Vargas an adequate performer. In this movie however, Vargas’ demeanor is reduced to being “pa-cute” and juvenile. And don’t let him scamper for his life by dodging bullets. Five paces later, he’s breathless. The scenes are awkwardly blocked, you feel like watching an old flick in Piling Piling Pelikula. Mostly, they are turgid and amateurish. Is this a Cinemalaya film we’re watching? I had to ask myself. In the end, the whole narrative conceit is as fraudulent as the ineptitude of the movie’s general direction. Who read this script and thought this was festival-grade? Aren’t there quality-control measures to assure the inclusion of legitimate film makers?

Sonny Calvento’s “Nabubulok” follows the train of events after the disappearance of Luna, wife of Jason and mother of three, after her cousin Ingrid (Gina Alajar) starts sniffing around. The story takes the tedious and impudent style reminiscent of Carlo J. Caparas. In fact, every character is suspicious or annoying. Each scene screams the obvious. So much for elements such as foreshadowing. It could have benefited from Gina Alajar’s erstwhile astute dramatic insight. Alajar remains to be one of the industry’s best actresses of all time. Unfortunately, time has rendered Alajar shrill and irritating. When she eventually delivers her “Tang ina nila” line (uttered thrice) in bravura look-at-me-I’m-acting moment, I was awash with regret. How has passing time reduced Alajar to sheer mediocrity. 

The movie likewise fails to make use of promising Jameson Blake and the ubiquitous JC Santos. There were several conspicuous lapses in the story. A farmer inadvertently witnesses the unplanned burial in the dark night. The American patriarch is buying cement at the hardware shop. Ingrid and the neighborhood smell the overpowering stench of a rotting carcass in the household premises. Are you following this? Wasn’t Luna’s body buried in the fields? What was rotting away inside the house? Were there multiple bodies worth checking out? Where was cement used? At the farm? Sometime in the story, police officers suddenly arrive at the scene bearing a search warrant. Right away? Instant warrant, you blink and it’s there. As I’ve mentioned earlier, this takes Carlo J. Caparas’ storytelling sensibilities!

Employing the backdrop of a religious festivity (ho-hum!), Iar Arondaing’s provocatively titled “Sa Gabing Nananahimik ang mga Kuliglig” is a whodunit piece that involves two murders and spotlights the comeuppance of perfidy. 

Madga (Angel Aquino) confesses to Father Mike (Jake Macapagal) the murder of her friend Dolores (Mercedes Cabral), her husband Victor’s mistress. On the same night, Victor (Mark Dionisio) is found bludgeoned to death. Hector (Ricky Davao), Magda’s husband, is then arrested for the crime. Unfortunately, Father Mike is bound to the seal of the confessional. What to do?

The film is hampered by borderline production values, as the story interposes the unraveling events with religious chants and the ensuing festivities. Most of them seem disconnected to the moving picture taking place before you. It’s like hearing Manny Pacquiao quote another biblical passage and realize that something is amiss in the silly exercise. In the first hour alone, scenes successively show Angel Aquino navigate the darkness: at the bathroom, in the kitchen, then inside the bedroom while she gets dolled up! We are baffled by the perversion of darkness to frame a more urgent story that needed telling. If this isn’t a case of style trumping substance, I don’t know what is. 

Direction, camera work, lighting (or the lack of it) are just baffling, if not stifling. All these atmospheric scenarios muddle an already-messy story. Moreover, there are grave flaws in the artistic choices: Jess Mendoza, looking like he’s fathered 5 already, plays the subservient son of Mercedes Cabral? Seriously? Is this suspension of disbelief? I had to tap my heels silly to knock me some patience in the midst of the film’s inanity.

“Matt and I has separate rooms.” (wink wink)

I heard the loudest chorus of chuckles as Nerissa Picadizo’s “Requited” drew to a close. The road movie, reminiscent of Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil’s “Lakbay2Love”, has less drone shots and a lot more verbal scuttle between its two characters: Matt (Jake Cuenca) and Sandy (Anna Luna). Matt is afflicted with alopecia. Errr. No, something else that’s more lethal, thus he embarks on a journey from Manila to Mount Pinatubo to end it all. But shrill Sandy, the once-popular volleyball star, decides to tag along to “not define” her relationship with the unemployed architect.

“Ang relikang yan ay galing doon.” 

(Baybayin at bigyang kahulugan ang salitang “relika”.)

Let’s just say that when the suicidal loverboy pushes his mi amor down the cliff, then walks away while we see her abdomen heaving for air, we couldn’t help but suspect that this wasn’t a romantic drama after all. Picadizo apparently confuses her genre every so often. She eventually allows her protagonist to walk away, as though catharsis is to be had once he buries the love of his life. 

Too bad – because Jake Cuenca seems to have invested his heart and soul to breathe life to Matt. Cuenca is one of this festival’s most committed performers. (And listen, I’m trying to “unsee” Matt pleasuring himself among the rocks as final homage to his requited love.) Now tell me: what keeps people from committing to each other if their affections were mutual? This movie does not have the answer. Go fish elsewhere. Hah!

Joseph Israel Laban’s “Baconaua” auspiciously starts out with riveting scenes by the shore. 

It has been 90 days since Divina’s (Elora Espano) fisherman father got lost at sea. People believe that a sea serpent (“bakunawa” – a mythical sea dragon believed by old folks in the Visayas region to devour moons thus causing eclipses) has taken him away. Soon thereafter, the sea turns red. Supposedly. The screen was almost in pitch darkness to appreciate this,

Shall I then bestow it with a special award: Dark Picture Award. This movie takes the cake. However, this isn’t the only issue dragging the movie down. Not only are there expendable biblical references (apples wash ashore, a serpent crawl through the mangrove), numerous narrative elements sloppily pile up: an illegal Chinese alien (whose face you can’t even see), drug trafficking, military operations against terrorists; an unlikely romantic triangle; and, yes, a sea monster that selectively chooses his victims. The latter even sounds like Nessie of the Scottish Highlands. Gather these elements and you have one ambitious, but blotchy yarn. 

The film reminds me of Kristian Cordero's "Hinulid" (starring Nora Aunor). In it, the director floods his narrative with a thousand-and-one quotations from so many references. You suspect he has 3 dozens of encyclopedias full of philosophical, biblical and scientific sayings. I just cringe. Laban tries to inject numerous disparate elements to spice up his cinematic palette. Mas maraming sahog, mas masarap, debah? Tee hee.

The good thing about this film: you can finally use your imagination to try to make out what’s on your screen. It’s a good cognitive practice, if you ask me. It's like closing your eyes and allowing your mind to soar. But in this film, your eyes are wide open as you stare at a Cimmerian shade of celluloid. Just a thought here - the director will probably be able to tell a more focused tale if there's a little more light? .

The festival's most irritating performance.

Zig Dulay’s “Bagahe” feels like masochism-porn the way Mercy (Angeli Bayani) handles her sticky situation. 

The 35-year-old OFW was caught leaving a newborn child on her flight back home from overseas employment. A high profile investigation soon follows with every political personality wanting a piece of the limelight, including a Social Welfare secretary, a senator, the media, the NBI, the church and her family from Kapangan, Benguet. Her demeanor leaves much to be desired in the ensuing circus.

PAINFULLY PASSIVE

Dulay’s script, usually engrossing and insightful in previous works, is a sloppy parody of the OFW distress story. Each personality is written like cardboard characters. It doesn’t help that Bayani’s portrayal is painfully passive, you feel the unease of being manipulated into sympathizing with her. There’s something pretentious, even deceptive, in her depiction of the ultimate victim. If you’re easily bamboozled by woeful facies, you’d proclaim her queen of the cinematic ball. Kumbaga, nang uuto! For me, hers was one of the festival’s most irritating turns.

Alberto Monteras II’ s “Respeto” is this festivals most technically accomplished entry. It is insightfully casted and cleverly crafted by Monteras who, prior to this, has been directing hundreds of music videos. 

Set in a chaotic urban neighborhood, amateur rapper Hendrix (Abra) crosses paths with reclusive poet Doc Fortunato Reyes (Dido de la Paz) when the former decides to rob the old gentleman’s book shop. Thrown together by circumstance, the two start a mentor-protégé relationship, one that would soon get tested by the spate of killings happening around town. 

Rapper Abra turns in a more-than-decent performance worthy of, at the very least, a citation. He will give Jake Cuenca a tight fight in the lead actor category, though, in my book, Cuenca delivered the more substantial and consistent performance. Dela Paz’s poetic number at the rap competition was amusing. It was also awkward, misplaced and rough around the edges. Nevertheless, dela Paz gives his career-best in “Respeto”.

Thop Nazareno’s “Kiko Boksingero” tells the story of Kiko (Noel Comia Jr.), a lonely 11 year old boy who pines for the affection of his father. After the demise of his mother, the young boy is left under the care of his nanny (Yayo Aguila). One day, George (Yul Servo) shows up at the empty apartment that Kiko frequently visits. Kiko's life is never the same.

The cool temperatures of Baguio adroitly frames the young protagonist’s longings in a story affectionately told. This bittersweet tale demonstrates that you don’t need a lengthy exposition to tell a good story. Nor does one require loud bickering or convoluted plot to engage your audience. The movie is a calm emotional discourse about grief and the ties that bind. Servo is charismatic as the former boxer who welcomes his most loyal fan in his temporary home. Yayo Aguila is an affectionate presence. Young Noel Comia Jr. is perfectly cast as the hopeful boy who forges a relationship with his noncommittal father.

"Kiko..." is a balm of hope and inspiration. It mirrors kindness and affection in a world that has embraced discord and indifference. If your idea of cinema is one that lifts your sagging spirit, look no further. This is the perfect vehicle.

The festivals’ most charming entry is Mes de Guzman’s “Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha” which stars Megastar Sharon Cuneta who’s aptly back in the indie scene after the whimsical comedy “Crying Ladies” (2003). What’s with Cuneta and “crying”? But I'm not complaining. The movie is a departure from one of my favorite indie directors' style who’s known for his glacially-paced introspective dramas usually set in the back roads of small towns. Pamilya takes place in Laguna.

In the story, Cora dela Cruz (Cuneta) is a former broadcast journalist wallowing in the doldrum of her solitary life. She has lost everyone important to her, including her husband (Richard Quan), her children (Michelle Vito and Philip Olayvar) and even her career. With the help of her oftentimes-discombobulated maid Bebang (the irrepressible Moi Bien), Cora hires the services of Biboy (Nino Muhlach) to find the mythical “Family that Doesn’t Weep”. The family of four is an urban legend believed to bring back lost object or person – for a fee, of course. Cora’s dilemma isn’t an easy one. Moreover, she's just too desperate to doubt. She has pinned her hopes up on this strange family. Cora's penultimate journey abruptly ceases when fate swerves to a dead end. Her desperation almost kills her, as she eventually ends up at the emergency room.

Cora’s story is a cautionary tale about hope and deliverance. Happiness and success aren’t attained by subscribing to superstition nor should they be dependent on the mere presence of others. Sometimes, our contentment is defined by what we think we need when, in truth, happiness could be had with so much less. 

VEERING AWAY FROM EASY

A story like Cora's is fodder for maudlin caterwauling, but De Guzman decides to take an unexpectedly light approach to tell his story. "Drama" would have easily benefited Cuneta more, but the narrative path veers away from inexorable sentimentality. If anything, this artistic choice is fortuitous. After all, both De Guzman and Cuneta more familiarly tread the dramatic genre. Comedy, then, becomes an "extraordinary" choice. In this respect, we applaud De Guzman more than ever - and can't wait for his next film. 

I initially didn't expect a lot from the movie after watching some scenes from the trailer; none of which made it in the final cut. 

But such is the joy of unexpected surprises. The movie is funny, but ultimately heart breaking. It’s probably inappropriate to say that this vehicle is a return to form for the iconic actress. After all, she isn’t known for quirky comedies (Wenn Deramas’ “BFF” notwithstanding). Cuneta is treading unfamiliar waters. There are awkward moments of improvs, but Cuneta’s character is completely delineated and bravely depicted. This is a comeback of sorts for Cuneta whose last cinematic foray was Joel Lamangan’s “Mano Po: A Mother’s Love” eight long years ago. There were SRO crowds in the two screenings we've managed to catch (long story!), but this was expected, considering she’s the only stellar name in the current festival. 

Thank God for the few good movies. This has been a challenging experience at a Cinemalaya festival. There were moments that felt like self-flagellation, to be honest. But watching “Pamilya…”, “Kiko Boksingero” and “Respeto” made the whole drill worth the time I invested.

Honor Roll

To cap this post, here is our honor list for this festival:

Best Picture: Alberto Monteras II’s “Respeto”

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Jake Cuenca (“Requited”)

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Sharon Cuneta (“Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha”)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Dido dela Paz (“Respeto”)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:  Chai Fonacier (“Respeto”)

Best Director: Alberto Monteras II (“Respeto”)  

SHORT FILMS

As an addendum, the shorts fielded this year were quite impressive. Their directors displayed more technical proficiency than many of the main features’ megmen. Carl Adrian Chavez’s “Sorry for the Inconvenience” told a complete tale of vengeance and the lopsided face of justice. Ronwaldo Martin is engrossing as the perennially bullied student. Karl Glenn Barit’s “Aliens Yata” is viewed above ground (drone) so the perspective is ground-breakingly alienating, but nevertheless fresh and provocative. Juan Karlo Tarobal’s “Islabodan (Free Men)” is told through multiple frames (as though watching a comic book) about warring gangs. Though the technique used is occasionally disorienting, you can’t deny the dynamism of such storytelling. E del Mundo’s “Manong ng Pa-aling” is told (mostly) underwater. How's that for new perspectives?

The visual techniques employed are varied, adequately using them to move their stories. On the whole, it’s important to remember that no cinematic element is more important than the story itself. On his diatribe about film school, celluloid maverick Werner Herzog once remarked, “Academia kills the cinema.” It is important to hone one's story telling acumen. Otherwise, technical proficiency will not amount to much.  

#cinemalaya2017

"Muli" - Nothing But A One-Way Road to Affection

If you’ve been reading my blogs, you would already be familiar with two names that frequently crop up here - supporting characters in my film-watching adventures: my friends Kyle and Iya. They frequently join me in my cinema adventures. Though we’d have fun night outs together – three of us, it is seldom that I get to take both of them with me in one movie. Iya and Kyle have been with me since high school, way through college. Kyle (who’s the cutest gay guy I’ve ever laid eyes on - and he's been approached by several to do commercials) would take me with him when there are gay films and those god-awful Pinoy indies being shown. Iya, my "sister" during shoe shopping haunts, joins me in Hollywood blockbusters and english films when she doesn’t have a date with her Topher. My mom (sometimes my dad, along with my brat of a brother – “God’s gift to girls” himself) would take me to mainstream Tagalog films. As you can see, I get to cover most of whatever is shown on commercial theaters. Thus makemeblush was born to document them!

But Adolfo Alix’s “Muli” succeeded the impossible. It drew Kyle and Iyaya and me to the cinema together, and I am almost thankful to Mr. Alix for this one-in-a-lifetime event! Or should I?

Cogie Domingo and Sid Lucero play once-a-year lovers Errol and Jun, respectively.

Capsule

Jun Bernabe is an ex-seminarian who teaches in Baguio City. It’s 1968 and he inherits an “inn” from her mother. Aside from running the guesthouse, Jun belongs to a local communist group that follows stringent rules about their ideology, as well as their lifestyles (governing even their romantic involvements). Meanwhile, there is Errol Agabin (Cogie Domingo), a law student from Manila who occasionally heads to the city of pines whenever he’s in a bind, emotional or otherwise (his parents’ separation, his impending marriage, etc). He would check-in at Jun’s guesthouse, but nothing else goes on between them. Things change between them when Celest (the Communist Organization’s leader – and Jun’s erstwhile lover, played by Arnold Reyes) gets shot and dies, leaving Jun lonely. One night, while helping his drunken guest to his bed, Jun is unable to control himself – and steals a kiss from Errol!

The morning after, Errol feigns ignorance from the event that transpired the night before, and bids Jun goodbye. But we find Errol returning sometime thereafter to finally consummate their growing attraction. Errol eventually returns to Manila for his studies. It would take 3 years before he is able to come back. Unfortunately, he bears news of his impending marriage to his girlfriend Mina (Max Eigenmann). And Jun is left eternally anticipating Errol’s rare yearly visits (if he’s lucky, that is). He would stare at the distance, hopelessly pining for Errol’s kisses. He would write him letters, but never gathering enough courage to mail them. Along the way, he meets interested lovers with whom he couldn’t fully commit – his student Ayer (was that “Santuaryo’s” Ardie Bascara?) and Roland (Rocky Salumbides), a miner from Nueva Ecija. But Jun keeps his Aprils free for the elusive lawyer who visits yearly (every 2^nd week of April, in fact). Will Jun ever find happiness more than their fleeting April rendezvous every year?

Sid Lucero and Rocky Salumbides as Jun and Roland.

Sid Lucero and Ardie Bascara as Jun and Ayer.

The narrative is set against the country’s shaky political goins-on (from Marcos’ Martial Law declaration to the rise of the Arroyo presidency) employing intermittent TV footages of the strife that our country has endured all through the years to remind us of the timeline. This actually gives the story a delicate edge as we are made witness to Jun’s personal and social upheavals (he gets suspended from his leftish group when they learned of his sexual alliances with Celest). The first third of the story is particularly arresting as mood and atmosphere are heightened by heavy fogging and mist-laden mountainsides. Unfortunately, as the story unravels further, we get the picture of an unbalanced relationship between Jun and Errol. The story gradually descends into Danielle Steel territory.

Consider this: They share a night of passion. Then Errol leaves, and never returns for 3 long years! If you were a smart cookie, wouldn't you consider that as a mere one-night-stand, instead of serious relationship? It’s not like Errol was Jun's romantic first time - or the epitome of naivety, for that matter. One night of wild shagging with no follow-through letters or phone calls for years should be an easy clue that it was just hormones on overdrive. How can you even pine for someone who loves you only once a year? If that's even love! Moments of tenderness and affection outside coitus were conveniently absent. Did I even hear Errol profess his love for Jun? Isn't it clear then that, where Errol is concerned, Jun is nothing but an afterthought of his occasional itch?

The movie's early publicity would have you believe that it is a sprawling romantic epic of an enduring love between two people. How deceptive! There is just too much undeserved romanticizing of a relationship that doesn’t really hold a lot of historical baggage together, except of course that the other guy enduringly waits for a chance to get shagged once a year. If that doesn't make him a joke, I dunno what would. Meanwhile, the other party gets on with his life, raises a family, takes his kids to Disneyland, and climbs the social ladder. The equation in “Muli” is rather too simplistic, but the numbers leading to its conclusion don’t quite add up!

Sid Lucero wanted to become an actor like Cogie Domingo and Baron Geisler before he started in the business.

At times, it feels like a Star Cinema production – but with gay people in it. It is such a gay world indeed. And didn't you notice - even Jun's Communist Party has half of its population closeted gays? The thought brings me a sense of frivolity. Masaya ang mundo!

Cogie Domingo, who was already an intuitive actor in “Deathrow” eons ago, withholds his emotions too well. He is unsatisfactorily too detached from the story, probably because his character is muted by his indecision. In “Muli”, Cogie is obviously out of his depth. Sid Lucero’s Jun Bernabe is bemused by his own self-inflicted tragedy. And Lucero magnificently plunges head on into an array of emotions that plays out naturally and sympathetically on screen. He is charming, affecting, believable and just astonishing, even in the scenes where he quietly cries.

Maxie Evangelista, who plays Kaloy (he works for Jun at the inn), turns in a revelatory performance. After years of mediocre and distracting presence in most of Alix’s films, Evangelista has finally hit the cinematic jackpot with a moving performance of the out-and-out “parlorista” who subscribes to the precept that if he wants a slice of happiness, he has to find it himself - even at the risk of rejection or injury.

Rocky Salumbides plays the role of Roland, Jun’s devoted lover, who’s willing to introduce him to his mother. He is unaware of Jun’s occasional tryst wit the “attorney”. Despite Salumbides’ international success as a model, we find it odd why he doesn’t register as impressively on screen as I expected him to. He works hard but he appears awkward and, for the most part, inadequate. But he’s a newbie so this shouldn’t discourage him. For the genitalia-weaned gay crowd, you won’t find penises here, although Domingo and Salumbides share a lot of backsides.

Angeli Bayani does well with her part, but not "excellent" the way some writers make it to be. I couldn't reconcile her character's pining for Jun and her desperation to get married to Niles (Marco Alcaraz). "When we're both old and single, let's marry each other," she offered Jun. Ano to, "Kung Ako Na Lang Sana Part 2" (that Sharon Cuneta-Aga Muhlach movie)?

SPOILERS!

There were a few other things that bothered me. The wig used for the Martial Law years were hilariously bad. The 3^rd and last act of the film suddenly turned into mush, concluding into something so unsatisfactory artificial. Would you accept someone who has been taking you for granted – up until he has lost every one else, but you? How convenient, right? As Jun and Errol, now old and gray, dance to a painfully off-key rendition of “Dahil Sa Yo” (surprisingly sang by Cookie Chua), I was awash with bitter emotions of regret and wasted years! God forbid my life will ever be defined by a romance as ungratefully unsatisfactory as this one. Wag na lang!

Cogie Domingo was never believable as a lawyer.

My friends and I saw the film together based on the buzz surrounding this work. It would be unfair to call “Muli” bad. There are several other films this year deserving of the adjective. Unfortunately, I can’t call it a “good” one either, so let's settle with something more appropriate: "middling"! The story is less than adorable, and the pacing sort of drags. As romances go, the story leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. In fact, we came out of the cinema not with a profound sense of affection, but of cynicism. If that's how a romantic film affects its audience, then someone is in trouble.

Director Adolfo Alix used to be the exciting young film maker. He showed a lot of promise, but this year, he made one of the year’s worst: “D’Survivors” (Alix seemed too distracted with his beautiful actors, he actually forgot his audience). He also released “Romeo and Juliet” (with Victor Basa and Alessandra de Rossi), a failed experiment on alternative story telling (see: Hans Canosa’s “Conversations with Other Women” with Helena Bonham-Carter for reference).

Whatever happened to the promise?

Rocky Salumbides

Ardie Bascara