Kristian Cordero's "Hinulid" - Ambition Trumps Artistry... and the Nora Aunor Factor

When all that’s left are our memories, they’re looped in our minds like a familiar tale with no ending. 

Sita’s (Nora Aunor) homecoming is an infliction. An overseas foreign worker from Qatar, she comes home to claim and bury her son Lukas (Jess Mendoza) in Cagbunga, a picturesque village in the heart of Bicol. But Sita is baffled by the circumstances surrounding her son’s death. Was he a victim of frat violence or of his leftist activities? She seeks answers from the Tolong Hinulid (Three Dead Christs) said to watch over the village’s residents. As she steps on familiar grounds, memories come flooding back. Her endless train journeys might eventually find its way to the cosmic heavens where the tandayag (the mystical serpent) resides. Maybe this is where Lukas’ story gets its denouement. 

Among QCinema’s main competition entries, Kristian Cordero’s “Hinulid (The Sorrows of Sita)" has some of the festival's most visually arresting images (aside from Bagane Fiola's "Baboy Halas"), I was ready to like it from its opening scene. You see, the first 15 minutes sometimes gives a foreshadowing whether or not I’m going to like the rest of the film. 

TELLING SCENES

This is true of the following:  Milo Sogueco’s “Mariquina”, Chuck Gutierrez’s “Iisa”, Rico Maria Ilarde’s “Altar”, Aureus Solito’s “Busong” and Ice Idanan’s “Sakaling Hindi Makarating”. I knew I was going to like them from their early scenes alone. 

Unfortunately, beguiling images don’t a good movie make. You have to be able to sustain and balance this with fluid story telling. “Hinulid” went into overdrive spewing a steady stream of quotations, unfolding from a single page to a volume. While they were initially thought-provoking, it soon became a challenge to sit through its laborious text and verbose references from artists to philosophers. Every writing genre is represented, but Shakespeare. 

BURDENSOME

These make “Hinulid” quite burdensome to watch. I had to stop myself from walking out. I reckon it was early penance. After all, Ate Guy was in the audience and this cinema royalty deserved my patience. An insider story revealed that the movie was originally 3 hours long, but QCinema intervened. One can imagine the amount of quotations that didn’t make the final cut. Darn!

When the protracted train ride finally derails itself and flies to the heavens, I was reminded of Robert Zemeckis’ “Polar Express”.  Steeped in philosophy and mysticism, the train heads towards the vast cosmos. Forever, I hoped.

To be fair, Nora Aunor elevated this movie from its self-important ramblings. In La Aunor’s able hands; she validated every scene she’s in. She set its pace, and rendered it its heartbeat. She was the grieving mother who lost her only son. It was a narrative device employed to parallel Mary’s utter devotion to her son. With a vicious cycle of events randomly hopping within a timeline, this scholarly yarn was ultimately discombobulating, incongruent and pretentious, one of the three fat turkeys in an otherwise superlative line-up of QCinema features. There’s no denying Kordero’s talent and ambition. If he manages to moderate and temper his prodigious artistry, who knows, we might have another Brillante Mendoza or Aureus Solito in our midst. Just not with this movie. 

INDIGENIZATION OF CINEMA

Santigwar by Salvosa

This film also showcases the contribution of regional cinema to Philippine movies. It highlights one of the dimensions of cinema, i.e.the indigenization of the medium, making it richer and colorful. Indigenized cinema easily becomes a significant component of perpetuating culture. 

Indeed, Cordero’s visual canvas is rife with the most fascinating local color. We need this. Cinema can help "preserve" regional mores and tradition. 

How else does someone as urbanized as I am know about the Bicolano rituals of the Santigwar ("pagtatawas"), referenced several times, if a bit too redundantly, in Kordero's scenes? If these concepts are thrown into the story, they have to deserve to be in it, and not just as a means to satisfy the filmaker's indulgences. A valid story is basic.

There was a time I’d come home from QCinema festival absolutely frustrated. Who knew that would change? Now I can’t wait for 2017. Congratulations to the organizers of this year's QCinema.

#QCinema   #Hinulid   #Nora Aunor

Percival Intalan's "Dementia" - Deafening versus Horrifying

After 37 years, Mara (Nora Aunor) makes an unexpected homecoming to a remote town in Batanes. She’s suffering from Dementia, a clinical condition where cognitive and intellectual functions are sufficiently impaired, thus requiring close supervision and care. She’s mostly in the fog, forgets people and things, and is unable to function productively. Her cousin Elaine (Bing Loyzaga), along with husband Rommel (Yul Servo) and daughter Rachel (Jasmine Curtis-Smith), has flown back from the U.S. for a 7-week sabbatical to facilitate Mara’s discharge from the hospital as well as her transport to the tempestuous islands (Batan, Sabtang). Rommel is understandably peeved, and Rachel is mostly indifferent. But Elaine, the only person Mara remembers, grew up under Mara’s care, and owes her elder cousin a great deal.

In a somnolent town where electricity shuts off at 9 PM, Mara is left to meander this vaguely familiar house made of stone and thatched roof. 

Hopefully, this would steer her to remember things from her past. But in a creaky old house incessantly fanned by strong winds from the Pacific, there’s more to Mara’s abandoned memories, encapsulated in a journal she’s been keeping.

Mara starts seeing visions of a girl wearing vakul (a traditional Ivatan head gear made of straws used for protection against the sun, wind and rain) and a ghoulish maiden wearing a wedding gown. Mara also gets hold of a mysterious amulet with a hole in the middle. Then flashbacks start rushing by.

As a young girl, orphaned Mara was taken in by the Fabre couple who, unknown to the young girl (Althea Vega), has been keeping an intellectually challenged daughter named Olivia (Chynna Ortaleza) away from the prying eyes of the public. Mara soon realizes how she would figure in the household - as Olivia’s guardian and friend. The girls grew up affectionate of each other until Mara falls in love with a young man who then proposes to marry the dusky lass. In a fit of jealousy, Olivia stabs Mara’s beau. The situation briskly escalates into one of morbid consequences.

There’s much promise in Jun Lana’s story. Unfortunately, megman Percival Intalan’s directions leave much to be desired. Laid out as a psychological suspense thriller, the sluggishly told narrative soon falls prey to the wornout Asian horror cliché that makes use of sudden – and excruciatingly loud! – music/sound that eventually annoys more than it terrorizes. 

A door opens then a loud noise suddenly plays, and so on. Effective horror plays to our psyche, not bullyrag our auditory senses. And a story teller creates an atmosphere of impending doom. Lesser equipped film makers resort, on the other hand, to cheaper artifice, by creating “sudden noises” – the ones that actually break eardrums! Becoming deaf from movie watching isn't my idea of entertainment. I want to get pissing-in-my-knickers petrified, not deaf. This is why Von de Guzman's’ music and Addiss Tabiong's sound design contribute to Dementia’s faux pas as a cinematic chiller. Music and sound should enhance cinematic atmosphere, NOT call attention upon themselves. They shouldn't drown out the visual canvas. Of course, Intalan will be grateful to De Guzman and Tabiong because the pair was able to “jolt” the audience out of their ennui when this should have been the job of the story teller.

Plot crawls in dilatory fashion. Even as an atmospheric drama, Renei Dimla’s script should be circumspect. Instead it was nothing but patchy. One scene tries to explain Olivia’s relative “anonymity” through a sound byte from one of the characters, “Batang bata pa kasi sila nung namatay si Olivia” (thus most barrio folks weren’t made aware of Olivia’s presence). But even if you doze off between Mackie Galvez’s confoundingly underlit scenes, you would know that Mara and Olivia both grew up into adults. How else would Mara find romance? Was Olivia really kept behind the stone walls of the Fabre abode? Highly unlikely. You see the girls playing around the vast wind-swept landscape of Batanes. In a small town with a population less than a hundred, can you really keep a moving, breathing, living being under wraps?         

Bing Loyzaga unexpectedly keeps the story together as much as her character strings her otherwise divisive family. Loyzaga’s portrayal is so consistent you feel her strength amid internal strife. Jasmine Curtis-Smith is a joy to watch. Unlike her older sister, Jasmine never “overbakes” her characters. She’s temperate; and she steers clear from dramatic indulgences even when she’s already “possessed”. Truth be told, she is a gifted actress, managing to hold her ground and shine even in under-the-radar roles (Nika in Mike Alcazaren’s “Puti”; Yael in Hannah Espia’s “Transit”). Yul Servo, on the other hand, suffers from a one-note performance, making his presence disposable and forgettable. In fact, when Olivia’s ghost finally stabs Yul with a knife, Bing immediately abandons and forgets him. She instead runs after Jasmine and the wandering Nora. Bing was inconsolable when she realizes that Nora’s “gone”. Meanwhile, she forgets her husband Yul altogether. Didn't I say “disposable”?   

Perci Intalan's directorial debut is one blustery noise and blundering ambition. I was more horrified watching the video of a young Indian man being attacked by a white Bengal tiger in a Delhi Zoo. That didn't require sudden loud noises, blood spurting out of stones or crawling anophthalmic brides. What's better, I didn't have to pay a dime for it to scare me.  

Nora Aunor's grasp of the clinical condition seems dicey. Cognition, which refers to the "quality" of knowing, perceiving, recognizing, sensing, reasoning or imagining, isn't the equivalent of "amnesia" or "Alzheimer's Disease". Nora, on the other hand, refuses to interact with her surroundings, unless they're fueled by visual or aural hallucinations. She doesn't listen to people talking to her and sees way past them even when she's directly facing them. You'd somehow suspect she was "deaf and mute" more than demented. Or just maybe she's revisiting her role in Lamangan's "Sidhi"? She would occasionally look at their faces, smile a half-second grin, then it would disappear as fast as it came. Now that was scary. I heard someone whisper, "Ay, parang baliw!" This doesn't bode well for a narrative that necessitates a glimpse of familial articulation. More than her illness, Mara is too disconnected not just from her relationship with her family or her environment, but with the whole story as well.

  

UNFLATTERING

La Aunor has had a spate of movie roles that showcase her thespic chops to unflattering light. Yes, the Superstar is Philippine show business’ most intuitive actress, and the capacity of her eyes to highlight man's nethermost empathy is stuff made of legends. Her acumen is mostly based on instinct. She takes to the vision of her director then she brilliantly expounds and creates from it. But her instinctual proclivity also places her at a disadvantage when her director has but a mere incipient grasp of his vision.

This year, Nora Aunor has appeared in Joel Lamangan’s “Hustisya” where she inhabits the persona of a foul-mouthed Biring who facilitates the human trafficking business of childhood friend Divina (Rosanna Roces). In the movie, Nora navigates the backwaters of an intricate underground syndicate while constantly worrying about her missing son Michael (Jeric Gonzales, who's also in "Dementia" playing the helpful trike driver Vincent). 

Though Nora may have won her Balanghai trophy for "Hustisya" as Best Actress for the Director’s Showcase, this was mostly due to the dearth of female lead parts in the showcase category. In fact, the film was dubious all the way through. At best, La Aunor was a fish out of water. If you believed her characterization in it, you’d be the most impressionable dingbat this side of Lala-land. I kept wincing on how acutely awkward she was with her half-baked profanities. One couldn't help but consider Gina Pareno (playing Amy) who essayed a character congruent to Biring's in Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Kubrador”.

NORA VERSUS VILMA

Now imagine Vilma Santos donning Biring’s shoes. Wouldn't that create gargantuan sparks – no, make it fireworks! - where Aunor was only able to spew fumes off a dying chimney. Get my drift? So much has been written about those legendary eyes but when Lamangan chose to end his convoluted story with a close-up of a severely wrinkly protagonist laughing away until screen “freezes over”, I was transported into a maelstrom of epiphany. Some extreme close-ups aren't meant to be. There's just too much of them even here in "Dementia". 

Nora Aunor, in all her legendary glory, has limitations. Wasn't she miscast in Leroy Salvador’s 1985 ouvre “Beloved” while portraying the rich and sophisticated heroine? In Jun Lana’s “Barber’s Tale”, did anyone smoothly swallow Aunor’s character as a guerrilla leader “hook, line and sinker”? I didn't. She was (again) miscast. The “special role” was so fallacious it would have benefitted the film if it ended up in the cutting room floor. Truth is, you can’t just place Nora Aunor on an apple box and let her transform herself into someone else she’s not. Not everything in cinelandia is applicable to her smoldering pair of Laura Mars eyes.

My point here is, while it is true that Nora Aunor is a brilliant actress, she isn't the most versatile. Comparisons are inevitable with Vilma Santos who, of late, has been overshadowed by Aunor’s spate of lifetime achievement awards and National Artist ascriptions. But while Aunor has “Dementia”, Santos appeared in the better-crafted “The Healing” which raked in P110 million, 2012’s 3^rd Filipino film to gross over the P100-million mark. Which film was Cinemalaya 2013’s “box office champion” – Santos’ “Ekstra”.

As I was challenged and asked by a bungling idiot: How much did "Ekstra" earn during its commercial run? Insiders place it at P67.3 million. Let's conservatively round that up to P60 million. Surely that's way, way over what "Thy Womb" earned at the MMFF where it was unceremoniously and heartbreakingly pulled out from majority of the cinemas just 3 days after it opened on Christmas Day. Director Brillante Mendoza had to "beg" the cinema owners in public, on TV news and on print to retain it in cinemas. The 7-day haul amounted to an embarrassing P13 million, a far cry from the second "kulelat" (tailender), "El Presidente" which earned P33 million. And if you aren't "demented", you'd readily remember that both "Thy Womb" and "El Presidente" had Nora Aunor in the cast! Even their cumulative earnings of P46 million could hardly compare to "Ekstra's" P67.3 million.

BLIND PATRONAGE

Those irascible, irrational and blindly loyal Noranians could ride on their cumulative P46 million vehicle, "sumakay pa silang lahat" , it's really a no-brainer. How much did  "Ang Kuwento ni Mabuti" earn when it had its one week run at the Gateway last year? Drum roll, please! You bet, they were ecstatic to earn less than P50,000 - for ONE WHOLE WEEK screening! Divide that with the ticket price of P200, that's a mere 250 people occupying a 500-seater cinema hall that has 4 screenings a day for 7 days! Makes you wonder - how many die-hard Noranians are existing today - 250? How miniscule. Even if each of them would watch the film 3x in one week, they couldn't recoup expenses for the use of cinema, electricity, payment of ushers and projectionist, and airconditioning. Do they know how to count? The Philippines has a population of 100 million. And Nora can only coax 250 to watch her movie? It just makes me cry. Cinema, after all, is still business. People making films and screening movies should also earn. Otherwise, the cinema as we know it would die a natural death. That's a sad reality that people who love movies would have to cogitate on.

DEMENTIA'S PULL OUT: NORA VS DOLLS

Just mere two days after its opening, Dementia has already been pulled out from majority of its theaters, including places where you'd expect bigger Aunor patrons, like SM San Lazaro, SM Fairview and SM North Edsa. One guy wrote about his movie watching today and he shared, "There were just seven of us in the cinema," then corrected himself, "Ay, anim pala." On a busy Saturday? Maybe it was a block screening? LOL. If you say you're a Noranian, watch it now while it's still available in few cinemas in Metro Manila. Otherwise, you'd have to fly to Misamis Oriental, Pangasinan, Baguio, or worse, South Cotabato just to catch a sleep-inducing, closeup-rich movie. Ironically, even in Aunor's hometown of Albay, they choose not to screen it anymore (Bichara Silverscreens and Pacific Mall) preferring to show the comedic "Maria Leonora Teresa" (on its 3rd week), the name of the doll given by Nora's erstwhile boyfriend Pip to the then-phenomenal singer sometime in the 70's. Yes, Virginia, even three ugly dolls do better than La Aunor at the box office. Ouch.

Now, which other actress from the 70’s has the same mainstream-drawing power 5 decades later? But we’re not talking about box office clout, right? It's an exquisitely sensitive matter for some. (wink wink) On record, Santos is believable playing rich, poor, middle class, prostitute, nun, half-fish, superhero, bit player. Let's add governor to that varied resume. Aunor is believable playing pauper, abused or the down trodden and... errr, Super Gee? (Of course there's a few more colorful real-life "resume" worth adding here, but let me refrain from doing that for now. Tee hee.)

Nora Aunor may have made herself relevant in the contemporary independent film scene, but she should be careful when picking projects that gravely compromise her strength as an actress. Not every indie film maker has the aptitude of Brillante Mendoza (“Thy Womb”) and Mes de Guzman (“Ang Kuwento ni Mabuti”). Remember Mark Meilly’s “El Presidente”? Remind me again who looked laughably ridiculous playing Aguinaldo's aging wife? Or maybe the interchangeable indies no one came to watch prior to La Aunor’s jubilant  homecoming: Suzette Ranillo’s “Home Care” and Joey Romero’s “Ingrata”? Bad films don’t exactly contribute to becoming a “National Artist”.  I hope Adolf Alix’s “Padre de Pamilia” and “Whistle Blower” do better.    

2012 Philippine Movie Report - A Rundown of All Commercially Shown Filipino Films

Did you watch one Philippine movie in 2012? I did 142, and this number roughly represents the country's film output last year. But the inclusion criterion for this: they all had to be available in commercial outlets and open to the general public to patronize. Excluded here are films that premiered and had a single screening in dusty university halls, cultural centers and museums. Worse still, beer joints and bars that clearly depreciate the medium. They had to be accessible for the viewing public to want to shell out their hard earned cash. After all, contemporary art has to be sensitive to the economics of its patrons. Film works kept in a cave might as well be kept there forever, and never to be seen til kingdom come. Food not served on the dining table, and hidden in the cupboard, isn't meant for consumption. No film maker, regardless of his genius, is worth risking your life, limb and sanity for.  

2012 THE YEAR IN THE MOVIES

A bumper crop year has been experienced in terms of film output. And the magic number is 142 - the total number of films shown in commercial establishments. This is nothing short of impressive. Compare this from 2011's 105 titles and 2010's 73, it's clear that the Pinoy film makers have burned the midnight oil to produce their disparate narrative, transforming them into cinematic visions. Are we richer and wiser for these ouvres? In some ways, we are.  

What's more inspiring is how our cineplexes have warmed up to the idea of the legitimate and, well, not-so-legit "indies". Last year, festival fares saw regular commercial runs in SM and Robinsons Cinemas nationwide. At no other time has there been this considerable number - 17 independent films:  Antoinette Jadaone’s Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay, Aureus Solito’s Busong, Benito Bautista’s Boundary, Brillante Mendoza’s Captive, Dante Nico Garcia’s Madaling Araw, Mahabang Gabi; Emerson Reyes’ MNL 143, Emmanuel Palo’s Santa Nina, Joseph Laban’s Cuchera, Jun Lana’s Bwakaw, Lawrence Fajardo’s Posas, Lee Meilly, Imee Marcos and Nelson Caguilas’ Pintakasi, Marie Jamora’s Ang Nawawala, Mark Meilly’s Donor, Marty Syjuco’s Give Up Tomorrow, Nick de Ocampo’s Cine Sine, Sheron Dayoc’s Halaw (Ways of the Sea), and Zig Dulay’s Huling Halik. The audience was hardly there, but it's a start. 

MAINSTREAM

Mainstream Cinema lorded it over at the cinema tills, raking in millions for their mostly predictable, escapist products. Star Cinema, still the country's number one film outfit, produced and released 17 movies (including a remastered version of Bernal's "Himala"), while its perceived rival, GMA Films, had 10. While 10 hardly compares to 17, GMA has started to experiment with alternative names, employing Jade Castro for "My Kontrabida Girl" and Erik Matti for "Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles". Mac Alejandre, one of their tired favorites, came up with another elementary effort, "Just One Summer" which eventually tanked and lasted for a mere two days in theaters nationwide. They even ventured into co-production with an Indonesian film outfit for Muhammad Yusuf's "The Witness" with Gwen Zamora (Faye of the "Enteng Kabisote" franchise) as its lead and the sole Filipino in its all-Indonesian cast. Of course, we know what happened to Andoy Ranay's "Sosy Problems". 

Viva Films mainly banked on co-productions and the box office draw of Wenn Deramas, Anne Curtis and Vice Ganda, but they failed to come up with a single film project for their main property, Sarah Geronimo. Gerald Anderson's presence provides hypersensitivity reaction to the people around the young actress. Otherwise, they'd have produced box office gold from Geronimo and Anderson's pairing. Don't people just love the plight of "Romeo and Juliet"? Viva produced and released 8 titles, three of which were box office behemoth from Deramas ("Sisterakas", "Moron 5 and the Crying Ladies" and "This Guy's In Love With You, Mare"). Meanwhile, GMA's biggest star, Marian Rivera failed to come up with a single film project although she was seen doing cameos in a few films. Dingdong Dantes once again won an acting award for a film produced by his mother studio's rival. 

And where is Sharon Cuneta whose career seems to be in limbo? Her TV5 transfer could only muster a show with a dead 4PM timeslot, and no one came to watch. While many of us, my parents included, miss her dearly, it's ill-advised to grace the screen looking overly satiated. She's reduced to humorous references. In "Melodrama Negra", for example, she's referred as "From Superstar to Super Ferry." People may laugh at these glibs, but my mom at home can't keep playing her "When I Love" and "Bituing Walang Ningning" CDs forever. She will eventually get tired of them. I have.

BUSIEST

A big output doesn't necessarily mean one artist is prolific. This shows in the list of the year's busiest directors, most of whom (except for Richard Somes) have some of the most execrable filmography in the history of Philippine Cinema:

1. G.A. Villafuerte - 6 
2. Darry dela Cruz - 6
3. Cleo Paglinawan - 4
4. Jigz Recto - 3
5. Paul Singh Cudail - 3
6. Richard Somes - 3
7. Wenn Deramas - 3

It is to be noted that Darry dela Cruz and Cleo Paglinawan come from the same production firm. If one directs, the other assists or does P.A. work. What's interesting is, their films are all interchangeable. They have the same look, same actors, and similar setting. G.A. Villafuerte, meanwhile, is known for films that complete principal photography within 24 hours. One-day shoot and he has a finished product, then he floods social media with self-glorifying publicities, starting with "Another Masterpiece from..." In Villafuerte's world, masterpieces are made in a day. Imagine that! :)

YEAR'S REVELATION

The news-worthy revelation in the film crop year is the mushrooming of the male-oriented erotica, aka the Pink Films. While there were 25 titles of the genre in 2011, last year had a staggering 45 titles! If you combine the output of Star Cinema, GMA Films, Viva Films and Regal Films, they would hardly come close to the number of Pink Films released in 2012.   

The male specimen has indeed turned into a more bankable object of desire. Meanwhile, the screen nymphets were reduced as side shows. Genre-specific stars were born: Alvin Duckert, TJ Morello, Bench dela Torre, Glenn de Luna, Jeremy Ian, Charles Delgado, Miko Madrid, Jerome Pineda, Migz Alcantara, Lance Lopez, Jonas Gruet, Rocco Mateo, Marco Ronquillo, Norris John, Xyrus Arruejo, et.al. The list is endless. Each one is willing to wave his dangling wand for these “brilliant” directors.  Jeff Luna, 2011’s “it” boy still graces some titles ("Bugaw", "Salo", "Galaw"). 

Interestingly, Crisaldo Pablo, the Dean of badly-made Pink flicks, was only able to muster a single commercial release, “Masukista”. Another title, the horrible “Bagito” (with Joeffrey Javier) was shown at last November’s Queeriosity Film Festival. The previous year (2011), Pablo had 6 commercial releases, most of which found an audience in Robinson’s Galleria. While this is good news, i.e. that Pablo’s mediocrity is finally nipped and neutered, other equally clueless film makers of dubious caliber mushroomed incessantly. One new, and particularly discombobulated director is Benny Andaya who megged “Uhaw sa Piling Mo” shown a week prior to MMFF. 

BLOG RECOMMENDS

While 142 Philippine-produced films spell hundreds of viewing hours, writing about each of them is doubly hard and close to impossible. So we write what we can. About 700 to 1000 pages get read in this blog everyday. I closed this blog for 3 weeks last November and actually contemplated on "calling it a day", but I reckon it isn't time to fold the tent just yet. For the hundreds of souls who lingered around, thanks for joining me here. As a side note, go look for Craig Zobel's "Compliance" and Ang Lee's "Life of Pi". These are spectacular films that shook me to the core and had me 1. getting so disturbed and agitated for a full 24 hours (after watching "Compliance" overseas); 2. believe once again in the magic of the cinema and reaffirm the presence of God. "Life of Pi" is funny, edge-of-your-seat exciting, heart-poundingly suspenseful, and visually sumptuous. I cannot recommend them more.   

MILESTONES

A milestone in the local silver screen was the release of Tony Gilroy's "The Bourne Legacy" which presented the bowels of chaotic Manila and the otherworldly beauty of Palawan to the world. The production maybe American, but many of us treated it as our own. A big chunk of the film franchise rankled with local color. And we can only sit back with sheer amusement as authentic slice of the metropolis is served on silver screen platter. Another surprise is Im-Sang Soo's Palme d'Or nominated "The Taste of Money". While this is mainly a Korean production, sexy actress Maui Taylor figured prominently in a delectable role whose character substantially shifted the plot of this twisty, sexy, albeit Shakespearean-flavored suspense drama that puts our local teleseryes to shame. Partially shot in Cebu, with a slew of Tagalog lines, the film was shown for 2 weeks at the Galleria prior to the Metro Manila Film Festival. Very classy indeed!

Like previous years, local film makers won in international film festivals, but we don't give a premium on their wins if they can't even get screened for their countrymen. This is why our very own Brillante Mendoza is commendable for continuously battling mainstream scruples against his "kind of films". French Superstar Isabelle Huppert came to the country to shoot a Mendoza project. This was more than big deal. Moreover, our Cannes-winning director screened his "Captive" for the local audience. As if this wasn't enough, Mendoza took Nora Aunor and "Thy Womb" to international audiences before eventually serving it on silver platter at the Metro Manila Film Festival. 

In Brisbane, Australia, for example, Mendoza's "Thy Womb" fetched A$22 (P950) for a seat at the Brisbane International Film Festival while other world titles were cheaper at A$18. Yet "Thy Womb" enjoyed packed screenings. Disturbingly, its MMFF screenings took the other route, as it was pulled out from cinemas way before its one-week run. This is, of course, alarming. Haven't we reached a level of maturity where cinema appreciation is concerned? But having Mendoza in the list of 8 participating entries is a triumph in itself. It's a foot in the door, so to speak. There's something to celebrate here.

Up next, the Best and Worst of 2012!

Without much further ado, ladies and gentlemen, here are the movies of 2012.      

Adolfo Alix, Jr.’s Mater Dolorosa

Adolfo Alix, Jr’s Kalayaan

Alejandro Bong Ramos’ Butas 2

Alejandro Bong Ramos’ My Amiga Girl

Aloy Adlawan’s Ang Katiwala

Andoy Ranay’s Sosy Problems

Antoinette Jadaone’s Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay

Antonio Mercader’s Galaw

Archie Dimaculangan, Franne Cheska Ramos and Jono de Rivera's Balang Araw

Armando Lao’s Ad Ignorantiam

Armando Reyes’ Dorm Boys

Arnel Madroquio’s Ang Paglalakbay ng mga Bituin sa Gabing Madilim

Ato Bautista’s Palitan

Aureus Solito's Busong

Aureus Solitos’ Baybayin

Bb. Joyce Bernal’s Of All The Things

Bb. Joyce Bernal's Kimmy Dora and the Temple of Kiyeme

Benito Bautista’s Boundary

Benny Andaya’s Uhaw sa Piling Mo

Bianca Catbagan and Jose Antonio de Rivera's Suntok sa Buwan

BJ Morales’ Dama

Brillante Mendoza’s Captive

Brillante Mendoza’s Thy Womb

Cathy Garcia-Molina's Unofficially Yours

Cesar Montano's Hitman

Chito Rono’s Shake, Rattle & Roll 14 – The Invasion

Chito Rono’s The Healing

Chris Martinez’s I Doo Bidoo Bidoo

Christian Linaban’s Aberya

Cleo Paglinawan’s Bikini King

Cleo Paglinawan’s Bugaw

Cleo Paglinawan’s Itlog na Pula

Cleo Paglinawan’s Mga Lalake sa Balsa

Crisaldo Pablo’s Bagito

Crisaldo Pablo’s Masukista

Dante Nico Garcia’s Madaling Araw, Mahabang Gabi

Darry dela Cruz’s Extra Serbis

Darry dela Cruz’s For Adults Only

Darry dela Cruz’s Malasado

Darry dela Cruz’s Midnight Temptation

Darry dela Cruz's Daklot

Darry dela Cruz's Frontal

Deo J. Fajardo’s East of Paradise

Dominic Zapata's Boy Pick-Up The Movie

Dwein Baltazar’s Mamay Umeng

Edz Espiritu's Hubo

Cleo Paglinawan and Crisaldo Pablo's films.

Darry dela Cruz's films

Emerson Reyes’ MNL 143

Emmanuel dela Cruz’s Slumber Party

Emmanuel Palo’s Santa Nina

Enrico Santos' My Cactus Heart

Erik Matti’s Rigodon

Erik Matti’s Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles

Frasco Mortiz’s The Reunion

G.A. Villafuerte’s Hardinero

G.A. Villafuerte’s Hayok

G.A. Villafuerte’s Kapa

G.A. Villafuerte’s Nympho

GA Villafuerte's Ang Lihim ng mga Nympha

GA Villafuerte's Id'Nal (Mapusok)

G.A. Villafuerte's films

Gabs Ramos’ Mestizo: A Beautiful Boy

Gerardo Calagui’s Marcie

Gigi Alfonso Javier’s Flames of Love

Gino Santos’ The Animals

Gym Lumbera’s Anak Araw

Han Salazar’s Adam’s Apple: Kakagat Ka Ba?

Ian Lorenos’ Alagwa

Ishmael Bernal’s Himala (nationwide release)

Jade Castro's My Kontrabida Girl

Jerome Pobocan's Born to Love You

Jigz F. Recto's Kasalo

Jigz Recto’s Binatilyo

Jigz Recto’s Patol

Joel Lamangan’s Migrante

Joel Lamangan's The Mommy Returns

John D’Lazatin, Mae Czarina Cruz, Frasco Mortiz & Dodo Lumibao’s 24/7 in Love

John-D J. Lazatin's A Mother's Story

Jose Javier Reyes’ Mga Munting Lihim

Joseph Laban’s Cuchera

Julius Cena’s Mga Dayo

Jun Lana’s Bwakaw

Karlo Montero’s Ken at Abel

Kevin Dayrit’s Catnip

Khavn dela Cruz’s Edsa XXX

Krizzie Syfu's Tahanan

Lando Jacob’s Wanted Boarders (Males Only)

Lawrence Fajardo’s Posas

Lawrence Fajardo’s The Strangers

Lee Meilly, Imee Marcos, Nelson Caguila's Pintakasi

Lem Lorca's Bola

Lemuel Lorca’ Intoy Syokoy ng Kalye Marino

Leonardo Q. Belen’s Pinoy Super Kid

Loy Arcenas’ REquieme!

Lucas Mercado's Hiram na Ama

Lucas Mercado's Imahinasyon

Ma. Isabel Legarda’s Melodrama Negra

Mac Alejandre’s Just One Summer

Mae Cruz's Every Breath You Take

Marie Jamora’s Ang Nawawala

Mark Meilly’s El Presidente

Mark Meilly's Donor

Marty Syjuco’s Give Up Tomorrow

Mes de Guzman’s Diablo

Michael Angelo Dagnalan’s Paglaya sa Tanikala

Miko Jacinto's Salo (Share)

Monti Parungao’s The Escort

Muhammad Yusuf's The Witness

Nick de Ocampo's Cine Sine

Noli Salvador’s Kapalit ng Ligaya

Nuel Naval’s A Secret Affair

Olivia Lamasan’s The Mistress

Pam Miras’ Pascalina

Paul Singh Cudail’s Ang Jowa

Paul Singh Cudail's Hawla

Paul Singh Cudail's Maligalig

Paul Sta. Ana’s Oros

Raymond Red’s Kamera Obskura

RD Alba’s Biktima

Rene Cruz Jr.'s Three in One

Richard Somes' Corazon Ang Unang Aswang

Richard Somes’ Mariposa sa Hawla ng Gabi

Richard Somes’ Supremo

Rico Maria Ilarde’s Pridyider

Ron Morales’ Graceland

Ronaldo Bertubin’s Gayak

Rory Quinto’s Suddenly It’s Magic

Ruel S. Bayani’s One More Try

Sari Lluch Dalena and Keith Sicat’s Himala Ngayon

Sherad Anthony Sanchez’ Jungle Love

Sheron Dayoc's Halaw (Ways of the Sea)

Soxy Topacio’s D’ Kilabots: Pogi Brothers Weh

Toni Te’s Ganid

Tony Reyes’ Si Agimat, Si Enteng at si Ako

Topel Lee’s Amorosa

Tyrone Acierto’s The Grave Bandits

Vincent Sandoval’s Aparisyon

Wenn Deramas' Moron 5 and the Crying Lady

Wenn Deramas’ Sisterakas

Wenn Deramas’ This Guy’s In Love With U Mare!

Will Fredo’s In Nomine Matris

William Mayo’s Yakman: The Gigil King

Zech de la Cruz's My Naughty Kid

Zig M. Dulay's Huling Halik

2012 opened with two local releases: Pokwang's "A Mother's Story" and  Jigz Recto's "Kasalo". Which Pinoy film opens 2013?

Maui Taylor (below) appears in the Cannes-nominated Korean, "The Taste of Money".  Manila is heavily featured in "The Bourne Legacy".

Maui Taylor plays a maid-cum-sex nymphet for a  very rich and influential family, but there's an unexpected twist that thickens the Daedalean plot.

Note:

Please read our featured post about Cinema Bravo and why we sometimes feel nginig about Web Criticism:
- http://makemeblush2.blogspot.com/2016/10/cinema-bravo-film-criticisms-execrable.html