Formalism on two short films on longing – as if nothing happened (2020) and The Man Who Isn’t There (2019)
Cinema Rehiyon showcased films from regional filmmakers categorized under various programs based on themes. One program is called “Longing, Forgotten Memories.” And it contains seven short films. I will be looking at two from the seven as an exercise in seeing how form is explored in the two films and how it evokes longing. JTContinue reading “Formalism on two short films on longing – as if nothing happened (2020) and The Man Who Isn’t There (2019)”
Riders of Justice review
Riders of Justice pushes its synthesis that a chain of trivial causes can lead to events happening in the grandest of scales by having its plot elements emerge out of the blue. If that’s ironic, it is. Coming from an initial stance that causality is true, the film in its point of crisis flirted withContinue reading “Riders of Justice review”
Buy Bust review: Solid flick, dodgy commentary
*This article was originally published on Tinig ng Plaridel in July, 2018. Erik Matti’s technical expertise rivals, if not surpasses, those of Hollywood filmmakers. It comes as no surprise that many Filipino moviegoers have hailed Matti as a modern master of Filipino Cinema. Matti delivered teeth-grinding action in On The Job, well-paced emotional dramaContinue reading “Buy Bust review: Solid flick, dodgy commentary”
Kalel, 15 and John Denver Trending – Advisories can’t save the (people) characters you already killed.
In one way, both Kalel, 15 and John Denver Trending work similarly. One aspect seen in the films’ endings assumes their intent – to be advocacies on the pressing concerns of HIV (in the former) and cyberbullying/mental health casualties (in the latter). This aspect in question is the advisories – the block of text toContinue reading “Kalel, 15 and John Denver Trending – Advisories can’t save the (people) characters you already killed.”
Night of the Kings (La Nuit des rois) review
Ivory Coast’s third submission to the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category is like a fairy tale. But for a film that highlights an actual fairy tale story as the cream of its plot, Philippe Lacôte’s Night of the Kings (La Nuit des rois) works best when you focus on the ritual of storytellingContinue reading “Night of the Kings (La Nuit des rois) review”
I Care A Lot – Don’t get your satire and social critiques on Netflix.
When Netflix is not occupied in dishing out inconsequential nostalgia drivel that revel in the delusion of its originating country’s glorious past (most popular examples include Stranger Things, Riverdale, and The Queen’s Gambit), it gives us pieces that claim to contain social critiques. Some are serious like documentaries (The Social Dilemma and other true-crime series),Continue reading “I Care A Lot – Don’t get your satire and social critiques on Netflix.”
Quo Vadis, Aida? review
Quo Vadis, Aida?, the Bosnian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, gives light to the events leading up to the 1995 Srebrenica genocide which resulted with the deaths of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims. The protagonist is the titular Aida, a translator for the UN trapped in the centerContinue reading “Quo Vadis, Aida? review”
IFFR 2021 – Covering an (online) international film festival for the first time
When I got accepted as an accredited press for the 50th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, my plan originally entailed writing a conventional review each for all the films I would be watching in two feature categories. Plans changed when I still haven’t got a groove on what I would write about aContinue reading “IFFR 2021 – Covering an (online) international film festival for the first time”
CineSensual’s Best Filipino Film of 2020
The other contenders The newly-formed Society of Filipino Film Reviewers, in which CineSensual is a part of, held its first Pinoy Rebyu Awards to commemorate Pinoy Rebyu’s 10th year of film reviewer aggregation. 5 films are nominated for the top prize of Best Feature Film: Aswang, Fan Girl, Lahi, Hayop, Midnight in A Perfect World,Continue reading “CineSensual’s Best Filipino Film of 2020”
III – More Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Better
This is a part of Musings on Film Criticism. It is a series about what is discussed in two film criticism classes the writer sits in. Check all installments here, to be updated weekly: Musings on Film Criticism. In the early years of what we now call “cinema”, color and synchronous sound in film doContinue reading “III – More Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Better”
Two documentary styles – Jewel Maranan’s Sa Palad ng Dantaong Kulang and Kristoffer Brugada’s Elehiya sa Paglimot
Two documentary styles – Jewel Maranan’s Sa Palad ng Dantaong Kulang and Kristoffer Brugada’s Elehiya sa Paglimot Jewel Maranan’s Sa Palad ng Dantaong Kulang (2017) is a documentary focusing on four separate families living in the port district of Tondo. In Palad, Maranan follows the families for years as she records their struggles trying toContinue reading “Two documentary styles – Jewel Maranan’s Sa Palad ng Dantaong Kulang and Kristoffer Brugada’s Elehiya sa Paglimot”
A myth of piracy regarding workers’ compensation
We are not ready to discuss the nuances of piracy in the country’s film industry removed from being a criminal act. The advisory states, “Piracy is a crime!” – end of discussion. It is easy to paint pirates as leeches feeding off from other people. Or piracy as a means to easy profit which takesContinue reading “A myth of piracy regarding workers’ compensation”
Fan Girl is not what it says it is.
Oftentimes, a film will market its premise around a message so heavily that it would be counterintuitive for the viewer to read the film in any other way. Worse, they will be conditioned to think that said film already holds said message intrinsically. And in no way ever can the film portray the very reverseContinue reading “Fan Girl is not what it says it is.”
The Short Films of Glenn Barit
Glenn Barit made an impact with his film Cleaners. It is a strong impression to cutivate to viewers, considering it is his debut feature-length. However, not many are aware that the themes in Cleaners are already honed in his two short films released prior. Cleaners as a feature showed the collective anxieties of class IV-RizalContinue reading “The Short Films of Glenn Barit”
Rainbow’s Sunset and the state of the festering MMFF
*This article was originally published on Tinig ng Plaridel in January, 2019. The 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival has been plagued by controversies even before it had begun. Apart from the criticism towards its predictable film line-up – a Vic Sotto and a Coco Martin crossover action-comedy, a Vice Ganda fantasy-slapstick comedy, two horror films,Continue reading “Rainbow’s Sunset and the state of the festering MMFF”
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