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BY RHICK LARS VLADIMER ALBAY
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Tuesday, January 3, 2017
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I’M acutely introverted. So when the prospect of a more refined and well-curated 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival lineup came about, I knew I had to hatch a plan to still see the films while avoiding the long lines and packed theaters.
My modus vivendi? Skip the Christmas premieres and wait towards the end of the festival schedule to see the films I might like. Thankfully, my friends had the same idea.
From pageants to gothic horrors to an animation-live action hybrid 10 years in the making, the 2016 MMFF slate was a breath of fresh air after years of slapstick comedies and repetitive scares. It signaled a new golden age for Philippine cinema, giving emerging filmmakers and independent productions a chance to gain mainstream attention. (Despite certain big cinemas refusing to drop films not included in the MMFF selection in fear of losing profit.)
Here’s my short reviews of the films I’ve seen so far:
Seklusyon
Veteran director Erik Matti’s Seklusyon is far from the gritty crime noir we’ve come to expect of him after hits On the Job and Honor thy Father.
Revolving around four aspiring priests (Ronnie Alonte, Dominic Roque, Vic De Guzman, JR Versales) hounded by their personal hells, a peculiar faith healing child named Anghela (Rhed Bustamante) and a nun with questionable intensions (Phoebe Walker), Seklusyon plays on the surreal cocktail of devout Catholicism and superstition innate in Philippine culture.
The strength of Seklusyon is its visuals. With saturated frames and eerie stages, the film subverts the sacred imagery of the church – turning them menacing and haunting.
But Seklusyon fails in its story. Built on a superb premise that’s equal parts Ishmael Bernal’s Himala and cult classic The Omen, the film is largely betrayed by its frantic and rushed final act. I’m a big fan of twist endings but Seklusyon’s final revelation just fails to stick its landing.
Matti’s newest oeuvre pales in comparison to his previous foray into horror, 2004’s Pa-Siyam, a low-budget flick that can make anyone’s skin crawl, relying only on the strength of its ensemble cast (Roderick Paulate, Cherry Pie Picache et al.) and a foreboding atmosphere.
Die Beautiful
A crowd favorite at the MMFF, Die Beautiful is the heartfelt tale of a career beauty contest competitor Trisha (Paolo Ballesteros) traversing the harsh reality of living as a trans woman and her dying wish of being transformed into a new gorgeous icon every night of her wake.
Ballesteros has raked in awards for his role as the vulnerable and complex Trisha, but it’s actor on the rise Christian Bables as Barbs who steals the show as the loyal and witty best friend.
Jun Lana’s Die Beautiful is both a laugh-out-loud riot and stirring social commentary, as it not only does away with the cartoonish stereotypes the LGBT community has often been portrayed in mainstream films, but also rape and social acceptance.
Sunday Beauty Queen
This film I got to see by chance at Cinematheque Iloilo, and I feel extremely lucky to have caught a screening despite its very limited release here in Iloilo.
Sunday Beauty Queen is the first documentary ever to join the MMFF lineup and first of its kind to win the grand prize.
Following five Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong, Sunday Beauty Queen delivers the raw narrative of OFWs struggling in a foreign country, far from their friends and family, finding respite in weekend pageants and the company of their fellow aspiring beauty queens.
In one especially heartbreaking scene, a teary-eyed Hazel, who has been abroad for eight years without going home, watches her daughter’s graduation from her smartphone.
But Babyruth Villarama masterfully balances these scenes of sadness and loneliness with the revelry of these Filipinas as they prepare for their pageant.
Villarama’s Sunday Beauty Queen is a sincere account of Filipinos who need to take care of other people’s family in foreign country so they can provide for the one they’ve left at home. It deserves all the accolades it has received so far.
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If anything, this year’s MMFF has taught me again that films, aside from the narratives they tell and the images they conjure up, provide a communal experience.
You heard the collective giggles of your fellow audience members at the adorably broken English in the question and answer portions of Sunday Beauty Queen, the loud laughs every time the camera panned over to Trisha’s coffin to reveal her new transformation, and even the stunned gasps when a certain character in Seklusyon shouts “P*** sya, p**** ka” at a nun.
The next film on my list is Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2: Forever is Not Enough. I loved its previous iteration as it skewered the tropes and stereotypes of indie filmmaking in the Philippines and the bloated egos of certain “artistes.” Hopefully, Part 2, now a satire of the wanderlust romances dominating the scene, doesn’t disappoint./PN
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