Tag: movie review

Movie Review — Playing with Form, Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Presence’ Is a Marvel of a Study of a Family in Duress

Director Steven Soderbergh is the consummate filmmaker, who is always unafraid to play with form and technique. He is constantly pushing the boundaries of what you can do with cinema as a storytelling device and while the idea of a film shot entirely in the first-person point-of-view is not exactly new, to do it throughout the whole film and in the POV of a spirit puts a completely different spin on what you’ve come to expect from him. Though, Soderbergh has played around with multiple genres before. ‘Presence’ begins first as a novelty as we see the narrative unfold only from the perspective of the ghost complete with long takes that glide up and down and throughout the single location – a lavish two-storey, three bedroom house in the suburbs – but as the characters of the family who just moved into the home are revealed and the drama starts to unravel, the novelty of the technique disappears and we become the ghost itself, listening in and watching this family struggle.

The family – Chris, Rebecca, Tyler, and Chloe – seem like a typical bi-racial family. Chris (Chris Sullivan) is white and dotes on his daughter Chloe (Callina Liang) while Rebecca (Lucy Liu) is dismissive of her daughter and is more supportive and encouraging to her swim varsity champion of a son Tyler (Eddy Maday). Chris and Rebecca are constantly disagreeing while Rebecca seems to be having trouble with work. Tyler is dismissive of his younger sister and is hostile to her grieving state. Chloe has just recently lost her best friend. The circumstances are unclear at first, but the film soon lays everything clear later on. Sometimes, Ryan (West Mulholland), a friend of Tyler comes over and he sells weed to Chloe and they start getting closer.

Callina Liang (Chloe) in Presence directed by Steven Soderbergh | Photo by Peter Andrews
Copyright The Spectral Spirit Company

While the film explores the brittle dynamics of this family and how fragile these connections are – at any moment, they are going to break apart – the ghost feels most connected to Chloe, most probably because of her grief. Her longing for her recently passed friend is causing the rift between her and her brother but also allows her to feel the presence in their home.

The film actually shifts again from novelty to a family drama and then into a supernatural mystery as the eponymous presence begins to move things. This ghost and its attachment to Chloe begins to stir the film towards its surprising conclusion that begins to tie in parts of backstory that was being carefully laid out at the start.

Chris Sullivan (Chris) and Lucy Liu (Rebekah) in Presence directed by Steven Soderbergh
Photo by Peter Andrews | Copyright The Spectral Spirit Company

By using the first-person perspective, Soderbergh and screenwriter David Koepp can control the amount of information the audience can get. We are piecing together along with the presence the story of this family. While it sits in and listens to the conversation of the parents in the kitchen, a word will trigger the presence and it rushes up to the bedroom to watch Chloe in bed, moping. We don’t have the context of some of their conversations. The family’s history is unknown to us. Sometimes, they make phone calls, and we have to assume what they are referencing to, if it’s important at all.

In this way, Soderbergh turns us into the presence and when we begin to see the manipulations enacted upon Chloe by some of the characters, we are not rendered helpless because the ghost does act in her defense. Interestingly enough, the film surprises us with its feminist theme that begins to blossom half-way through the film, and organically too.

Callina Liang (Chloe), Chris Sullivan (Chris), Eddy Maday (Tyler), Lucy Liu (Rebekah), and Julia Fox (Cece) in Presence directed by Steven Soderbergh
Photo by Peter Andrews | Copyright The Spectral Spirit Company

The cast is utterly brilliant as they are performing in such a natural and spontaneous way. While the family do have their moments, the cast never goes for the explosive choices and tries to keep things leveled. As large as that house is, the proximity is forcing them to go interior and it makes for an interesting watch.

‘Presence’ is a deceptively enjoyable film as it vacillates between an experiment in form but also a study of a family in duress. How the two collide creates an arresting movie that, at a tight 85-minutes, never overstays its welcome.

My Rating:

Presence is still showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

January 26, 2025
Movie Review — The Church and Human Frailty: A Review of ‘Conclave’

A political thriller set during the closed-door session of the College of Cardinals as they are electing the next pope? The whole premise of ‘Conclave’ was very intriguing to me as the possibilities of criticism of the church would come into play. What I loved about director Edward Berger’s tone and imagery in his filmmaking was how he completely stripped away the reverence and moral authority that the audience may have for this gathering of Cardinals in the most holy of Catholic cities. The emphasis on their humanity, and most especially, their frailty was very welcomed in this rather stirring and controversial film.

Berger brings the camera (through Director of Photography Stephane Fontaine) extremely close to his subjects, oftentimes highlighting the age of his characters, their vulnerabilities, their hopes and fears, and for some, their guilt or lust for power. Despite all the pomp and circumstance of this occasion – the pope has just died, and the cardinals are convening to vote and elect the successor – and so they are dressed in their best regalia, fed rather lavishly, attended to by the nuns, and are surrounded by the finest furniture that the Vatican can buy. We see them drink, smoke, and scheme amongst each other; politicking to direct the path of the church to what they believe is right. Berger’s camera takes them in long shots to show the power plays at work and then would cut away to show dozens and dozens of cigarette butts scattered on the ground. Throughout the film, it feels like Berger’s intention is to render these people human and thus impressing upon us that the church and all that it proclaims all depends on who succeeds the papacy.

Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger’s CONCLAVE, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 All Rights Reserved.

John Lithgow stars as Cardinal Tremblay in director Edward Berger’s CONCLAVE, a Focus Features release. Credit: Philippe Antonello/Focus Features ©2024 All Rights Reserved.

Leading the impressive cast is Ralph Fiennes, as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, the dean of the College of Cardinals. It is his task to administer and manage the election. Unfortunately, the sudden passing of the previous pope has left a lot of unanswered questions and some mysteries that need to be resolved. There are rumors that Cardinal Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow) from Canada, how an argument with the previous pope and his viability for being elected is in question.

(L to R) Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence and Stanley Tucci as Cardinal Bellini in director Edward Berger’s CONCLAVE, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 All Rights Reserved.

The biggest rivals are the American Cardinal, Cardinal Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci) and the Italian Cardinal, Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), where Bellini is of the more progressive and liberal group while Tedesco is more traditionalist, more conservative. Surprisingly, the Nigerian Cardinal Joshua Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) is proving to be extremely popular and has a great chance of becoming the first black pope. The power plays are happening fast, and Cardinal Lawrence must also deal with Cardinal Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz), a cardinal who has worked in secret and is not in any of the list, who suddenly shows up.

Sergio Castellitto stars as Cardinal Tedesco in director Edward Berger’s CONCLAVE, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 All Rights Reserved.

Cardinal Lawrence must navigate through the politicking and the gray areas of every little thing happening during this conclave, while discovering that even he is getting votes and may have a chance of getting the papacy except he doesn’t want it. Adding additional ingredients to an already explosive brew is Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes, a nun who is the cardinal’s head caterer and housekeeper. It’s a relatively short role – this is, after all, a man’s world – but her scenes are powerful and has ramifications that tie-in to the surprising ending of Peter Straughan’s screenplay based on the book by Robert Harris.

Isabella Rossellini stars as Sister Agnes in director Edward Berger’s CONCLAVE, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 All Rights Reserved.

This is a thriller without any violence or murder, or fear of murder. But it is thrilling as we are seeing a church in a state of flux, where its heart and soul is being pulled into many different directions. There’s a lot of great insights here about the world and the way the Catholic church has served and failed the world. Berger and company seem to take a stand and it’s most surprising and farcical is such a powerful statement that truly provokes much thought and questions.

(L to R) Director Edward Berger and actor Ralph Fiennes on the set of CONCLAVE, a Focus Features release. Credit: Philippe Antonello/Focus Features ©2024 All Rights Reserved.

It’s so refreshing to see this moral debate argued through the genre of the political thriller. It highlights that more than anything, the battleground that is the church has practical, economical, and social repercussions for both believers and non-believers alike. How the film manages to reference this without showing the world outside the sequestered halls of the conclave is a brilliant work of writing and direction. I am not surprised of its eight Academy Award nominations, including Ralph Fiennes for Best Actor and Volker Bertelmann for Best Original Score. The music of the film is always pressing the fact that this is serious and that the stakes are high. It is relentless and gives the film that added dread that keeps the energy going.

My Rating:

Conclave is still showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

January 25, 2025
Movie Review — A Dark and Gritty Cinderella Story, Anora Is Funny, Poignant, and Real All at the Same Time

Even with all the profanity, nudity, graphic sex, and violence, Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ is still a charming romantic-comedy that shows a mastery of tone. The film manages to present the love story between an exotic dancer and her young Russian client with such care that it allows the audience to laugh and marvel and cheer them on despite the transactional nature of how they met and the gross indulgence of the Russian youth’s wealth. It’s more gritty, sexually-charged and drug-laden version of a Cinderella story and it somehow manages to surprise us at every turn.

Anora (Mikey Madison), who prefers to be called Ani, is a 23-year-old stripper at a club. Her boss tells her to take care of their Russian guest as Ani can speak and understand Russian. The guest is 21-year old Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), a son of a Russian oligarch who is in the US to study. The two hit it off immediately and he asks Ani if she’s willing to come and work outside of the club. One night turns to two, and then he invites her to join him at a huge New Year’s Party at his place before he invites her to stay with him for a week. During this time, she’s introduced to his friends as her girlfriend and they fly off to Vegas where he asks her to marry him so he can be a citizen and he doesn’t have to return to Russia to work for his dad.

Unfortunately, when news of their marriage reaches Russia, Vanya’s dad sends his godfather Toros (Karren Karagulian) to collect the two, get them annulled and to prepare for Vanya to return to Russia. With his two goons, Garnick (Vache Toymasyan) and Igor (Yuri Borisov), Toros attempts to bring the newlyweds to heel but instead Vanya runs off leaving Ani to deal with the rest, whom she is able to handle on her own. When calmer heads prevail, the four now journey throughout the Russian community of Brooklyn to find Vanya and settle everything before Vanya’s parents arrive.

The film runs a bit over two hours, taking its time to establish the characters of Ani and Vanya and showing us that whatever we may think of the transactional nature of their relationship – the payment for sex, the drug use, the excessive partying, the lack of any adult responsibilities or accountability – that the two found some level of safety within each other. The film never shies away from the fact that Vanya is a rich tool and then Ani is looking at this as an escape from her sordid life, but the film treats it as real without hiding the fact that Vanya is paying for Ani’s company and that the two are probably using each other to run away from their problems. It’s the magic of director Sean Baker’s use of extreme close-ups and handheld shots that gives the film an almost documentary feel. He unabashedly shows us the drug use and the sex but juxtaposes it with the two youths feeling safe in each other’s arms (and in the luxury of Vanya’s seemingly unending supply of cash).

When all of this starts to crumble, Ani’s background and history comes to the foreground and we see her fighting Toros, Garnick, and Igor with all her might. And boy is she formidable. The 25-minute scene of their confrontation is a hilarious farce that shows off each actor magnificent comedic timing as well as their full use of their physicality to make that scene one of the most memorable scenes in the past decade. It’s funny and well-executed but it is also incredible in how it turns the whole movie over and shifts it from an R-18 rom-com into an odyssey. As Baker takes us through the ins-and-outs of the Russian community in Brooklyn, we get to see another side of America that is usually left out in all its usual Hollywood propaganda of how the US is the greatest country in the world.

It’s here where we realise that Ani is just another child of immigrants trying to find her piece of the American dream. She thought she found it in the arms of a son of a Russian oligarch but, instead, she faces yet another American truth: only the rich get richer, and everyone still has to pay their dues.

Madison and Borisov are so deserving of all the award nominations they’ve been receiving this award season. Madison keeps Ani from being boring or cloying or fictional. Borisov’s Igor is a powerful presence in the film by the way he just stands in the background watching everything unfolding, receiving the full brunt of Ani’s anger, and finding space for his own voice to serve as a wonderful counterpoint to all the madness going on in the film.

‘Anora’ is such a splendid movie with how it takes the Cinderella story and turns it on its head. It never shies away from universal truths about how unfair this world is; how the class divide knows no culture or border and how deep down inside, we all just want to be loved. It’s funny and poignant and dark and bright all at the same time. It’s such an enjoyable two hours in the cinema and it’s probably going to be in my list of favourites for years to come.

My Rating:

Anora is still showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

January 21, 2025
Movie Review — Dreadful and Genuinely Scary, ‘Wolf Man’ Loses Steams by Its Third Act

With a 15-minute prologue that really sets the mood, Leigh Whannell’s ‘Wolf Man’ establishes itself as a horror film that is rooted in dread. It’s a long exposition that details the tension-filled relationship between a young boy and his father who are living isolated in the woods of Oregon. The father, a military-man by his demeanor and language, is teaching his son about survival and hunting when they are attacked by a large animal that appears to be standing on two legs. It’s barely seen but knowing this film and what it’s about, we know it’s the wolf man and it sets us up for what we expect to be a scary ride.

We jump thirty years later and that young boy, Blake, is not a father to Ginger and is married to journalist Charlotte. Ginger and Blake have a very strong connection, obviously a far cry from Blake’s own relationship with his father but Charlotte seems the odd one out. The marriage is not doing well, and Charlotte seems disconnected to both her husband and child. But when Blake receives news that his father is now officially declared dead, he decides to bring everyone to Oregon to help him pack his father’s belongings and would love to use that time for the family to get closer together. Unfortunately, the wolf man that we’ve seen in the prologue is still in those woods and at the arrival of Blake and his family, they become his new prey.

With a cast of four performers, ‘Wolf Man’ is economical and tight. At 103 minutes, the film feels fast and never boring. Whannell makes full use of long shots to show how isolated the family is the moment they get to Oregon, which helps sets the fear knowing that they are all alone and far away from any sort of civilization. When they are attacked by the wolf man and forced to run and take shelter at Blake’s childhood home, it becomes a battle for survival. When the meat of the story happens, it all unfolds within one night, which allows for Whannell’s and director of photography Stefan Duscio to really play with light and shadows to create the suspense. We know the wolf man is just outside the house. We know they are all alone. And what’s worse, Blake is hurt and is slowly turning into a wolf man himself.

The way by which Blake becomes a wolf man is quite well-done. The volume starts to increase showing us his hearing is getting stronger and when he gets dizzy, a symptom of his transformation, the camera shifts angles to accompany his disorientation, and when the scene is covered in darkness, the camera shifts to his point-of-view and we start to see through his heightened vision. It’s techniques like these that really immerses us into Blake’s transformation: how he is slowly losing himself to this affliction.

Christopher Abbott as Blake in Wolf Man, directed by Leigh Whannell

What the film failed to immerse us into is Charlotte’s point-of-view. Blake and Ginger’s relationship had been established quite early on and so Ginger’s insistence on making room for her dad even when she can see that he’s changing makes sense. Their connection is the grounding element of the film. But Charlotte never has a moment to be vulnerable or to show her humanity. She’s presented to us as cold and distant and the trip to Oregon was supposed to be a chance for her and Blake and her and her daughter to get closer – a chance for the audience to see her softer side. Instead, she finds herself in a horror movie and as the protagonist role shifts from Blake to Charlotte, the film begins to lose its anchor. The love she has for her family which motivates all her actions at the latter half of the film has not been explored or developed throughout the film leaving it sort of hollow or empty.

All of a sudden, the moment Charlotte takes the lead, the film isn’t so scary. Surviving isn’t so vital to the enjoyment of the film. Julia Garner, who plays Charlotte, is doing the best she can but there’s very little space for her in the script to give her character more humanity as she’s thrust into survival mode before she has a chance to show us what she’s got. Christopher Abbott manages to keep us invested in his character with his earnestness in the role. Even the way he speaks to Ginger (Matilda Firth) is so adult and so straightforward, but you know it’s rooted in his own difficult relationship with his father. It could feel so awkward for a script but without having to explain it, Abbott justifies it through the performance.

‘Wolf Man’ has genuine frightening moments and some really good set ups and doesn’t rely on jump scares to create fear and dread. Unfortunately, it forgot to take time to develop and grow its second lead and that’s where it loses its steam.

My Rating:

Wolf Man is still showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

January 18, 2025
Movie Review — ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ Is a Formulaic Plot-Heavy Mess Even Two Jim Carreys Can’t Save

I was very much surprised and charmed by the first ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’, but I don’t remember if I have seen the sequel or if I missed it. So, coming into ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ meant there was a lot of goodwill from the first film that was carried into the cinema with me. Surrounded by a family with their unruly children (really, parents should learn to discipline their kids in public spaces), I was expecting to have a really good time with the third installment of this series. I was quite disappointed when the charm and warmth that the first film had was gone and was replaced by an over emphasis on plot while, at the same time, sidelining it to give way for Jim Carrey to have his gags.

In the third installment, we are introduced to Shadow (voiced by Keanu Reeves), another hedgehog who appears faster and stronger than Sonic and unlike our protagonist, he’s not a nice hedgehog. Shadow has been locked up in a containment cell for the last 50 years, but he awakens in the first ten minutes of the film, frees himself, and wreaks havoc in the nearby city of Tokyo. In the other side of the world, Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessy), and Knuckles (Idris Elba) are having a picnic with Tom (James Marsden) and Madie (Tika Sumpter), They celebrate Sonic’s first arrival on earth and at a race, they manage to find Sonic’s old cave (from the first movie). Here, Sonic and Tom get to talk about choices and being a good person – a very scripted scene that underlines the theme of the whole film and you know will be important later on – before the agents of G.U.N, come to take Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to Tokyo to face off Shadow.

Jim Carrey as Ivo Robotnik and Gerald Robotnik, Shadow (Keanu Reeves) and Lee Majdoub as Agent Stone in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 from Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc.

When Shadow proves invincible, Sonic must resort to working with Dr Robotnik (Jim Carrey), who is determined to find out who is using his technology without his permission. The team-up is short-lived, though, for they discover that Shadow is working with Professor Robotnik (also played by Carrey), Dr. Robotnik’s grandfather.

Knuckles (Idris Elba), Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 from Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles must reunite with Tom and Madie and figure out how to stop Shadow, and the two evil Robotnik’s from taking over the world.

Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Knuckles (Idris Elba), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey, James Marsden as Tom and Tika Sumpter as Maddie in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 from Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc.

What makes ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ arduous is that the film feels like multiple segments leading up to an obvious realisation at the end of the film for its two main characters (three if you count Dr. Robotnik). The film’s formula is way out in the open for you to see and nothing about its elaborate plot feels surprising. What makes it even worse is that the film’s tedious plot ends up pausing and taking breaks so that Jim Carrey can play out a sketch or a gag – and with two Jim Carreys in a scene, it can get a little overindulgent – and the whole pacing of the film is ruined. Some gags are funny. Some feel tired and old. Some the kids in the audience loved and others went way above their heads.

When the big finale comes, without that feeling of surprise and the callback to the obviously scripted parts about the choices people need to make, the film feels spoiled before it even got a chance to get good.

Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Knuckles (Idris Elba) and Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 from Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc.

The only thing that still manages to surprise me is how good James Marsden is with such a flimsy script. He is practically performing to a CGI character and I’m not privy to how the scenes were shot, if there was a puppet or if Ben Schwartz was actually there, but Marsden really sells Tom’s good guy persona and makes it believable that he’s talking to a blue, anthropomorphic hedgehog from another part of the universe. It’s such an amazing performance. Jim Carrey is Jim Carrey. He’s good at that. Whether you are tired of his shtick or if it can still capture you (like it still sometimes does, for me), then that’s a personal thing.

It’s unfortunate that none of the heart and warmth of the first film found its way to ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ but consider the response of the kids in the cinema when that mid credit scene came out, the fourth looks like it still has an audience excited and waiting for the sequel.

My Rating:

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is now showing in cinemas! Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

January 18, 2025
Review — Made Only for the MOAs, ‘Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus’ Doesn’t Quite Reach All Audiences

There is something to be said about a full immersive cinema experience. I’m a purist about cinema and trying to simulate what is happening on screen for the audience seated in the theater feels like a novelty more suited to a theme park than the world of film and movies. The power of books and movies and music is that the connection is made by the imagination that links our lives with what we experience on the page or the screen or what we hear in our ears. The history of film has shown us that just what we see and hear, projected on to that screen, can take us to different times and worlds and situations and allow us to truly experience a lifetime. Wind machines, scented spritzers, and a moving chair does not bring me closer into the world of the film, it takes me away from it and that’s one of the many barriers that got in the way for me to enjoy ‘Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus in Cinemas.’

The film is less than an hour long and it’s a showcase of the K-pop idol group TXT as they sing six songs from their discography in a wide range of virtual sets and caps off with a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot with the virtual reality studio. It’s not a concert video. It feels more like a showcase that’s akin to an extended Studio Choom dance video (if you’re a K-pop fan, you know what Studio Choom; if not, take a look at it on YouTube). As a K-pop fan myself, I can see that this release is intended specifically for TXT’s fandom, called MOAs. It’s a nice way for someone who is not familiar with them, like myself, to get to know them and their music – I for one took note of the second and the fourth song that they sang, ‘Magic Island’ and ‘Tinnitus (I Want to Be a Rock)’ and added them to my own playlist – see them dance and get to know their faces (as the camera comes in really close to the absolute delight of the fans in the audience with me). But there were many barriers of the release that got in the way.

First off, ‘Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus’ is a virtual augmented release. I think you are supposed to watch this with special VR goggles that can help you see the added effects to the scene. There are no goggles for this VR enhancement so what we see is a green screen CGI background behind the boys that looks fake and flat. Without the VR goggles, the intended effect doesn’t jump out.

Next, there are no subtitles and there are two spiels that happen between every two songs and then the finale. If you’re familiar with K-pop concerts, you know when to cheer and when to scream and the boys even react accordingly as if the audience does (in the cinema I was in, only one fourth of the audience knew when to make noise and did so obediently). Surprisingly, the five boys – Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai – don’t have enough space for their personalities to really shine. They are relating to a camera and without the audience and the energy from a live crowd coming their way, they can only do so much to let their presence be felt. The fans in the cinema were enjoying it but as a newbie, I still didn’t get to see who they were.

And then the 4DX experience made it even harder to enjoy as the seats shook and jolted along with the choreography while the bass manifested as a pulsing vibration right at your back. This would actually take me out of the moment rather than immerse me into that world because my energy was being dictated for me. I’ve been to K-pop concerts and the joy and rush of energy from seeing my idols would force me from my seat and to stand up and cheer and dance along the beat. Here, I do not have that option. I’ll fall off, for sure.

Not exactly a concert film but not exactly a documentary that allows for new audiences to find their way into the fandom, ‘Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus’ is a peculiar release, especially without the subtitles and the virtual reality augmentation that would probably only serve to interest the true-blue MOAs of the country.

My Rating:

Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

January 15, 2025
MMFF Movie Review: Though the First Two Acts Are Messy, ‘And the Breadwinner Is…’ Lands Its Ending

There’s a whole landscape of Filipino movies about the OFW experience as this is a phenomenon that has struck our society so deep. At some point, they have been called our present-day heroes. Films like ‘Anak’ and ‘Transit’ and ‘Hello Love Goodbye’ and the documentary ‘Sunday Beauty Queens’ are just some examples of films that tackle the emotional landscape of this set of people. So when director Jun Lana (co-writing with Daisy G Cayanan and Jumbo A. Albano) and Vice Ganda team up to tackle this narrative in an MMFF entry, it’s bound to get a lot of attention.

This is my first Vice Ganda movie (I know, this is something I plan to fix by watching the rest of his filmography soon) so I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. I’ve seen snippets of Vice on ‘It’s Showtime’ when it shows up on social media or when I’m on a bus and am familiar with his quick wit and razor sharp delivery of jokes. But to see it in action in a film is something else. The way the audience reacts to every punchline shows his mastery of comedy and that is unquestionable.

‘And the Breadwinner is…’ is the story of Bambi Salvador (Vice Ganda), an OFW working in Taiwan to help support her family in Pampanga. She works multiple jobs and has sacrificed their identity to build a house back at home that she and her family can truly call home. But the sudden death of one of her co-workers encourages her to return home early to be with the people that she loves only to find that her home has not been built and her family has wasted away all her money on failed businesses and frivolous things. In frustration and anger, she leaves home and is mistaken for dead. They discover that her life insurance would give the family ten million pesos and Bambi and her family decide that to pay off all their debt and start anew, Bambi would continue to pretend she’s dead.

The first two acts of the film is messy, firing at all directions. There’s a feeling that each scene is more a skit, a gag, before moving to the next. The narrative’s flow is broken by these moments of humor. Each family member – from the younger brother Biboy (Jhong Hilario) and his wife Mayet (Gladys Reyes), to her even younger siblings Boy (Kokoy De Santos) and Buneng (Maris Racal), and her eldest sister Baby (Eugene Domingo), who had abandoned the family to live and work in Italy – gets to have their own story and while it’s an ensemble piece, at 123 minutes, it makes the film seem bloated as each one has just the same amount of story time to play out. Adding upon this is the deception plot regarding the insurance money as an inspector, Anton (Anthony Jennings), is trying to find out whether Bambi is truly dead or not.

It’s a hodge-podge of scenes and gags that range from slapstick to witty comedy, bringing back characters from Vica Ganda’s filmography, and situational comedy that can hit or miss depending on the range of one’s taste. While the delivery is outstanding, there are jokes that make fun of fat people or ridiculing someone’s appearance and hurtful physical comedy that’s just not my cup of tea. But these elicit the most laughs because of Vice’s impeccable timing.

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When the film slows down to become tender, especially when it’s geared towards the queer stories in the film; is when it gets touching. Joel Torre’s Popsie, the deceased patriarch of the family, has the most touching scenes in flashbacks. The way by which he adores Bambi is truly beautiful to see. The acceptance is something we need to see in films more to help normalize this. And the way by which Bambi returns that acceptance to Boy, who comes out to him creates a chain of kindness directed towards the community. It’s one of the more moving parts of this film handled expertly by Vice, Torre, and De Santos.

But as messy as the first two acts are, the final act is when all that chaos is channeled into the film’s shift into drama. All the gags and the jokes, all of the misunderstandings and snide comments against each other, funnel into a confrontation of the whole family and Bambi ends up delivering an almost ten-minute monologue that embodies a whole lot of unsaid resentments from the OFW community. It’s a litany of the things that, as a culture, we are afraid to say out loud because we put family first before our own selves. It’s a magnificent space for Vice Ganda to show his acting chops as he throws out every emotion that feels like it has been trapped there forever, for the fifteen years that Bambi had suffered alone in another country. It’s visceral. It’s explosive. It’s done in a one-shot that puts Vice’s acting front and center. The whole movie was pushing towards this confrontation and it’s the reason why you should see this film.

My Rating:

And the Breadwinner Is… is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 29, 2024
MMFF Movie Review: The Parts of ‘Isang Himala’ Are Stronger Than the Whole

I was scared coming into ‘Isang Himala.’ I love the original film by Ishmael Bernal and Ricky Lee. I teach in my classes in Philippine Film History, and it is truly a groundbreaking work that still holds the test of time. I’m also in love with the stage adaptation by The Sandbox Collective, directed by Ed Lacson Jr. and music and lyrics by Vincent De Jesus. That production turned the whole stage, including the audience, into the town of Cupang and it was filled with incredible performances by its incredible cast. While the same cast is brought into the film adaptation of the musical, I feared that what made the stage play so magnificent – the way by which the whole town of Cupang comes alive and all the audience immerses themselves into the longing and desperation of that place – would be lost as it moves into the screen. How does a camera make the audience part of that world?

But knowing that Pepe Diokno was coming in to direct gave me a little hope. After all, his ‘Gomburza’ was excellent. To differentiate his world from the stage play and the original film, Diokno shot the whole film on a studio, which allowed for full control of lighting and sound design and they could control the massive crowd scenes that inhabit this film. It gives the feeling of old school Hollywood musicals from MGM where the sets look too perfect, too manufactured and they bring this charming aesthetic to the narrative. I’m talking about ‘The Wizard of Oz’ or ‘Singing in the Rain’ or even ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.’ There’s a leaning into the formalist tradition of cinema with Carlo Mendoza’s stunning cinematography turning the town of Cupang into the brilliant ochre shades that matches the film’s heavy tones and themes.

‘Isang Himala’ is about the town of Cupang, a town in need, ravaged by a drought, and the townsfolk believe that they are cursed. When Elsa (Aicelle Santos) proclaims she is having visions of the Virgin Mary and is seen healing a sick child, the town enters into a frenzy of religious fervor and zeal. A cult is quickly formed around her, tourists come from all over to receive Elsa’s blessings and healing, and the once-poor town suddenly gains a resurgence in economic growth. Factions are formed, as Elsa’s followers don’t take kindly to Nimia (Kakki Teodoro), who returns from Manila to open a cabaret while a documentary filmmaker, Orly (David Ezra), records Elsa’s movements, selling the footage and the photos he takes to newspapers in the city, while hoping to build a film about her. Elsa’s mother, Aling Saling (Bituin Escalante) is caught in the middle, a hapless observer as the town and her daughter are caught up in the madness of it all.

There are so much great things happening in this movie. Diokno’s ability to really move that camera through that madness is riveting. He creates these large set pieces as the two transforms over the course of a song from impoverished to booming in minutes. The crowds come in and make the whole set come to life. The singing is exceptional. With performers like Santos, Escalante, Ezra, and Teodoro in the cast, there’s no question that we’ve got incredible vocals to go with Vincent De Jesus’ score.

But I felt so disconnected from the piece – a narrative that I’m in love with from its original film and its stage adaptation – and I realised that I find the adaptation of the stage musical into a film needed space and width. Cupang’s design is enclosed in canyon, everything is bunched up together and claustrophobic. Everyone is in everyone’s business. There’s a mass of people entering and exiting the scenes and the camera can come in close for the close-ups to capture the drama that is unfolding in this story. But the script does not illuminate the characters and their motivations clearly enough for us to warrant these close ups. The stage adaptation makes the whole town the central character and the audience is witnessing the transformation that it takes from the distance of spectator. We can’t really know these characters because of that distance. Here, the camera can come close. It gets intimate, but the script never really explores these characters inner worlds. I am left with no real clue on who Elsa is aside from the push and pull of people’s desires for her benediction nor do I really, truly understand what motivates Orly’s interest in her. If these are done through the songs (as most of the film is sung-through), it can get lost in the production of the music.

The only character who truly shines and creates the film’s contrast is Nimia. While everyone is great, Kakki Teodoro fully embodies Nimia’s practicality and sense. Unlike everybody else, she believes in herself and is unafraid to stand up to her former friend. Teodoro brings this to the performance and sings the hell out of one of the best songs in the musical. Of all the characters in the film, hers is the clearest of what she wants and what she believes in. As I’m writing this, I heard that Teodoro won Best Actress at the MMFF Awarding and it is so well-deserved. Shes the one everyone is talking about when I left the cinema.

At two hours and forty minutes, I felt exhausted. The film is an intense roller-coaster of powerful songs that lean more towards opera than it does to musicals. A lot of the songs aren’t melodic, which is fitting because there’s no real rhythm or melody to suffering. In the play, on just a piano, it is haunting. Here, it’s loud and aggressive. Played by a full band that makes each song feel like a finale. It’s big and the film never gets quiet enough to process all of the madness that happens within this town.

The claustrophobia and the lack of true character moments makes this world feel small. Whereas Ishmael Bernal’s use of wide empty spaces and long shots help creates that distance for the viewers so what we see is the town. Here, I see Elsa. I see Orly. I see Nimia. I see Aling Sepang. I see the characters but except for Nimia, I don’t really get to know them fully. So, I’m impressed by the performances, by the aesthetics and the filmmaking behind ‘Isang Himala’ but I’m left struggling with what I’m supposed to feel afterwards. It’s a heavy movie to take in but wonderfully made.

My Rating:

Isang Himala is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 29, 2024
MMFF MOVIE REVIEW: Julia Barretto and Carlo Aquino Can’t Save ‘Hold Me Close’ From Its Shallow Characters and Flimsy Premise

It’s fortunate that Jason Paul Laxamana’s ‘Hold Me Close’ has the combined star power of Carlo Aquino and Julia Barretto because they are working hard to try and make this movie, with its thin premise, work. Set in Karatsu, Japan, the magical romance teams up Aquino and Barretto two people with respective traumas who find each other and set the journey towards healing. The catch? Barretto’s Lynlyn has the ability to tell if a person is “positive” or “negative” (whether they will be the cause of joy or pain) by simply touching them.

Aquino plays Woody, a man searching for a place to call home. He seems to be independently wealthy, not having a job but taking on a lovely house in Karatsu. In the morning market, he meets Barretto’s Lynlyn, who sells squid at the market with her two brothers Tantan (Jairus Aquino) and Botbot (Migo Valid). It’s love at first sight. Woody ends up helping Lynlyn and her brothers after her power discovers one customer is a “negative” and sparks a strong reaction that causes a stir. For Lynlyn, she feels that Woody is safe because he is neither “positive” or “negative.” He begins to visit her every day and she tags along because he will not cause her harm. Woody is persistent and consistent and eventually Lynlyn is charmed and what seals the deal is that Woody is now a positive. They begin to date until, on a date, Woody suddenly becomes a negative. The two protective brothers try to keep them apart but Lynlyn, overcome with her feelings for Woody, gives him three chances to turn into a positive. She then helps him evaluate his life and his choice, delving into his past and encouraging him to fix his relationship with his family. In the process, she will soon discover that she must also face her own demons.

Image Source: Viva Films FB

What makes the film a frustrating watch is that Laxamana builds the thinnest characters here. Unlike the characters of his previous films, Woody and Lynlyn end up appearing one-dimensional no matter how much work Aquino and Barretto put into them. Woody arrives in the city, and he seems to not do anything except chase after Lynlyn. He has no job, no passions or goals. He’s just a man running away from his issues and no matter how charming Aquino can be, there’s not much there to root for. At some point, he laments that no one loves him, but we don’t actually see him being a part of the world in any meaningful way. Lynlyn, on the other hand, is completely defined by her ability. She panics when she’s electrified by a negative reading of a person but every customer she has, she holds on to them trying to find out if they are good for her or bad. She also seems to not have any other dream or goal than to sell squid with her brothers in the market. Not much is said about her background: why she and her brothers are there and what is their goal in life. It seems these characters are only there to exist for the purpose of this movie.

Image Source: Viva Films FB

It doesn’t help that the film takes a moment to showcase all the tourist spots of Karatsu, which ends up taking us away from the film to become a sort of travelogue. Yes, it’s part of the scenes when Woody and Lynlyn are falling in love. But the place doesn’t feel integral to the story. You can replace it with any location, whether local or abroad, and the story can still stand.

Image Source: Viva Films FB

Also, the film doesn’t seem to have a clear representation of what positive or negative means. At one point, Woody is a positive and then another moment he becomes a negative. The film doesn’t quite handle this properly. At one moment, even Tantan becomes negative and then only to turn positive again the next. The whole film’s conceit centers around Lynlyn’s gift but as Woody tries to make himself positive for her, one wonders why Lynlyn gets to determine one person’s worth based on a feeling that she cannot explain. It could be a great metaphor for red flags and green flags, but the film never brings it there. It feels literal in its presentation and that sort of brings down the film’s potential.

My Rating:

Hold Me Close is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 29, 2024
MMFF MOVIE REVIEW: Defying All Expectations, ‘Green Bones’ Casts a Hopeful Light in the Dark

A story about redemption and hope, ‘Green Bones’ plays out like a sort of dark fairy tale through the filmmaking choices of everyone involved, which allows the movie to play with form and structure in inventive ways that helps take us on an emotional journey about justice and redemption and really exploring the role of prisons in our society. Written by Ricky Lee and Anj Atienza (from a story by JC Rubio) and directed by Zig Dulay, the movie quickly recalls the film ‘Shawshank Redemption’ with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman but this film carries its own magic. Despite its subject matter, Dulay and Director of Photography Neil Daza manages to create an almost mythical world for this story about the penal system in the country to take place.

Lee and Atienza also manage to play with structure and form by telling two very different stories, though essential the same narrative, by spending the first act in seeing the world through one of its leads, the young officer Xavier Gonzaga (Ruru Madrid), who enters the prison as a new warden in the island of San Fabian. Gonzaga has lost his sister to murder, and he carries his bias with him. The prison colony in San Fabian is a more humane place where the prisoners are given more freedom than what we expect. They are allowed to stay outside to garden and cook and, in the afternoons, are allowed to leave the prison to work in the farm or the fisheries and sell their wood carving projects to locals and tourists. The idea behind this system is to encourage them to repent and get back to their lives. Unfortunately, Gonzaga does not believe that murderers can be rehabilitated, and he has his sights set on Dominic Zamora (Dennis Trillo), a man who does not speak and is incarcerated for murdering his sister and his niece. Gonzaga watches Zamora closely, knowing he’s about to finish his sentence early for good conduct, and when he sees Zamora and the other inmates planning something, he decides to step in and ensure Zamora never makes it out.

Image Source: GMA Pictures FB

The film then shifts focus on act two, as we see the story through Zamora’s perspective and details his world view and the story of how he killed his sister and his niece and how his life has changed since then. The story is quite different from Gonzaga’s take and the film manages to shift the way we look at the people that are in prison now knowing what we know about the systems that are in place in our country.

Image Source: GMA Pictures FB

There are multiple stories here: stories about the other inmates, the friends that Zamora had cultivated; the story of the NGO worker who is constantly visiting Zamora (Alessanda de Rossi), and the story of Zamora and his sister (Iza Calzado) and his niece (Sienna Stevens in the flashbacks and Sofia Pablo at present time). Dulay is able to manage exploring multiple themes through the careful interweaving of these characters and as we know more and more about Zamora and his past, we become just like Gonzaga that our eyes are suddenly opened to our own prejudices and misconceptions.

Image Source: GMA Pictures FB

Trillo and Madrid give out exquisite performances here. Trillo brings such a deep humanity to the character of Dominic Zamora. He is fearsome as Gonzaga imagines him to be, but he is also soft and warm and kind as we see his story play out in the second act. He is the foundation of this narrative, and he carries it so competently that the film succeeds because it has such a strong anchor holding it together. If Trillo is the foundation, then Madrid is the narrative’s driving force. Madrid embodies Gonzaga’s tunnel vision but roots it in his character’s past hurts and trauma. This is not a one-dimensional witch hunt. This is a person that’s hurting, and Madrid is able to layer his character with these stories that allows us to empathize with him even if we suspect he’s not holding all the cards. The rest of the cast is magnificent, from De Rossi and Calzado, to Michael De Mesa and Wendell Ramos (who play the other policemen in the prison) and the inmates played by Ronnie Lazaro, Royce Cabrera, Mikoy Morales, and two others whose names I wasn’t able to find.

Image Source: GMA Pictures FB

The heart and warmth that Dulay was able to deliver in last year’s ‘Firefly’ is in full display in ‘Green Bones.’ It’s a masterful work that plays with your expectations and takes a hard look at how we think of rehabilitation and how humane are we in treating those who have strayed. The film can get dark, but it has to, because the film shines a light of hope to those who seek redemption. By the end of the film, I caught myself crying along with other members of the audience.

My Rating:

Green Bones is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 27, 2024