Anatomy of AND I LOVE YOU SO (2009)

Not your typical movie.

I had monay with cheese and Pepsi soda drink awhile ago for breakfast. I had to eat it on the run because i was late for class, so i ate my meal striding along Villanueva St., towards NIGS (National Institute of Geological Science). It was pretty an enjoyable meal actually, fast and scrumptious, never minding how dangerous it is to fill an empty stomach with cold soda like what my mother used to tell. Like my quick breakfast awhile ago, And I Love You So (2009) is somewhat like monay and soda combined with an awful lot of cheese. This is some sort of movie that you have to engulf in one sitting, and buddy, i got to tell you, the cheese ain't that good either. My dearest readers, one thing I like about watching new STAR CINEMA flicks is because the formula they've been doing for years has reached its irrevocable turn with And I Love You So (2009). Let me tell you the way!

1 | Extreme Body Engineering

BOOoooooMM! I guess everyone admits that only a few good looking men can equal the quirkiness and fame of Star Cinema's Derek Ramsay: ripped abs, tan body, bloody pecs, tall, boyish and with a bulbous head. From this shot, it is so precise you can trace his abs. Oh la la la...

Well, Sam, who looks like a puppy, is equally appealing as Derek Ramsay, but he has more package than Derek and Piolo combined, I have to admit. Notice how this shot is very "Psychoish" in a homoerotic way, not even Roger Ebert or Pauline Kael can resist that bigger, better chest muscles. My gosh look at those big bulging biceps!

Or the abs even! Richard Dyer would be very happy given the fact that most of these shots insanely echoes Jean Genet's odious but beautiful piece of work, Un Chant d'Amour (1950).

Or this one! Holy monsters! I just died.

Interestingly, there wasn't much of a nudity in Bea's part as to Sam's, which is one way of saying that this is not a film for men like most other Star cinema chick flicks.

Makes you wonder where did all those Bomba films from the 1970s go...

Such a piquant looking girl in a sea of ordinariness.

Sexy, but confused.
As for the extended love scene, where everything is zoomed in and covered up, Bea and Sam weren't even naked at all! Whotdohell!

2 | Sentimental Overload 1 (Oliver's Heart)

In the opening scene, one of the first few shots involves a tin can in a shape of a heart.

Apparently, the tin can shaped heart was Oliver's (Derek's) ashes.

Which wasn't quite so Filipino at all and somewhat Americanize on or not even close to that.

What beats the hell out of me was when Oliver's mom showered the ashes to the sea in this weirdly draped boat, I don't know what they're thinking but it's quite funny and cheesy. Too much drama!

3 | Sentimental Overload 2 (There exist an Eight ball whatsoever)


That tang! Makes you wanna squirt blood from your eyes and hope to die the next day! Without a doubt, Star Cinema is a haven for such bloody shots! Let's self-destruct guys! It's morphine time!

4 | Product Placement Galore!



No words. But let me tell you a story. I once had a roommate who used Belo Products, i don't know why he used it, some kind of toner i think, pink and bright, he used it day and night oh men!

Like what i said earlier, let's self-destruct! it's morphine time!

Bloody hell!

Outa here!

Ciao!
***

No words.

:-)

My first trial on filmmaking! Hopes no one will like it. ^_^

Unang pasabog! One more film to come!

Ciao!
***

Bagong Buhay

...mula sa masalimuot na panaginip...

Orapronobis magpakaylanman!

Laro para sa akin ang kritisismo, sa kahit anong anyo nito tugon sa pangkalahatan: tao, pelikula, kultura, arte, literatura, eksibiyon o kung anu pa man. Sa apat na buwan ng aking paglalakbay sa mundong Pelikulang Pilipino, ngayon gabi ang hudyat mismo ng pagbabalik loob sa mundong pilit kong tinangihan, pilit kong kinalimutan, at muntikang ko nang ibaon sa takot at pagsusumamo. Hindi ko pa natatapos ang GE kong Sine Pinoy, pero ramdam ko na ang lungkot ng pagiging separatista sa mga nangungunang mga kritiko: Oggs, Chard, Dodo. Dahil ba ito sa kadahilan na "ang dugo ay mas malapot keysa sa tubig". O dahil, mula sa aking pagkakahimlay sa libingang aking hinukay ay namulat ako. Ang akda ng ni Jimmy: "Mas mahirap gisingin ang nagtutulug-tulugan keysa sa tulog." Mababaw lang itong kaganapan para sa iba, ngunit malalim para sa akin. Bigyan niyo sana ako ng pagkakataong... mag bagong buhay!

Paalam!
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Halaw (Ways of the Sea) (Dayoc, 2010)

...soon

I need to watch this...

Ciao!
***

Cinemalya 6 and UPFI Russian Film Festival

...are you ready for a heart-pumping July?

To direct your cinephilic desires to the right path, we have two big events happening in July around Manila: Cinemalaya 6 and Russian Film Festival at UPFI. Cinemalaya 6 line up (from the site) shown below has a pretty exciting taste. Jay Altejero's Pink Halo is a sure eye popper together with Khavn de la Cruz's The Trial of Mister Serapio and Mes de Guzman's Ang Mundo sa Panahon ng Yelo. Most interesting films in the festival are, of course, the comeback of the legendary Mario O'Hara with his Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio, and Joel Lamangan's Sigwa. Equally interesting are films by Gil Portes' Two Funerals and Mark Meiley's Donor. Of course, we cannot ignore the films from by the newbies, they are primarily the center of the festival. Interesting titles (haha) are Vox Populi by Dennis Marasigan, Si Techie, Si Teknoboy and si Juana by Arthur Katipunan which presupposes the themes that will be expectantly explored in the film, and Sampaguita by Francis Xavier E. Pasion which either draws an allegory to the film production company Sampaguita Pictures (1938 -1982), or to the National Flower, Sampaguita (Jasminum sambac).
But equally satisfying are works by Christopher Gozum's Anacbanua (2009), Biyaheng Lupa by Bing Lao and Engkentro by Pepe Diokno. The "Midnight Treat" will be featuring Shandii Bacolod's new feature Ben and Sam and Jay Altejero's Ang Laro sa Buhay ni Juan.

So I guess I'll see you around there... Wee!

***
Russian Film Festival
at UPFI

Thrilling! Tarkovsky's The Mirror (1975) will be playing for two days. It is the masterwork of Andre Tarkovsky and considered as one of the best films of all time. There are two Mosfilm produced films in the list, The Mirror and the engrande war film, The Star (2002). The most recent films are Ward No. 9 (2009) and Vanished Empire (2008) both directed by Karen Shakhnazarov. Agony (1973-75, released in 1982) are one of films censored during the Soviet Union times in the 1970s.

The Visionary.

ENJOY!

Ciao!
****

PHILIPPINE NEW WAVE: This is not a Film Movement

...reposted the pics and write-up from its FaceBook page...

[Book launching will be held at CCP on July 14, 2010 during Cinemalaya 6.]



I'm proud to be a part of this film culture! This is Philippine Digital Cinema in its quest to redefine its boundaries, history, and territory in a vast, multiformic art film history.

PHILIPPINE NEW WAVE: This Is Not A Film Movement

[Edited by Khavn De La Cruz with Dodo Dayao & Mabie Alagbate
Introduction by Bienvenido Lumbera
Profiles by Chard Bolisay, Oggs Cruz, & Dodo Dayao
Published by Noel Ferrer, Instamatic Writings, & MovFest
Book Design & Layout by Gerard Lico]

The most prominent internationally-acclaimed and wildly divergent digital filmmakers from the Philippines answer questions on filmmaking and beyond: from humble beginnings, to first adventures and unforgettable experiences, to influences and philosophy and process, to what the power of film is, to the true meaning of independence, to what the future holds for cinema, locally and worldwide.

Filmmaker and festival director Khavn De La Cruz throws the questions at them, and gamely answers them himself. The results are at turns informative and insightful, inspirational and illuminating, revealing how diverse the landscape of Philippine Cinema has become, and how much of it is a shared love and a shared art in which you are complicit in.

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Khavn de la Cruz - editor, filmmaker
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"I just need to say THANK YOU for making this! It's a major read for me as we share similar cinematic visions (and among others, political instability). Your book is gold."

- Apichatpong Weerasethakul

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Sherad Anthony Sanchez
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“Not quite formal interview, not quite Internet quiz, not quite cinema textbook, not quite oral history. Filmmaker/publisher/interviewee Khavn De La Cruz again creates the unclassifiable: a status check on the point men, advance guard (avant-garde, if you will), adventurers of Philippine cinema, what they are, what they love, what they hate, where they've been, where they're going, what they want to conquer and change. If you need to see what's happening and what's next in Philippine culture, if you need to see where we as Filipinos are going, then this is an indispensable book.”

- Noel Vera (Author, “Critic After Dark”)

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Paolo Villaluna and Ellen Ramos
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“When I was planning for the first time in my life to go to the Philippines, a friend—a Filipino-American woman at that—said I should not go. 'You will be kidnapped,' she said. 'You are as white as they come.' She was right. I was kidnapped by a group of lively, talented, original, daring, and unstoppable filmmakers who made me a part of their cinematic journey that conquered the international film world in recent years. The only sad thing is that I was not born a Filipino.”

- Gertjan Zuilhof (International Film Festival Rotterdam)

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Rico Maria Ilarde
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“A more than timely tome: 17 Pinoy masters of digital cinema talk candidly and passionately, at length and in depth, about cinema, work & art, life, God (well…) and the nation (an unavoidable one), plus everything else that matters and is fit to print (and then some). The selection of directors featured is carefully considered: they come from several generations with very different experiences, covering a spectrum between more commercially minded auteurs, committed activists, all-out underground mavericks and experimentation-prone artists, with some names probably still new to viewers/readers outside the Philippines. If one wants to understand why and how the Philippines developed into the last decade’s one and only hot-bed of talents and visionary then one simply has to read this.”

- Olaf Moeller (European Editor, Film Comment)

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Roxlee
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"Filipino cinema continues to be an inspiration to me!"

- Amir Muhammad (Matahari Books | Da Huang Pictures)

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Mes de Guzman
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"It may be easier to proclaim than to start a revolution. But for the digital cinema of the Philippines, nothing could have been easier. The revolution began the moment it was proclaimed and 10 years later, the times are still a’ changing."
- Philip Cheah (Singapore International Film Festival | Locarno International Film Festival)

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Adolf Alix Jr.

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John Torres
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“The digital revolution happening in the Philippines in the past decade extends beyond the works created. This book captures the spirit of film activism at its best where the film community actively reaches out to find their audience. How can anyone not be moved by this invitation to be part of a great revolution?”

- Bee Thiam (Asian Film Archive)

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Raya Martin
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"Filipino digital cinema has marked the last decade as no other development in national cinemas worldwide, providing great excitement and inspiration to all the film lovers who could discover it. This book helps us understand how the Filipino digital new wave came about, lets us know the people who contributed to its ascent, and gives us hints on where it may possibly head. All directly from the inside."

- Paolo Bertolin (Venice International Film Festival)

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Lav Diaz
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"Here we have 16 filmmakers—these punk poets, monsoon-drenched desperadoes, romantic dogs—talking to their own tribal chief about the slaughterhouse of being independent, being misunderstood, and being Filipino. They confirm and bust the myths about their so-called attempts to pick the lock into the pantheon of 21st century global cinema, and they supply valuable perspectives about the forgotten past and the possible future of Pinoy cinema, their soft nest and their elevator to heaven or maybe to the gallows."

- Kong Rithdee (Bangkok Post)

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Kidlat Tahimik
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“Emerging from a context of economic and political violence, as sadly evidenced by the murder of Alexis Tioseco and Nika Bohinc or—as I'm writing these lines—the establishment of “martial law,” during the past ten years, Philippine Cinema has become powerful, fertile, inventive and radical. Exceptional phenomenon in history—for once cinema is not born from the will of a State or an industry, but from the energy of fiercely free young filmmakers. This indispensable book, edited by the great 'social-realist insurgent’ Khavn De La Cruz, recounts their struggle.”

- Nicole Brenez (University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne | Cinémathèque Française)

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Ato Bautista
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“The Philippines’ “digital underground” is one of the most vibrant, essential and utterly diverse film scenes in the world today, with artists so unique they could each be their own “new waves.” Their aesthetics are as different from one another as they are from the rest of world cinema, but all are united by a shared willingness to break the boundaries of film genre—and filmmaking. Featuring game-changing veterans like Kidlat Tahimik and Lav Diaz to young turks like Raya Martin and John Torres, these interviews provide an invaluable insight into the Philippines’ digital revolution, why it’s happening, and—even more importantly—how to make it happen anywhere. Why should you care? Because these filmmakers are changing how we look at movies, and—more importantly—how we should be creating them: with total freedom from budgets, limits, and rules.”

- Jason Sanders (Filmmaker Magazine | Pacific Film Archive)

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Brillante Mendoza
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“For people who care passionately about an art form, there is always the danger of stopping at a certain historical point and saying, "It's all over, let's think only about the past." Maybe they're tired of the effort of staying contemporary, maybe they've lost the capacity to respond to new ways of perceiving and thinking about their art form, or maybe the potential for their art form to produce important work seems to them to have run out. As far as cinema is concerned, Khavn De La Cruz's anthology offers a powerful rebuke to such defeatism. The book documents the richness of a national film movement, one of the most vigorous and accomplished on the contemporary film scene, that shows no signs of imminent exhaustion. Even if you have never seen any work by the filmmakers represented, if you care about the future of cinema you should read this book.”

- Chris Fujiwara (Editor, “Jerry Lewis” | “The Little Black Book: Movies”)

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Auraeus Solito
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“In the past decade, digital filmmaking has enabled a talented new crop of Filipino filmmakers to gain worldwide acclaim and acceptance through film festivals at home and abroad. What distinguishes their work from the new cinema movements in other places is the awareness of their own country’s cinematic legacy: the sociopolitical concerns prominent in the works by Mike de Leon, Ishmael Bernal and Lino Brocka. However, history has shown that every “new wave” floods and ebbs. As such, the continuation of current successes will depend on whether this generation’s talents can communicate their vision to an audience beyond those within festival circuits. Luckily, the pragmatism and resilience shown by these artists (not to mention budget constraints) are evidences of their ability to adapt and evolve cinematically. The 2000s, then, could mark just the beginning in the current evolution of the new Filipino cinema.”

- Raymond Phathanavirangoon (Hong Kong International Film Festival)

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Ditsi Carolino
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"There should be a Mad Dogs and Englishmen-style ‘rock tour’ documentary made about the contemporary film festival circuit equivalent of Joe Cocker and his travelling troupe: I mean that close-knit band of contemporary Philippine filmmakers who have burst upon the cinephile world in recent years. In the minds of many, this newest of national ‘new cinemas’ is exemplified by the long, minimalist, demanding films of 'the elder' Lav Diaz; the highly ironic and deliberately artificial 'history films' of young Raya Martin; or, even younger, the lyrical avant-garde visions of Sherad Anthony Sanchez. But there is still more variety in this Philippine New Wave, from the humanist neo-realism of Adolfo Alix, Jr. to the crazy digital-video-with-live-music 'happenings' of Khavn De La Cruz. And there is a past to this independent movement, important precedents that we are only just coming to know outside the Philippines. Political, urgent, experimental, impulsive, risk-taking, challenging audiences and demanding recognition: this is what the Philippine New Wave is all about. And these mad dogs sure know how to party, too."

- Adrian Martin (Co-Editor, “Movie Mutations” | Rouge Film Journal)

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Jeffrey Jeturian
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Ciao!
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Please repost this to your blogs! Spread the word! Buy the book!

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