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Tuesday, January 31, 2006
If you ever saw this film's trailer and thought it seemed cool, then I recommend you go and see it immediately because it is just as cool as the trailer promises, and perhaps a bit funnier. Nevermind that the entire movie seemed to have been shot by a handheld camera and that there didn't seem to be any special effects, the way I see it, a good plot and dialogue will always win over a movie with good special effects, because the main reason you see movies anyway is for the story (or, at least that's how it is for me), and this story won Best Screenplay at that Cinemalaya - Philippine Independent Film Festival 2006.
It was easy to understand how it won Best Screenplay, really. A lot of lines that the characters said had double meaning but weren't too hard to figure out. And the different ways the characters spoke, or their choice of words (i.e. the crime lord's son would always swear in English) gave a lot of insight to their character. Also, how they used them kiddie Filipino nursery rhymes and the like, in different situations, well, it wasn't only funny, but it was brilliant!
The only bad thing I can say about this film is that despite all it's used of normal things/activities (i.e. It's the first and only movie I've seen where the , characters played Pepsi-7up, etc.) it still wasn't too realistic. Ah, but that's a very minor thing, because really, movies are supposed to be larger than life anyway, and the people, the setting and everything else but the plot, I guess, were all pretty natural. And you never know, maybe things like that really do happen in the real world, I mean, what do I know about about crime lords, their sons, actress wannabes, and small-time criminals anyway?
All in all, this movie was great, though 'great' seems to be too overused a word that it doesn't seem to stress enough how I really found the movie. Basta. I'd take this over any of the recent Metro Manila Film Fest entries any day of the week, because unlike those films that heavily rely on the the actors' (producers', directors', etc.) big names for profit, this is one of the rare movies in the Philippines that's made for the sake of art--which I think should be what films should really be made for. Because there were no loose ends, there was just enough humor in it, and the plot, though I think I've seen it, or some form of it, used in some Hollywood movies (Wild Things?), was good enough.
Will I go so far as to saying that it's the best local movie I've seen? Maybe. Thinking about it, I can't recall any other local film I've seen that is as seamless. I guess that's a sign that I should go and watch local independent films more often. But seriously, if you're looking for something good that's locally made, like along the lines of Chocnut and Boy Bawang, then this movie certainly is it. Hopefully it'll play in the SM Cinemas for more than a week. Enjoy!!
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