POV: BALIK7ANAW is a celebration of the continuous growth of Philippine Cinema. The celebration will last for 4 weeks. Videos from various individuals will be showcased on their Youtube channel each week.
Here are my Top 3 For week 4:
1. Sariling Guhit by Ron Nigel Mosot
Sariling Guhit Film Cover
This film is about a young man drawing by himself. As simple as it may sound, it is not the case for me. Art is interpretative and has a lot of meanings. This film shows an example of that.
The film uses animation to portray a message. Its starts off with a face ripped off to a skulled face, which I interpret for people's personas. All people have masks hidden within themselves, and people may not be what they seem to be behind those masks. The snake could imply the wrong side of a person waiting to be shown but is kept hidden because of the various persona's a person has. It could also indicate a person hiding their real intentions to another by wearing a mask.
Another thing I noticed is the mouth. It's all sharp, and in the second photo, it's shooting; let's say hurtful words to others. The mouth is a deadly weapon to have. Although it is a tool for us to eat and communicate, we are reminded that it kills to speak as well. We should be careful of what we say because it can affect others in the worst way possible. The mouth can also imply a reason for someone's relationship, platonically or romantically, to end because of harsh words.
The heart being crush could mean broken relationships. The thing I'm getting to this is that it takes a second to destroy a relationship, and with all the previous pictures shown, it could mean betrayal from someone.
Lastly is the artist who did this a lot of times alone. He could have suffered everything and decided to draw what he felt for hours.
Other more bits of the film could imply depression or suicide. So I would say this is a dark film even though it is portrayed like this action animation. Kids won't easily understand, but when one looks deeper, they might see the message? This film could also be a call for help.
2. Cesar & Magda by Patricia Camille Cruz
Cesar & Magda Film Cover
This film is about a man trying to bring back the spark he and his wife once had by mimicking an ideal woman. He is yet to discover how his wife would absorb that information.
The film was all warm, yet there was a feel to how boring life the couple had. The background music used was all bubbly and fun, so one would expect this film to be one. But what you see is not what you get.
My first thoughts on this film were that Magda was held back by Cesar and kept her in this simple boring life by controlling her. They seem to have this routine they have to do every day. But he got bored, so when he saw the changes and how it could excite his life, he tried to mimic it for his wife to adapt to this new ideal woman he wants her to be.
Changes to the house happened; I noticed the mismatched chairs at some point, and the décor of the home could also mean the personalities of the people are changing as well. Eventually, they did change, and Cesar seemed to like the changes but;
It felt like it was overwhelming him to the point of getting paranoid. There are moments he would stare into the air, which was creepy for me to watch.
These photos could mean his rejection of the change. By throwing the stuff away, maybe he thought he could bring back the life they had. But all he had to do was accept the changes he did and get used to it. This could go in another cycle of changes if he does see another "ideal woman" he wants his wife to be.
3. Aswang by Hannah Grace B. Maur
Aswang Film Cover
A film about a little boy who believes that the beautiful girl in their town is an "Aswang." The film used a yellow filter which was very warm to see. The actors were great at portraying their roles which is why I could recommend this to others.
This started in comic-style storytelling, which did amazingly. The comic could represent the youth of the child which would believe in what they see and hear. So it would explain his curiosity about beautiful girls in their town being "Aswang's" because his mother was pregnant like the ones in the story he read.
The part where the father saw the beautiful girl was confusing at first. Since my initial thought was that he would die because, at some point, I did believe it was an "Aswang" story. And also, because of the beautiful girl's fascination, the boy's family was weird at some point.
The following scenes made more sense after. Cheating. The look on the father's eyes at first could mean worry because his mistress visited his family. The fascination of the beautiful girl to the boy's family now had a reason why she did that and got into the boy's good side.
One scene I can't forget is the part where the boy held candles in a dark room, hoping to be safe and find answers. But the red lights being used could mean the loss of his innocence as he saw his father's betrayal.
The general message for me was the loss of the boy's innocence and how he had to experience that at such a young age. Maybe also, at some point, the beautiful girl could be an "Aswang."
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