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 1:
1. Proj. Imakulada by Jan Bernardino
This film is about a girl from the province, who has the opportunity to live in the ’70s and 21st century. But after finding out herself she had to choose in which era she had to stay on either the past for her family or the present for herself.
This story was unexpected for me. The film had this filter at first but slowly went cold as the film progressed which was understandable. The first time I read the title, I thought the girl was being groomed to be the perfect “wife”, but in the first scenes they were happy so I thought my guesses were wrong. It looked old, especially how they dressed so I who forgot to read the summary first thought that it was. But a scene where Ima was doing the laundry looked (for me) at the present, which confused me. Then scenes started contradicting the “happy married life” so I thought maybe something was up and maybe the grooming was true.
Then when normal mentioned a script everything connected. They were playing roles! I remember a piece of background music in the earlier scenes give a hint, glad I caught that. The Statue of The Virgin Mary was also seen a couple of times during the film and for me, it felt like it represented what Ima was trying to Portray in her character.
I was happy in the end when she managed to escape from that experience. Hitting Norman with the bottle contradicted the image of The Statue of Mary which was interesting to see.
Also seeing herself as a person who was to follow a script every sing time was depressing so I can tell why she had to go and escape. And knowing that her father was part of it was sad in a lot of ways. A message I could get from this is that “Not all go according to plan.” And another is “All of us have the right to be what we want.”
I don’t see this type of story in films that much, so it was refreshing to watch it. I completely enjoyed it.
2. Non-Linear by Marben Portucela
So this short film is about 3 friends trying to edit a scene from a movie that was to be sent to their head 4 hours after. Due to the tight schedule, the 3 friends start to have a heated conversation and question each other’s passion and skills. I picked this because it interesting script that I like. I also like the lighting used during the shoot. I felt that it suited the mood, they were trying to portray on both sides. One side was in normal lighting while the other was in red, I feel like it showed how one side is all relaxed while the other feels the pressure.
A part of the script I noticed was said “our usual standards” yet in the end the person that said that line contradicted what he said by saying “but it’s okay. Viewers won’t notice shit.” All I can say about this is that people need time to create. And giving less time could affect the outcome, also it could cause people to be complacent about their work. It is sad to know that people aren’t able to do their best due to limitations.
I like the film because it showed the message of what you pay is what you get. Even with the efforts done, with the limitations one isn’t able to fully bloom and show their full potential.
In the end scene, I felt sad knowing that the nicest edit of all was not able to be shown to the public. Instead, a good enough edit was chosen. The head should have sent the scene earlier and gave them more time honestly. Maybe by doing so, the VFX industry in our country would have greatly improved.
3. Go Back by Vanerie Lumaque
It's about a Family trip gone into tragedy. The film uses a black and white filter for almost all the duration of the film, but red is vibrant when this specific filter is used. I believe Red is the desire of anyone and at any time it will influence you to make good or bad decisions. That is why it is emphasized in the film.
Another thing is that reverse effect is used often and a few glitches as well. Makes me believe that it’s a hint about what is going to happen. The Black and White filter only showed during the period they were on a trip. At home it was full of color, so that could have given it away.
I picked this film because it was known to me. I usually don’t like reverse editing, but this film gave it a nice story. The constant red glitches are also interesting to see because it just reminds me that the things that you “love” don’t usually bring you to the right direction. The music in the background was also interesting; it was calm but creepy. Like it had something whispering to me that something was about to happen. and the captions simply stated what the actors are doing.
Lastly, I just wanted to say is that No one can turn back time, so it is very important to think through the decision you make since we only have one life. And unlike this film, we can’t go back.
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