I wasn't a film fanatic ever since I was a kid - except probably for animated ones especially The Lion King and Land Before Time - but I think watching movies as a hobby is fun. During my teenage years, I liked watching movies such as Harry Potter and other movies for young adults. Some time before I went to college, I thought of trying to do movie marathons of Filipino films. I was curious of how Filipino movies work, how they would compare to foreign films. I was almost not even aware that I watched local films prior to college because they really didn't stick to my mind. But after watching Blue Moon, an idea came up to me. I want to try watching local films for both academic and entertainment purposes, but how?
Since I'm from the College of Mass Communication (CMC), I thought that maybe I would have fun in Film subjects, and satisfying my new idea is a plus. Unfortunately, I wasn't really good friends with CRS so I never had the chance to get Film subjects - except for Film110, but it doesn't count because it's a photography class. Chance finally came during my last sem when I still had to get an elective. I got Cinema in the Philippines (ArtStud177) as my last elective and I had high expectations from the subject. I was definitely satisfied with the way the course was handled. It satisfied all my expectations and I really felt some sort of connection with some of the films we watched in class. Although I would admit, some were not very interesting and I almost fell asleep, but there were aesthetically pleasing films and with substance. The class experience was also fun since discussions were done with a very light and friendly atmosphere. To sum my sem up, I loved the fact that this elective made me - although a bit more critical in analyzing films - fond of local films. I guess I could say that this was the subject that really satisfied my plan on doing marathons of Filipino movies.
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LOVE.LOVE.LOVE
Definitely, I loved AS177 because it was a very unique class. We watched local films every reporting day and discuss a few notable films/filmmakers/actors during certain periods in history. If I was asked which movie I loved the most amongst all of those we watched, I'd probably choose Scorpio Nights - although I'm quite torn between this and Bagets, which are both within the time period of our report. What I loved about the movie is that, it was very refreshing because it does set the mood when people watching it together may become awkward but when you look at the story deeper, it will give you goosebumps. there were many allegories I found really amusing because in the literal sense, some might find it too sensual, but if you actually contextualize it, you'll understand how it reflects the oppression people felt during the Martial Law era.
I loved the way it presented itself as a sensual film or a flesh flick or a bomba film, whatever it's called, but still be able to depict the social conditions and assert certain issues that people were not able to freely express during that time. This type of movies are probably those which I will definitely bow down to, or watch over and over without getting tired because they have both appeal and substance. Surely, no one would say no if a Scorpio Nights 3 would be screened in the near future, right?
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WISH UPON A STAR
Probably you're tired of seeing text already because of this text-heavy blog entry. So to make it more...er...dynamic(?) I prepared a video instead for the wishlist-for-Philippine-cinema part! Enjoy watching! ^^,
short explanation:
1. Less Formulaic - I was hoping for our films to become less formulaic so that it can venture out on new ideas and storylines so we won't get stuck on the same-old-same-old plots we watch every other love-story, or horror, or whatever genre there is.
2. Promoting local culture - it has been done, but we need to strengthen our culture and make it look better than what foreign films show us, because our culture is rich and nice!
3. Venturing into animation - I wish our animated film industry would flourish even more and reach greater heights and be able to create world class movies to show the world what we got.
4. Proudly and originally PINOY - some local films (and TV series) are being labeled copies of foreign films, but maybe it's time to show how original Pinoy's are in making films. Let's show the world that we can make films that will lead to a new genre of film for the rest of the world: PINOY FILMS :)
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