We would have to wait until next year before we could see Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, and Tom Holland, and the rest of the Marvel Villain’s in Spider Man No Way Home.
In December, specifically during Christmas until the feast of the Three Magis, all cinemas in the country are exclusive for Filipino cinematic offerings since it is the time of the year for the annual Metro Manila Film Festival.
Two of its films in competition, Louie Ignacio’s Huling Ulan Sa Tag-Araw and Adolf Alix Jr.’s Huwag Kang Lalabas had press previews recently and what you are about to read today, are my sentiments and thoughts about these motion pictures.
The on-screen chemistry of Rita Daniela and Ken Chan, can make paints on the wall shred, is this was most evident in the sexual congress moment that their characters shared.
Daniela essays the role of Luisa, an adult sex worker who had a fag attitude while Ken is Luis, a seminarian on sabbatical.
Yes, the woman of ill repute and a man of a good plot, had been used so many times and in so many ways. In this Ignacio helmed romantic dramatic, however, its presentation of two characters who are of polar opposites, personality, and morality wise, was inventive, refreshing, and believable.
As a matter of fact, the whole movie reminded you of all the kilig and the possibilities that rammed to all of us in the Julia Roberts and Richard Gere classic Pretty Woman and the many dramatic twists and turns employed in this one, most especially its subdued manner of giving tribute to the power of love and the beauty of life, was akin to the elements found in the Ishmael Bernal helmed, Vilma Santos starrer Pahiram Ng Isang Umaga.
Apart from its engaging narrative, what hooked the press preview audiences was no acting please, this is not a melodramatic afternoon drama attack that the protagonists gave their respective characters. What exhilarated me the most were the scenes where Ken and Daniela utter not a single line, and yet, the emotions in their eyes and facial expressions, spoke in volumes.
Huling Ulan Sa Tag-Araw perfectly blended comedic and dramatic situations that Luis and Luisa shared.
Rita Daniela and Ken Chan are not just your average and everyday television personalities after this. They are now certified movie stars as well.
The second movie with an earlier press presentation was Huwag Kang Lalabas by Adolf Alix Jr. If his intention was to make this three-in-one movie of his an allegory, on that aspect, it may be deemed as a cinematic triumph. Read full story on manilastan
What is an allegory then? The dictionary defines it as a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or a political one.
This definition is apparent in the trilogy entitled “Kumbento”, “Bahay” and “Hotel” written by Alix and another award-winning screenplay writer Jerry Gracio.
“Kumbento” was an allegory to crimes and violence inflicted on women during the Japanese occupation and how a religious order made “sacrificial lambs” to preserve its stature and sanctity.
Guilt as the greatest tool to haunt the pretentious and the faithful whose belief of self-preservation and “deliverance from evil” was through supplication was personified to perfection by the legendary actress Elizabeth Oropesa who electrified the screen with her presence as Sor Fides.
An allegory to the coming of age of young men, the abandon and recklessness of youth, the urban legends of the past and environmental degradation are all in the Joaquin Domagoso “Bahay” episode.
The pandemic that we are still facing and how all of us have become “guinea pigs” because of the hits and misses, in how it is being managed, are the allegorical elements of the Kim Chiu headlined “Hotel.”
And yes, Chiu did deliver what is expected, her trademark shrieks.
The question of national importance, of course, did the movie touted as a “horror motion picture” lived up to genre?
No answer spoilers here. I will let you discover the answer and see for yourself if it can be the heir to the Shake, Rattle, and Roll franchise, which is the number one horror trilogy staple, that reigned for the longest time in the annual December movie festival.
Huling Ulan Sa Tag-Araw from Heaven’s Best Entertainment and Huwag Kang Lalabas from Obra Cinema, showing in cinemas nationwide, Dec. 25.