Bonding Pain Child Struggle Derailment Loss Cinemalaya2019

The start of the movie cinema festival #cinemalaya2019, my favourite festival. Entries narrate a Filipino story said differently. Like a Shakespearian play, it calls for patience as it takes time to establish the characters and the situation story-wise and technically. When the story unfolds and you get into the groove, you are engaged and hooked until it jolts and hurts you.  The hurt lingers as it is a relatable pinoy story dramatising a universal pain of being human. You move on only when you sit for the next screening.

Children of the River- the joy of authentic children's friendship growing up in a small river side community whose bonding is a continuing influence of their parent's solidarity. What binds them together and how will face the future are reinforced with a tragedy all of them faced. Enviable to be a member of their circle

Bell Douleur, A Beautiful Pain- the difficulty of letting go of objects, memories and dedicated romantic relationship. Dramatizes in a slick execution the thrill, pleasure and the accompanying pain of a casual exclusive relationship. Presents self-love as the trigger to move on. Mylene Dizon essays sensitively well the struggle and the realisations.

Ani The Harvest - the struggle of an orphan who in the final separation moments with the father and eventually the mother was seeded with mindset and power in coping. Set in the future in Philippine farm setting the sci-fi genre follows the boy's development until he is empowered after going through various rough and tough tests under the care of his grandfather. Story is told in tales, animation in a sci fi setting with a robot as a character in a remote farmland

F#*@ Bois- raises a moral question who committed the greater crime? Who is the victim? A well crafted movie on the fun, thrill, aspiration and adventures of appealing young males. Two fun loving good looking boys joining pageants who love what they do projecting well on social media. One with a strong showbiz aspiration (which may or may not happen) and the other just chilling out.  Not until there was a perceived derailer to their celebrity-like life. Fun and the contemporary use of social media are effortlessly executed at the start effectively establishing their characters. Ending in tragedy, movie poses a moral question on who committed the deadlier crime. Great performance by the two newbie leads and the veteran actor. While story has been told before, it is the friendship of the two seen on social media and in their shared scheme that injects a new perspective

#BelleDouleur #Fuccbois #ChildrenOfTheRiver #AniTheHarvest #edwardmovie #johndenvertrending

John Denver Trending- a moment of indiscretion, a lifetime of regret. A high schooler in a small town blamed for the loss of an iPad is attacked on social media and pre judged until the pain and the shame have become unbearable. A boy with a strength of character, tenacity to face pressure, a loving son to a mother and with intregity did not get any help to support him during his weakest moment resulted in a tragic ultimate surrender. Drained, saddened, angered that not one of us is able to help him.

Each time I see Jansen’s face on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, it triggers sadness thinking of the scene he as John Denver cried alone with cloth covering his eyes affected by the pain and perhaps shame his mother is going through.
Jansen’s face now whether smiling or casual, is marked with despair and helplessness of a victim.

Edward- the public hospital in its current
sorry state as Edward's stage as a young adult in discovering thrill, joy, attention, appreciation, love, friendship disillusionment, pain and loss. As he matures, he gradually is shocked by the reality of a harsh life

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Why should we watch #Edwardmovie a cinemalaya full length movie? This was asked from actor Elijah Canlas @elijahcanlas_ in an interview at CNN Philippines. First he mentions about the reality of the health care system in the Philippines, then he talks about other messages of the film.

The public hospital is a backdrop to the greater message the movie wishes to convey. It is about a human being.

Films mirror the complexity of what man is. It dramatizes in sounds and sights the sensual and visceral excitement of what he is. Hospital setting is a backdrop to the inner struggle Edward is going through with his interaction with ailing father, half-brother, nurse Daisy, vendor, new friend Agnes, friend and partner Renz. Like a normal playful kid, Edward is imperfect; he is mischievous, restless, responsible, a minor with personal angst and laziness. Edward expedites the realization that beyond the temporal and of what he is, he has a greater mission to perform and to experience. To discover that, in the real world can be a painful process. Edward unfolds that seamlessly, lightly yet pokes at you to inspect deeper about yourself.

It’s a movie that resonates with anyone going through self-searching in life. That to me is a compelling reason we should watch Edward.