Best Things in the World, Brazilian movie

Best Things in the World, Brazilian movie in Portuguese on Cinema World channel at Cignal TV and Sky Cable

The student, personal and family lives of two normal young adults took a turn overnight after their father, an academician announced separation from their mother.

While living normal and happy surrounded by friends, Mano and brother Pedro struggle when they find out their father will live in with his favourite male student.

It's difficult for the younger Mano as he has a reputation to protect and is going through some dilemma whereas Pedro is managing his relationship with his girl friend.

Mano faced several trials but the most difficult were dealing with his lady friend, his father and his partner and the suicide of Pedro. His circle of friends though were supportive.

Mano coped by venting his angst, expressing them, dealing with friends, taking on an advocacy, being a leader of himself, chasing his dream and playing music. Brother Pedro, a theater actor dealt his painful separation through poetry and escape.

At the start, Mano was reluctant to engage in sex. Ending, with him redeemed from the trials, he guaranteed that the kiss with his girl will not be disappointing. Indeed it was not.

When we accept our shortcomings and act on them, we will eventually redeem ourselves at the proper time.

How Maro recovered when this Portuguese's teenage boy's world is about to crash

1. Vent out your anger. Do not repress. Time when you are ready

2. Talk to a friend, a trusted senior, brother, your mother, father even your father's lover

3. Express your feelings in music. Something in the way she moves

4. Be a leader of the self

5. Bike around the city

6. Save your brother, save your friend

7. Be tenacious

8. Bounce back. Redeem from you failure

9. Take care of family

10. Engage in an advocacy actively

Best Things in the World, Brazilian movie in Portuguese

Grand Prize, 2011 Cinema Brazil

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/the-best-things-in-the-world/

Night Ride in Folding Bike

Lingguhan Sikad sa Diliman. Thursday 6:30 PM 17 March 2022 organized by the Tiklop Society of the Philippines.

A night ride of folding bike bikers following an estimated 25 kilometer route starting and ending at the UP Diliman Bahay ng Alumni participated by 27 bikers (unofficial).

Participants rode in Dahon and Brompton bikes among others of different models and makes with a variety of accessories rode by a diverse age group mostly perhaps in their 30's and older coming from QC, Manila, Caloocan. Farthest I recalled was from Montalban, the closest from Katipunan.

Road Leader Shao disclosed the route close to 8 PM which will take the herd to CP Garcia, Katipunan, Luzon Ave. then sneek into Republic Ave, Sauyo exiting to Commonwealth Ave via Regalado Highway.

Navigating through Republic Ave at the narrow 2-lane Luzon Ave brought almost half of the participants to a standstill for about 20 minutes due to a monstrous traffic bottleneck.

Eventually the entire herd met up snaking its way around Republic Ave to Sauyo until De Leon st at Barangay Holy Spirit until the way out to Commonwealth Ave via Holy Spirit Drive.

Taking Quezon Memorial Circle, it was a leisure cool ride back to Bahay ng Alumni past 10:30 PM.

Heavy snacks (Jollibee Hotdog, ube pie, siopao, Come, Sprite) surprised the participants care of an organizer celebrating her birthday with the successful bikers.

The LSD put to test the Dahon Metro, Relive App Huawei phone and power bank and my stamina and presence of mind to keep with with an over 20 kilometer ride at night in a herd in a new uncharted route. Survived also the hot spots swerving from the outer lane of Katipunan to the flyover to cross to Luzon Ave and the second half of the Quezon Memorial Circle crossing the intersections of North Ave, Quezon Ave, East Ave (Thanks to the marshall who saw that we crossed safely )

Riding in a folding bike was just sakto, not competitively speedy nor dragging slow. A 7-speed gear was sufficient to handle the sloping roads from Sauyo to De Leon streets.

Thank you TSP and for the stolen short talks with some participants. Especially for making the adventure enjoyable and safe.

#TSP

My Father's Bike

 Three generations of sons with resentments for their fathers travel together by land to pick up the matriarch who just separated from the patriarch. Coming from three separate households, the son plans to pick up his mother so she could take care of the aging patriarch of the family and manage this family crisis.

The old man, Wlodzi a famous clarinet musician, Pawel, a pianist of  a grand orchestra in Berlin and Maciek, his student son staying with his mother in London, a pop music lover vent out their anger and resentment towards each other in the car, in homes, at the camp, outdoors. Every word uttered by one starts a tirade of accusations.

The grandfather, son and grandson uncomfortably control each other wanting to change behaviors and values at every opportunity. Not even their commonality for love of music but of different genre could bind them together.

Slowly though, through the unfolding of small moments together, the resentments towards each dissolve.

The son Pawel, who spotted his mother in the company of her new lover dropped his intention to bring her back to Wlodzi as he sensed his mother accorded with affection and control, the attention all of the two generations of males did not demonstrate with each other during their growing up days.  Pawel kept this feeling to himself.

The old bicycle stored at Wlodzi’s storage was given to his son given with a warning that once he falls from it, he would take away the bike from him. Towards the end of the journey when slowly the three have started to accept each other’s being’s, Wlodzi gives the bicycle to young grandson Maciek which he brought with him back to London.

Movie closes with Pawel playing the piano with the orchestra in Berlin, interpreting a sad piece passionately inspired perhaps by the turn of events with Wlodzi watching his son’s performance on TV.

Even with all the differences, each one, regardless of their imperfections were reared to stand on their own and not to fall down as symbolized by the small bicycle passed on to Maciek who towards the end confessed that he is expecting a child from his older Literature teacher.

Grandfather and father no longer resented the confession of the student son.

Best Screenplay, 2012 Polish Film Festival

Discovery of Year (Michał Urbaniak), 2013 Polish Film Awards

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/my-fathers-bike/

May-December Affairs

Two movies on May-December affairs thrilled me with the couples connecting, hurt me when they separate, rejoiced with reconciliation, shocked with unexpected turn of events.

The European films Love in Mauritius in French set in the island and in Paris and Minute's Silence in German set in a fishing village in Baltic tackle the themes on love frowned by norms.

One is fun to watch, the other more profound and hurting. Couples are happy when not in denial, disturbed when pressured for rightness.

In Love in Mauritius, two couples with issues strike it out: the elder woman with his husband and mother and the younger student with his mother. Both go through a period of transition moving on without each other. Eventually, the two discover that they are meant for each other.

Age gap, marital status, lies, and undisclosed facts were overcome by the feelings the two are meant for each other realized over time.

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/love-in-mauritius/

https://youtu.be/4BbnM-LtYr8

In Minute's Silence, I feel the pain of Christian when as a student to his teacher and as a fisherman and boatman to the residents of a small community, he deliberately represses his feelings. I feel his pain when he cannot even say goodbye in private to his beloved partner and teacher Stella in the company of classmates and Stella’s fellow academicians.

While both Christian and Stella are physically separated pressured by the local community and the accident, Christian discovered a way to be reunited perpetually through the sight of fossilized insects.

No pressure can block the strong drive of the younger lover to make the relationship work even if it means giving up one's life or ways initiated by the young male to put a closure to the relationship.

"Love, Christian, is a warm wave bearing us up." It is a joy but down there are rocks and specimen endangering lives.

A Minute's Silence is a Best Film nominee in the 2016 Munich Film Festival.

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/a-minutes-silence/

https://youtu.be/fbwUwpQtwS4

Both films shown on Cinema World.

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Two movies on May-December affairs thrilled me with the couples connecting, hurt me when they separate, rejoiced with reconciliation, shocked with unexpected turn of events.

The European films Love in Mauritius in French set in the island and in Paris and Minute's Silence in German set in a fishing village in Baltic tackle the themes on love frowned by norms. 

One is fun to watch, the other more profound and hurting. Couples are happy when not in denial, disturbed when pressured for rightness.

In Minute's Silence, I feel the pain of Christian when as a student to his teacher and as a fisherman and boatman in a small community, he represses his feelings. I feel his pain when he cannot even say goodbye in private to his beloved partner and teacher Stella.

While Christian and Stella are physically separated pressured by the local community and the accident, Christian discovered a way to be reunited perpetually.

No pressure can block the strong drive of the younger lover to make the relationship work even if it means giving up one's life.

A Minute's Silence is a Best Film nominee in the 2016 Munich Film Festival.

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/a-minutes-silence/

https://youtu.be/fbwUwpQtwS4

In Love in Mauritius, two couples with issues strike it out: the elder woman with his husband and mother and the younger student with his mother. Both go through a period of transition moving on without each other. Eventually, the two discover that they are meant for each other.

Age gap, marital status, lies and undisclosed facts were overcome by the feelings the two are meant for each other realized over time.

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/love-in-mauritius/

https://youtu.be/4BbnM-LtYr8

Both films shown on Cinema World.

Love for a son. Lover for a lover

 Identifying Features. Mother in search of her son crossing the Mexican borders detected as missing said to have died

Mother's love for a child is no other doing whatever it takes to gain her son back. Unsettling discovery

But when survival is at stake, men turn into savage beasts

Grand Jury Prize 2020 Sundance Film Festival

Movie in Spanish with English subtitles

https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/384050/

Lovers. 5 Lovers set in Bologna Italy playing different roles seeking assurances for faithfulness and devotion

Several interesting settings essayed by the same actors: Manager-subordinate in a corporate setting. Bookstore owner-real estate agent. Boutique sales person-Boutique sales manager. Wife-Male therapist. Ghost writer-DJ icon

Humans always have insecurities about themselves projecting them to their lovers

Serious, creative, dismaying reality

Best Feature Film 2017 Crystal Palace London International Film Festival

Movie in Italian with English subtitles

https://cinemaworld.asia/movie/lovers/