After 4 long hours of sitting patiently, while my clients and colleagues consistently called me for the first thirty minutes, watching Pelikuletran this year, here are my thoughts for each film.
DISCLAIMER: I ain't the best critic there is. Bare with me. These are pure opinions expressed by a sheer blogger-forward slash-writer.
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The first time I saw the poster, I suddenly saw Concerto of Cinemalaya 2008 - having the violin as both film's common denominator. From there, I quite expected something to surprise me.
It didn't. Sorry for being harsh.
While there was something in the story that will attract viewers, the technicalities of the film was quite poor - poor lighting, poor cinematography, poor acting. They should have hired an actress who plays violin very well, it could have saved the film.
The setting was quite impossible, imagine a teenager going to school with the seven or eight year olds?
I see, however, an opportunity with the story or the big idea. It just needs little push or development in terms of the technicalities and the characters - a little motivation will probably help.
21:00 is set 40 years from the present time - futuristic for them, too ambitious for me. I should commend the director, however, for such attempt.
Being the very first of its kind in the roster of Pelikuletran films since time immemorial, this is really a milestone.
There was, of course, an attempt to change the present setting to a what it might be 40 years from now.
However, it was not enough. I'm not expecting too much from this film, I mean, I am not looking for the Matrix moves or the Aeonflux effects, definitely not. Ergo, the concept isn't fit for a short film.
The story telling, moreover, was quite confusing. There was a trouble between linking the twist to the concept of the film.
Cinematography-wise, it was almost perfect. I love the lighting plus the explorative shots of the film making it an apple of one's eye.
"Ay parang Rainbow," according to some. But for me, it was way way far from what Rainbow is.
Maybe, just maybe, it was due to the texture of the film that made it similar to Rainbow. Blame it to both film's editor, Pixel Art Productions.
What I like about this film is its creative camera shots that maintained the lively ambience of the film, vividly showing the out-of-this-world setting of the flick.
I should also give credit to the film's editing, kudos to Conrad Zaguirre of Pixel Arts Productions. If this is similar to Rainbow, then, this is a sure win for Best Editing. *wink*
However, the story telling was quite vague, I was left hanging midair. The concept or the idea was exciting, the execution was otherwise. The concept needed an exciting and creative execution to which the film director overlooked.
I was really excited for this film, I have high hopes for the film - not until I saw it.
I couldn't pinpoint the flaw, but one thing's for sure, the treatment, surrealism, was the best personality of this film. Kudos to the director for veering out of the usual.
However, it was not what and how I expected it to be.
The images I saw as I knew about the concept is pure and pitch black room, only one light illuminates the center of the room, and the main character is totally insane acting-wise and make-up wise - which wasn't there throughout the film.
On the other, the advantage of the film is its screenplay - it was clear for the audience to understand but still sticking to the surrealism treatment that the director wants.
They could have utilized the editor more than what it was since they have the best editor there is basing it on last year's roster of editors - Jhing Geronimo to be precise, the editor who helped New Arrival attain its line-up of technical acclaims.
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The top films on my list will be my next blog entry.
Watch out for it!
