Tuesday, November 23, 2004

arrghh.. i hate LOOONNG breakS in between classes. i'd better drain myself with six-hour straight classes (as in my monday sked) than wait for three lazy hours doing nothing productive. breaks just remind me of the things i have to do but i just cant do at the moment because i am not yet in the mood (haha, like my reflection papers etc etc)

ah.. speaking of the reflection paper on santa santita that we have to write for film seminar class, i've seen the movie last sunday. harhar, i did it again, going to the theater alone - which most people find dangerous because who knows right, someone might just sit near you and rob you or harass you or something (yeah rigHT). actually, i could watch the movie with my blockmates (that would have to be this thursday) but then, since i was kind of 'itching' (atat, sabi nga nila, hehe) to see the graded A laurice guillen masterpiece plus i was thinking watching it would set me in the mood for reading asian history assigned readings plus i was thinking it would be a whole lot better if i get to finish the paper way ahead of time (basta, in short, i FEEL i have lots of reasons), I decided to watch it.

mishaps before watching the film kind of foreshadow the disappointment that awaits me. for one, i had to line up for several minutes to get the tickets (i was so stupid to forget that during sundays, malls and theaters are packed with people, tsk tsk.) of course, while i was there on the line, i kept on worrying that i might not get a seat plus the film would start in a short while (btw, I hate it not being able to watch the start of the movie when i go inside the theater). then when it was my turn, i handed a 500 -peso bill to the girl and she asked from me a lower bill because she didnt have change. wooaahh.. and since i dont wanna delay and annoy the line of people behind me, i said that i'll go for "taas" instead (hehe, i forgot what you call it!) para may sukli na siya. haha, then i found out that i paid extra for that "taas"- when to quote the girl sa entrance, "dumiretso ka na lang, walang bantay dun." owww-kkeeyy..

so.. about the film, it was overrated. i guess many people had just been very much excited about it due to the fact that it was laurice guillen film or it was produced by toni gloria of unitel- same producer for the highly acclaimed films crying ladies as well as american adobo. also, much hype had been made about the transformation of angelica panganiban from a child star to a 'bolder' actress (which i think she already has undergone months ago when she was teamed up with piolo in mangarap ka. of course, we need not forget the buzz about her love scene with the echo the HUNK. (hehe, that sounds awkward)

i have no complains on the technical aspects of the film - the direction, the color grade, the camera angles, sound. it is obvious that the film is shot using this high-end filmmaking technology they call HD or high definition. camera angles are no ordinary - i couldnt exactly describe it well (as you know, i suck at it, ehehe). the hues of the film are basically yellowish orange (which kind of reminds of claudine and aga film kailangan kita, if any of you have seen it) and red orange (this particularly during the love scene - i guess to add intensity, the passion.. heat) hmm.. the background sound is conga and drums, i guess, which gives this feeling of suspense and tension to certain scenes.

(INTERRUPTION: Wwee!! sabi daw ni trish [hehe, no , she called kase and she told me to write that thing down here. labo talaga nun.)

what i hate is the story because i quite dont get it. all i could squeeze out of the film is that it is a modern day adaptation of the biblical story of mary magdalene (With angelica's character named malen). more than that, i stil couldnt figure out the real message the film wants to communicate. if malen's transformation from a "santa santita" to a healer is the main plot, then the subplots (such as the story of the alcohol addict and accused 'thief' priest played by johnny delgado as well as the shallow and not-well-established love story between mike (jericho) and malen), seem to scatter in all direction, lacking in coherence with the main theme of the movie whatever it is.

i find angelica's acting kind of raw and "pilit". she seemed not comfy during the torrid kissing scenes and i think she failed to give out that feeling of 'authentic', from=the-heart happiness on the last scene of the film. i guess she is supposed to look like she's really glad being part of mike's transformation (btw, with the fact that he wears his scapular towards the end) but she wast effective in that. as she was walking away, she was smiling as if she was just having her picture taken, (haha, mean, watch it and be the judge). As with the other actors' performance, (delgado, hilda coronel, cherry pie and especially jericho, HEHE), i think they did well, in fairness. so as the known boy abunda (not sure) line in SCQ "kinain ng buhay ng mga kaeksena," -- i guess thats whatt happened to angelica.

so many negative criticisms huh?
but dont believe everything i say because i am no expert when it comes to reviewing films. im just thinking aloud - spilling my thoughts as an ordinary moviegoer who got disappointed (bitter.. hindi, hehe)

hmm,, im still thinking about what im gonna write about in my paper for this. i have this feeling fr nick wants positive insights / comments so i guess i just need to give myself some more time to 'reflect' on the movie more deeply and try to view it from a more positive perspective. + + ++ + ++ )hehe, positive energy)

we'll see. if i get a high grade for that, i might post it here. ;)

ciao for now!