If you think about it, the Philippine Cinema springs new great things, growing to whatever better than it has been before, contrariwise to other people's stand that "Pinoy cinema is gradually dying". I'm pleased to be witness to this, I have seen a few of our movies that arouse this distinct hope in me that the local cinema is getting there. Dante Nico Garcia's Madaling Araw, Mahabang Gabi is an example, a fresh and smart selection set in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. A bar owner (Angelica Panganiban), in a couple of her many non-sober hours, has this crazy game to "glory" a known belief in the area called "Pangagaluluwa", in which you get to steal something from the living in order to honor the dead.
The price is "ten-thousann pfessoss, compfanionship and negotiable pleeeaaassuurree" with the bar owner who happens to be downright attractive. Automatically, a lot of the heteros in the bar called "in", but to everyone's surprise, a homosexual waiter (Dominic Roco, Ang Nawawala) joins. He is accompanied by a Christian virgin-slash-band lead singer (Karel Marquez). The gay waiter and the virgin are not the core of the story. Their rapport is only a sub-plot like many others that seemingly content to cook and just stay that way. One example is one that features Alchris Galura and Glaiza De Castro (Rakenrol) as refugees. A clash between a two-man cosplay group and a cluster of bullies are boiling up, while a couple of thugs gets a tourist into trouble while doing an imbecile rural bank robbery. Two friends who - presumably - spend their waking hours getting "baked" (Kean CiPriano, The Reunion; and Edgar Allan Guzman, Ligo na Ü, Lapit na Me) meets a luminous old lady (Cherie Gil). A young guitarist (Rocco Nacino), the bitter ex of the bar owner, builds camaraderie with an old man who pursues guitar knowledge for his daughter.
The sort-of intertwined stories in the core of Madaling Araw, Mahabang Gabi are individually stellar which profundities appear very fresh to the audience. It's also a quasi-anthology because the episodes are told one by one. Garcia's brave tackling toward the issues he aimed to present is impressive, although the movie as a whole appears as if aiming at nothing, besides being this playful and profound collection of stories. This is thanks to the movie's flimsy foundation and messy nature. One thing that I have noticed is that a lot of details were presented with the characters just talking, something that I believe a lot of us have been waiting to see - thanks Direk Dante!
The movie, being the quasi-anthology that it is, has some sub-plots that stand out and some that falls on the backdrop. Some stories in the film are even uninteresting and frankly throwaway-types. The robbery episode and one that featured a French lover who seeks his lost love in the Philippines (Callum David) are samples; the latter being an essential sub-plot, but it's terribly acted you want it out of the picture. Roco's performance doesn't save his bubbly and charming episode with Marquez. CiPriano and Gil are definitely worth of a praise; definitely the best couple appeared on cinema this year. The movie is a fresh selection to cinema and I'm pleased that I have watched it. I giggled through a gritty hyper-produced sequences between two cosplay forces (Boobay and Jerald Napoles are funny as hell). Panganiban is a legitimate source of light, I smirk if I don't laugh with her on the screen.
Madaling Araw, Mahabang Gabi is an energetic movie filled with enthusiasm and profundity that may benefit from a better execution and cohesion. B+
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Click to see the code!
To insert emoticon you must added at least one space before the code.