The festival is ending in two and 3/4 days, which really sucks--because ever since working for Cinemanila in 2005, I've never seen such a rich line-up of movies as this year's roster. (With a ready schedule, to boot.)
Here's a brief guide to maximize the remaining couple of days. Caveat: I haven't seen these movies. Recommendations here are the result of chit-chats during the Opening Night with filmmakers, actors, festival director Direk Tikoy, film critics, cineastes, fellow Cinemanila staff and credible reviews churned out by Google.
These are the films you might want to cram into your schedule tonight until Thursday:
The Way by Emilio Estevez (Nov 15, Tue, at 930pm)
A father heads overseas to recover the body of his estranged son who died while traveling the "El camino de Santiago" from France to Spain. Martin Sheen is a man on a 500-mile mission in "The Way," written and directed by his son, Emilio Estevez.
Quattro Hong Kong 2 by Stanley Kwan, Brillante Mendoza, Ho Yu-hang and Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Nov 16, Wed, at 430pm)
Four vibrant, provocative and extremely different short films make up Quattro Hong Kong 2, which allows four of Southeast Asia’s most distinctive directors to present their own visions of Hong Kong.
Bona by Lino Brocka (Nov 16, Wed, at 9pm)
I'm not sure if my younger siblings still know who Lino Brocka is. For a new generation of viewers, this is a chance to watch a famed classic. I want to watch it, because--frankly, I don't remember if I've chanced upon it when I was a kid sneaking around the house, trying to see what the adults were watching. Unfortunately, the two remaining good prints of this film are not on our possession--one is at the Cinematheque Francais and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. So, yeah, unless you travel to those countries where the prints are and they hold a screening of Bona, this is the only chance you'll get to view this Brocka masterpiece in good form.
Dragon or "Wu Xia" by Peter Chan (Nov 16, Wed at 9pm)
If, perchance, you've seen Bona a lot of times and would want another film to watch--there's Wu Xia from Hong Kong. Director Peter Chan features a dynamic ensemble of internationally celebrated talent, led by action superstar Donnie Yen (Ip Man), a martial arts master, Yen is also the film's action choreographer; Takeshi Kaneshiro (House of Flying Daggers) and Wei Tang (Lust, Caution). The film marks the first film appearance in 17 years of the legendary Jimmy Wang Yu, who is widely credited as the first Hong Kong kung fu star.
Mapang-Akit by John Torres (Nov 17, Thu, at 8pm)
I've always been a fan of John Torres' films. So, when I read in one interview that Mapang-Akit is a deviation from the Todo Todo Teros mold, I was intrigued. I admit, I love John's signature poetry and slightly lethargic but aching voice over, and I think I'll always remember him for such (I hope that's okay, John). Nevertheless, I'm open to him exploring other bolder methods. Bolder, indeed--since this film was mildly hit with controversy, touching on boundaries of supposed exploitation for art's sake.
Life in a Day by Kevin MacDonald (Cinemanila's closing film - Nov 17, Thu, at 9pm)
What happens when you send a request out to the world to chronicle, via video, a single day on Earth? You get 80,000 submissions and 4,500 hours of footage from 192 countries. Producer Ridley Scott and Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald took this raw material — all shot on July 24, 2010 — and created Life in a Day, a groundbreaking, feature-length documentary that portrays this kaleidoscope of images we call life.
Cinemanila 2011 is ongoing at Market! Market! cinemas, Fort Bonifacio, Global City, Taguig. Tickets are purchased at the ticket booth, like any other regular movie.
