Last Wednesday night, my friends and I have decided to pursue watching
"Still Life" by Katski Flores (the indie filmmaker that my colleague was, as I said in my previous entry, once a classmate of hers in high school, hehehe, that I heard so much praises about), despite the severe asthma that my colleague friends have given me by climbing up the carpeted stairs up to the fourth floor of CCP which triggered my long-gone or dormant bronchitis (I got a slight cough that was triggered into an asthma). Well, as a responsible blogger (bwehehehe), I was obliged to write a review regarding this movie matter. Too bad, this was the only film that I watched, I have no time to watch for the other films because I was pre-occupied with work lately! Huhuhu... (Sorry, I don't have any poster of it so I put the ticket instead, hehehe!)
Anyway, it was not only me and my friends who were present to the film showing. My co-blogger slash online buddy slash new found rich friend
Jerico was also there in the event, watching the film for the second time (it's a good thing he did not reveal the twist of the story until I asked him just to confirm the twist of the story on the last 45 minutes of the film, I am so good at guessing the twist of a movie, damn!). The famous Rajo Laurel was also there, he was seated at the front row, on the couch, yes, on the couch, how comfy (we were seating on a deflated-foam chair that was a pain in the @$$) and the theater actor Gary Lim was also invited by
Cinemalaya to watch the film. Now, the review!
I'll be giving some criteria in making my review. First, I am going to present my own summary of the film and the value/s presented. Secondly, the technical aspects. And lastly, my "what can I say about the script of the film" review for I am frustrated screenwriter. Silly me. Warning: I am not so good on criticizing, because I am not a critic!
Summary and Values
Set in a urban area where James, a struggling painter has a rare disease called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system, tries to find himself in the midst of battling his rare disease. He paints different "still life" paintings on canvass (thus the title) and hopes to find his subject for his very last painting. Meanwhile, Emma, a rural girl, is also finding herself between her responsibility as a young mother and her true-being as an individual. Their lives crossed path when both of them find each other in an isolated house in the province where mangroves grow and pristine blue waters flow (I suspect it was Guimaras!).
The movie (and I think all of the movies in the competition) is all about making choices, and choosing the right path to go. James was about to commit suicide in the isolated house until Emma came. Emma, on the other hand already chosen the right path for not doing an abortion for her unborn child but was now confused if she will go back for her son to where she left him (I think), to her doctor friend that she met.
Technical Aspects
The lighting is good, maybe the crew uses some light filters, because it gave the whole movie a smooth reel-like texture, something that does not look like shot on a digital film. I think the camera also did a great job. If I am not mistaken, the writer, producer, director, Katski Flores herself used an HD digital camera that gave its movie-like texture to the digital film. If you're a fan of watching indies, I think you know what I mean. I personally like the soundtrack at the end of the movie and the guitar and piano instrumentals during the whole film. The catchy tunes suited the genré and the motif of the film. I also like the time when James sees the beauty of a live canvass, but of course he cannot believe himself seeing this because of his stubbornness and out-of-focus mind! Hehehe. Hmm... if you are a great observer and a critic to the lighting of the film, you will have a hint on what will be the twist of the story, which I already had in mind but I did not reveal it yet to my colleagues to keep myself from spoiling them. Men, I am so good at this! Bwehehehe! And also the camera shots and cinematography was great!
The Script
Now, the script! Katski Flores sure knows when to give her viewers some appeal to the movie. She uses the right formula for every scenes — the throwing of lines between the two main characters in the isolated house, the very insightful Paulo Coelho-like words of wisdom, the almost nonlinear plot of the story, in short everything is perfect — except for the fact that I already guessed the twist of the story before it was finally revealed at the last 30 minutes of the story (remember I guessed the twist on the last 45 minutes, that's 15 minutes before the revelation! Hahaha!). The script was good and well written. Two thumbs up for Katski!
Overall, "Still Life" by Katski Flores is worth watching or worth checking out! A good movie for me is the one that I cannot guess what will be the twist of the story. There are a few of them, and I'm glad that those movies were really good! Too bad for Katski because I guessed the twist right. But despite the early revelation of the twist, I am still giving my four stars to this movie! Keep up the good work Katski (first name basis, as if we're close! Hahaha)! d (^_^) b
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