I was feeling the pressure as my thin butt constantly shifts from the left to the right
half and to the front and back half of my seat. My feet were constantly tapping gently on the floor
in an alternating fashion. I was periodically looking at my watch. I was psyching myself not to buy another large popcorn. The ending
of the movie would had been a relief but
instead, it glued my butt motionless in my seat for some minutes,
long enough to finish the credits. “That’s it?”, I heard a fellow movie watcher uttered in disbelief amidst the clearly audible sigh
of consternation among the many. The film suddenly ended at the time when it was just starting to be interesting.
The attendance at the Gateway Mall cinema that
evening was good. Certainly more than half full. Perhaps like me, buoyed by the appeal of some film critics or movie
personalities to watch a quality film in this ongoing MMFF 2012. The film had already heaped
several prestigious awards internationally.
It is headlined by no less than the come backing queen of
Philippine drama, Nora Aunor and
directed by the internationally recognized Briliante Mendoza.
Is there
something wrong with me? How can a critically acclaimed
great movie bore me to death. Do I belong to the majority of the Metro Manila Film Festival moviegoers who are stereotyped as preferring a heartily laugh even if a movie is
devoid of any sense or value over a
quality movie that seeks to convey an
important or relevant message. No, I don’t think so. Most of my favorite films are of great quality and timeless classics. Be it an Indie or a big studio production, foreign
or local. I think
it is not even fair to stereotype majority of Filipino moviegoers as 'shallow' just because they prefer a “funny
but hollow” movie over a quality but
non-commercial type. There are various factors why we watch a certain type of
film. These factors involve an interplay
of what’s happening in our society, what the film makers feeds as, the
personality and even the mood of a moviegoer, among many others; however, I do not
want to delve on these matters. I just want an explanation to my confusion. How
can an acclaimed quality movie-- bore me to death?
One possible explanation is that the timing of
the film is off. Holiday season is not for a serious type of movie but I think this has no relevance because
this movie is the type that should be shown in festivals and just because it’s a holiday season doesn’t mean I cannot
appreciate a dramatic movie. What matter is the quality of the film, which
leads me again to my confusion... How can
an acclaimed quality movie-- bore me to death?
I
think the answer to my question has to do with what type of film Thy Womb is?
It is not an ordinary film and that is literally speaking. It has been described as: a documentary type or an
ethnographic presentation of Badjao’s cultur, a film with less dialogue and relies more on implied
gestures and expressions, an open ended
film, and a film that seeks to let the audience feel what the characters feels by focusing or spending a great deal of time in details, amongst others. In
essence, it is an art film.
In a way
it’s like describing a piece of painting.
Say for example, Juan Luna’s Spoliarium
which I recently saw at the National Museum. I can appreciate the painting for
all its beauty and its significance in
our history but not the technical aspects of it such as the style or the type of paint used or
the medium which I know nothing about.
In
this film, I was able to appreciate the great visuals, the simple yet very meaningful
plot and the realistic approach used in portraying
the Badjao’s culture and way of life; nevertheless, the style or the manner by which
it was presented was just simply too dragging for my taste.
