by Eleo Billet
The penultimate movie to star Filipina-American actress Bb Gandanghari, this adaptation of Carlo Vergara's cult graphic novel delivers a queer and utterly entertaining spectacle of grand gesture of love and self-acceptance.
Ada is a Pinoy transgender woman who works as a beautician with her assistant Didi, another trans woman, in a small country town. Even though the former is the guardian of her niece Aruba, she does not feel fulfilled since she longs for acceptance as a woman in the capital. Didi regularly fantasizes about Dodong, the handsome man next door. Meanwhile, Ada always gets rejected by her greedy partners.
Just as Ada is desperate to find love, she is hit on the head by a strange pink meteorite. Ada, confused despite the encouragement of Didi and Aruba, swallows it and then utters the word inscribed on it: “Zaturnah”. She then turns into a voluptuous redheaded...
The penultimate movie to star Filipina-American actress Bb Gandanghari, this adaptation of Carlo Vergara's cult graphic novel delivers a queer and utterly entertaining spectacle of grand gesture of love and self-acceptance.
Ada is a Pinoy transgender woman who works as a beautician with her assistant Didi, another trans woman, in a small country town. Even though the former is the guardian of her niece Aruba, she does not feel fulfilled since she longs for acceptance as a woman in the capital. Didi regularly fantasizes about Dodong, the handsome man next door. Meanwhile, Ada always gets rejected by her greedy partners.
Just as Ada is desperate to find love, she is hit on the head by a strange pink meteorite. Ada, confused despite the encouragement of Didi and Aruba, swallows it and then utters the word inscribed on it: “Zaturnah”. She then turns into a voluptuous redheaded...
- 3/19/2023
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
The Filipino auteur’s latest opus lampoons a Duterte-esque president struggling with a rebel enclave while a deadly flu epidemic rages
At four and three-quarter hours, the latest butt-numbing opus by Filipino auteur Lav Diaz is a veritable TikTok video by his standards. A needling and occasionally deranged assault on the Philippines’ most recent turn into authoritarianism, this monochrome sci-fi dystopia takes place in 2034 after a series of volcanic explosions has permanently darkened the skies, and the “Dark Killer” flu epidemic is tearing through the population (it was shot pre-Covid). President Nirvano Navarra (Joel Lamangan) – whose stocky physique and wild pronouncements make a fairly obvious match for real-life incumbent Rodrigo Duterte – decides to use the crisis to put a heavy lid on a simmering crockpot of dissidents.
Meted out mostly in long and often patience-stretching static takes, and in humdrum locations despite sci-fi inflections such as omnipresent flying drones, Diaz...
At four and three-quarter hours, the latest butt-numbing opus by Filipino auteur Lav Diaz is a veritable TikTok video by his standards. A needling and occasionally deranged assault on the Philippines’ most recent turn into authoritarianism, this monochrome sci-fi dystopia takes place in 2034 after a series of volcanic explosions has permanently darkened the skies, and the “Dark Killer” flu epidemic is tearing through the population (it was shot pre-Covid). President Nirvano Navarra (Joel Lamangan) – whose stocky physique and wild pronouncements make a fairly obvious match for real-life incumbent Rodrigo Duterte – decides to use the crisis to put a heavy lid on a simmering crockpot of dissidents.
Meted out mostly in long and often patience-stretching static takes, and in humdrum locations despite sci-fi inflections such as omnipresent flying drones, Diaz...
- 7/5/2021
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
Joseph Israel Laban is an award-winning Tagalog journalist, independent filmmaker, playwright, and a Fulbright Scholar. His films include “Antipo”, “Cuchera”, “Baconaua (Sea Serpent)” and “Nuwebe”. It was his first feature length film “Chucera” that brought him international recognition as described by TIFF film programmer Steve Gravestock “One of the most shocking debuts in recent Filipino cinema… Cuchera may turn out to be a watershed in Filipino film history — directly linking the melodramatic ferocity of the politically charged works of veteran directors like Joel Lamangan and Carlos Siguion-Reyna with the more intimate style of what some have dubbed the Filipino New Wave.”
His film “Sea Serpent” recently screened at Five Flavours Asian Film Festival, where we got a chance to ask him about the production, his inspirations and the current struggles facing the film industry in the Philippines.
In the film, it is noted that sea serpent was inspired by a true story,...
His film “Sea Serpent” recently screened at Five Flavours Asian Film Festival, where we got a chance to ask him about the production, his inspirations and the current struggles facing the film industry in the Philippines.
In the film, it is noted that sea serpent was inspired by a true story,...
- 12/9/2020
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Viewers about to journey into the latest feature of Filipino auteur Lav Diaz should get “hold of some acid” because it “would serve you really well”. Among other pieces of advice and explanation about his latest film, a text written by Diaz was read to the waiting audience at the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival where the film was screened later this year. Whether or not this was an ironic way to gain the audience’s attention remains to be seen, but given the film’s rather serious nature, it also foreshadows the darkness of the visions represented in “The Halt”.
“The Halt” is screening at Filmfest Hamburg 2019
In 2034, after catastrophic volcanic eruptions, large parts of South-East Asia live in constant darkness since the sun is blocked. Additionally, many people have died due to a flu pandemic called “the Dark Killer” which the government has attempted to contain.
“The Halt” is screening at Filmfest Hamburg 2019
In 2034, after catastrophic volcanic eruptions, large parts of South-East Asia live in constant darkness since the sun is blocked. Additionally, many people have died due to a flu pandemic called “the Dark Killer” which the government has attempted to contain.
- 9/27/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Leaff is back this year on the 24th of October until the 3rd of November, with a rich and articulated programme, including more than 60 titles from 11 countries East and Southeast Asia! Check out the titles now.
Opening Gala
Exit
Exit | Lee Sang Geun | Korea | 2019 | 103 mins
_______________________
Leaff Official Selection
Nina Wu
A Girl Missing | Koji Fukada | Japan | 2019 | 111 mins
The Wild Goose Lake | Diao Yinan | China | 2019 | 113 mins
Europe Raiders | Jingle Ma | Hong Kong | 2018 | 100 mins
To the Ends of the Earth | Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Japan | 2019 | 120 mins
Balloon | Pema Tseden | China | 2019 | 102 mins
Rainbow’s Sunset | Joel Lamangan | Philippines | 2019 | 105 mins
Cities of Last Things | Ho Wi-ding | Taiwan | 2019 | 107 mins
Nina Wu | Midi Z | Taiwan | 2019 | 103 mins
The Pool | Ping Lumphapleng | Thailand | 2018 | 91 mins
Long Live the King | Kang Yun-sung | Korea | 2019 | 118 mins
The Science of Fictions | Yosep Anggi Noen | Indonesia, Malaysia | 2019 | 106 mins
_______________________
Competition
Summer of Changsha
All About Ing | Huang Zi | China | 2019 | 110 mins
Another Child | Kim Yoon-seok | Korea | 2019 | 118 min
Deep...
Opening Gala
Exit
Exit | Lee Sang Geun | Korea | 2019 | 103 mins
_______________________
Leaff Official Selection
Nina Wu
A Girl Missing | Koji Fukada | Japan | 2019 | 111 mins
The Wild Goose Lake | Diao Yinan | China | 2019 | 113 mins
Europe Raiders | Jingle Ma | Hong Kong | 2018 | 100 mins
To the Ends of the Earth | Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Japan | 2019 | 120 mins
Balloon | Pema Tseden | China | 2019 | 102 mins
Rainbow’s Sunset | Joel Lamangan | Philippines | 2019 | 105 mins
Cities of Last Things | Ho Wi-ding | Taiwan | 2019 | 107 mins
Nina Wu | Midi Z | Taiwan | 2019 | 103 mins
The Pool | Ping Lumphapleng | Thailand | 2018 | 91 mins
Long Live the King | Kang Yun-sung | Korea | 2019 | 118 mins
The Science of Fictions | Yosep Anggi Noen | Indonesia, Malaysia | 2019 | 106 mins
_______________________
Competition
Summer of Changsha
All About Ing | Huang Zi | China | 2019 | 110 mins
Another Child | Kim Yoon-seok | Korea | 2019 | 118 min
Deep...
- 9/19/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
★★☆☆☆Most of the contemporary cinema that European audiences get to consume from the Philippines come from visionary (and festival favoured) directors such as Lav Diaz or Raya Martin. The former's From What Is Before (2014) is not the only film from the country to feature in the programme of this year's Toronto International Film Festival, however. Also present is Joel Lamangan's urban crime drama Justice (Hustisya, 2014) but sadly, despite providing an interesting snapshot of contemporary Manilla, it's a patchy affair at best and completely unravels in its disastrous third act. As such, Justice also fails to make much of a case for a wider array of Filipino cinema to be given opportunities on international screens.
- 9/7/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
If you wanted a snapshot of worldly issues then Tiff’s Contemporary World Cinema programme would certainly serve as a whirlwind passport. Loaded in Cannes Film Festival preemed items receiving their North American Premiere debuts (Jessica Hausner’s Amour Fou, Mélanie Laurent’s Breathe , Bruno Dumont’s P’tit Quinquin and Pascale Ferran’s Bird People are are just the tip of the iceberg) Tiff programmers have landed world premiere items from the likes of Cristián Jiménez, Ole Christian Madsen, Alex Holdridge & Linnea Saasen (we pic above) and Baran bo Odar. Along with the Canadian items mentioned last week, Here is the largest section’s offerings for 2014.
“Aire Libre,” Anahí Berneri, Argentina / International Premiere
“Amour Fou,” Jessica Hausner, Austria/Luxembourg/Germany / North American Premiere
“Behavior” (“Conducta”), Ernesto Daranas, Cuba / Canadian Premiere
“Bird People,” Pascale Ferran, France / North American Premiere
“Black Souls” (“Anime Nere”), Francesco Munzi, Italy / International Premiere
“Breathe” (“Respire”), Mélanie Laurent,...
“Aire Libre,” Anahí Berneri, Argentina / International Premiere
“Amour Fou,” Jessica Hausner, Austria/Luxembourg/Germany / North American Premiere
“Behavior” (“Conducta”), Ernesto Daranas, Cuba / Canadian Premiere
“Bird People,” Pascale Ferran, France / North American Premiere
“Black Souls” (“Anime Nere”), Francesco Munzi, Italy / International Premiere
“Breathe” (“Respire”), Mélanie Laurent,...
- 8/12/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
This morning the Toronto Film Festival added several more films to their lineup including the world premiere of Thomas McCarthy's The Cobbler which stars Adam Sandler as a New York City cobbler who, disenchanted with the grind of daily life, stumbles upon a magical heirloom that allows him to step into the lives of his customers and see the world in a new way. The film co-stars Method Man, Ellen Barkin, Melonie Diaz, Dan Stevens, Steve Buscemi and Dustin Hoffman. Additionally, Sundance standouts Infinity Polar Bear and Laggies starring Keira Knightley and Chloe Grace Moretz were added to the Gala selection. Joining The Cobbler as new additions to the Special Presentations field include Olivier Assayas' Clouds of Sils Maria starring Kristen Stewart and Juliette Binoche and Two Days, One Night from Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne and starring Marion Cotillard. Both films made a splash at Cannes earlier this year,...
- 8/12/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Toronto film festival organisers have programmed features from 42 countries in the Contemporary World Cinema (Cwc) programme and unveiled eight South Korean selections in the City To City.
Cwc features latest work by Jessica Hausner, Rolf de Heer, Christian Zübert and Ryuichi Hiroki, among others.
For the third year, Tiff (Sept 4-14) has partnered with the University of Toronto’s Munk School Of Global Affairs on the Contemporary World Speakers series, pairing five films in selection with expert scholars.
The Contemporary World Speakers series is programmed in conjunction with the Tiff Adult Learning department.
Contemporary World Cinema
Wp = World premiere / Nap = North American premiere / IP = International premiere / Cp = Canadian premiere.
Aire Libre (Argentina), Anahí Berneri IP
Amour Fou (Austria-Luxembourg-Germany), Jessica Hausner Nap
Behavior (Conducta) (Cuba), Ernesto Daranas Cp
Bird People (France), Pascale Ferran Nap
Black Souls (Anime Nere) (Italy), Francesco Munzi IP
Breathe (Respire) (France), Mélanie Laurent Nap
Charlie’s Country (Australia), Rolf de Heer Nap
*John Stackhouse...
Cwc features latest work by Jessica Hausner, Rolf de Heer, Christian Zübert and Ryuichi Hiroki, among others.
For the third year, Tiff (Sept 4-14) has partnered with the University of Toronto’s Munk School Of Global Affairs on the Contemporary World Speakers series, pairing five films in selection with expert scholars.
The Contemporary World Speakers series is programmed in conjunction with the Tiff Adult Learning department.
Contemporary World Cinema
Wp = World premiere / Nap = North American premiere / IP = International premiere / Cp = Canadian premiere.
Aire Libre (Argentina), Anahí Berneri IP
Amour Fou (Austria-Luxembourg-Germany), Jessica Hausner Nap
Behavior (Conducta) (Cuba), Ernesto Daranas Cp
Bird People (France), Pascale Ferran Nap
Black Souls (Anime Nere) (Italy), Francesco Munzi IP
Breathe (Respire) (France), Mélanie Laurent Nap
Charlie’s Country (Australia), Rolf de Heer Nap
*John Stackhouse...
- 8/12/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
It is inevitable for the Philippines, a country whose economy thrives because of the inward remittances of its overseas workers, to develop a film culture that revolves specifically around the experiences of those expatriated breadwinners and the families they left behind. It is perhaps the penchant for Filipinos for melodrama that eventually shaped the unique genre into what it is now: an enduring portrait of marginalized sector that has become most famous for its selfless sacrifices. From Joel Lamangan's The Flor Contemplacion Story (1995), a dramatization of the life and death of a domestic helper in Singapore, to Hannah Espia's Transit (2013), about a family in Israel being threatened of deportation, overseas Filipino workers are consistently depicted in a state of physical, emotional or...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 11/14/2013
- Screen Anarchy
There is no denying the sincerity of veteran director Joel Lamangan in making Patikul. Education is after all an issue that can never be overemphasized. It needs to be talked about because there is an alarming lack of it especially in the riskier and more remote areas in the Philippines. Patikul was born out of that very noble intention of educating the public on the deficiencies of the policy on education in the Philippines. Unfortunately, the film is as effective as a lousy kindergarten teacher teaching calculus to a room full of monkeys. Patikul tells the story of Kan-Ague Elementary School in Patikul, Sulu. Two of Kan-Ague's best students are chosen to compete in the region's quiz bee. Determined to grab the top prize,...
- 7/21/2011
- Screen Anarchy
In the morning of November 23, 2009, a local politician who was on his way to town to file his certificate of candidacy for the upcoming elections, his family, his supporters, lawyers, and several journalists were ambushed and cruelly murdered. The massacre, more popularly referred to as the Ampatuan Massacre not only because it happened in the town of Ampatuan but because the suspected perpetrators bear the same name, became the much-needed signal that would alert the public of the systematic murder of journalists, a practice that has long gone unnoticed. Joel Lamangan's Deadline (Reign of Impunity) clearly takes its cue from these recent events that shocked the Philippines. Ross Rivera (Tj Trinidad), a writer whose cynicism has converted him into a government...
- 4/10/2011
- Screen Anarchy
The story of Laurice Guillen's Sa'yo Lamang is hardly new. An imperfect but seemingly stable family disintegrates into chaos as one by one, the family members figure serious conflicts and secrets, whether from the past or the present, conveniently unravel, threatening the sheen of normalcy that has sustained the family through the years. From Jeffrey Jeturian's low-budgeted but elegantly staged Sana Pag-ibig Na (Enter Love, 1998), to Wenn Deramas' lowbrow yet unpretentiously enjoyable Ang Tanging Ina (The Only Mother, 2003), to Joel Lamangan's middling and intolerably weepy Filipinas (2003), to Brillante Mendoza's highbrow and provocatively stirring Serbis (Service, 2008), the Filipino family has been exposed, crumbling in the midst of dire needs or expanding generation gaps or the simple passage of time.
The family, considered as an invaluable social element, is a persisting Filipino need. In the absence of it, a typical Filipino, in his desire to find personal comfort...
The family, considered as an invaluable social element, is a persisting Filipino need. In the absence of it, a typical Filipino, in his desire to find personal comfort...
- 9/3/2010
- Screen Anarchy
The latest example of what disturbingly seems to be growing into a mini-genre, "Burlesk King" is further evidence of director Mel Chionglo's desire to explore the subtleties of the world of Filipino macho dancers. Those who improbably didn't get their fill of the subject from Lino Brocka's "Macho Dancer" or Chionglo's "Midnight Dancers" will hopefully be satiated here, so the rest of us can get on with our lives. The film, showcased at the Toronto and Chicago fests, opens Friday for an exclusive run at New York's Quad Cinema.
Actually, "Burlesk King" has more on its mind than depicting the Sally Rand-style fan dances performed by a bevy of well-oiled, muscular young men. It purports to be an examination of mixed-race children. The central character is Harry (Rodel Velayo), who leaves his home, a former American military base site, to go to Manila. It seems his American father, whose abusive behavior is depicted in a series of dreamy flashbacks, accidentally killed Harry's mother, and Harry intends to seek revenge.
But that plan must wait as Harry and best friend James (Leonardo Litton) land jobs dancing in a gay bar run by the flamboyantly effeminate Mama Odette (Joel Lamangan). Harry soon encounters several colorful characters, including a gay romance writer with relationship problems and Brenda (Nini Jacinto), a teenage hooker who has taken it upon herself to befriend the area's numerous street kids. Harry and Brenda soon strike up a torrid relationship, though his decision to become her pimp soon puts that in jeopardy. Eventually, Harry finds his father, but the results are not at all what he expected.
The melodramatic plot is interrupted as frequently as possible for scenes of the dancers strutting their stuff and a series of soft-core sex scenes featuring various combinations. The film's climax is a dance competition in which the boys vie for the distinction of "burlesk king." Guess who wins.
Even taking its target audience into account, it seems inexplicable that hokum like this manages to score American distribution when so many films more worthy of attention go begging. But such are the vagaries of the current indie and foreign film circuit.
BURLESK KING
Strand Releasing
Director: Mel Chionglo
Screenwriter: Ricardo Lee
Producer: Robbie Tan
Director of photography: George Tutanes
Production designer: Edgar Martin Littaua
Music: Nonong Buencamino
Color/mono
Cast:
Harry: Rodel Velayo
Brenda: Nini Jacinto
James: Leonardo Litton
Mario: Raymond Bagatsing
Betty: Elizabeth Oropesa
Mama Odette: Joel Lamangan
Running time - 109 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Actually, "Burlesk King" has more on its mind than depicting the Sally Rand-style fan dances performed by a bevy of well-oiled, muscular young men. It purports to be an examination of mixed-race children. The central character is Harry (Rodel Velayo), who leaves his home, a former American military base site, to go to Manila. It seems his American father, whose abusive behavior is depicted in a series of dreamy flashbacks, accidentally killed Harry's mother, and Harry intends to seek revenge.
But that plan must wait as Harry and best friend James (Leonardo Litton) land jobs dancing in a gay bar run by the flamboyantly effeminate Mama Odette (Joel Lamangan). Harry soon encounters several colorful characters, including a gay romance writer with relationship problems and Brenda (Nini Jacinto), a teenage hooker who has taken it upon herself to befriend the area's numerous street kids. Harry and Brenda soon strike up a torrid relationship, though his decision to become her pimp soon puts that in jeopardy. Eventually, Harry finds his father, but the results are not at all what he expected.
The melodramatic plot is interrupted as frequently as possible for scenes of the dancers strutting their stuff and a series of soft-core sex scenes featuring various combinations. The film's climax is a dance competition in which the boys vie for the distinction of "burlesk king." Guess who wins.
Even taking its target audience into account, it seems inexplicable that hokum like this manages to score American distribution when so many films more worthy of attention go begging. But such are the vagaries of the current indie and foreign film circuit.
BURLESK KING
Strand Releasing
Director: Mel Chionglo
Screenwriter: Ricardo Lee
Producer: Robbie Tan
Director of photography: George Tutanes
Production designer: Edgar Martin Littaua
Music: Nonong Buencamino
Color/mono
Cast:
Harry: Rodel Velayo
Brenda: Nini Jacinto
James: Leonardo Litton
Mario: Raymond Bagatsing
Betty: Elizabeth Oropesa
Mama Odette: Joel Lamangan
Running time - 109 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 6/29/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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