 |
| Photo Credit: Cinemalaya |
Starring: Charlie Dizon, Ybes Bagadiong, Diva Montelaba, Star Orjaliza, Acey Aguilar, Mercedes Cabral, Sarah Pagcaliwagan – Brakensiek
Iza Calzado returns to Cinemalaya for another film championing women. This year, she plays Elena, a single mother and a midwife preparing for an interview for a job in the Middle East.
It's half light comedy, and half kidnap drama. Unfortunately, these genres don't mix well in this film. The first half is filled with hilarious jokes and silly banters from the cast, while the second half is brutal with not enough sense of danger. On top of that, is director Sheryl Rose Andes' clear desire to present women's issues that in the process, she injects several scenarios and dialogues that feel contrived and don't elevate the story. Even some of the film's metaphors like the Pandanggo sa Ilaw dance that's supposedly about a woman's journey in balancing light and shadows in their lives, as beautiful as it looks, doesn't make much of an impact to the message the film is trying to portray.
The film feels full of stuffing in order to create a feature length movie, but remove all of the jokes and silliness at the beginning, then it might have been a more impactful short film that shows the dangers of a woman's day-to-day life. Watching them eat indian mangoes while chit-chatting is sadly like watching wet paint to dry. The shots are uninspiring, save for the cast making the most out of their acting material.
Women's issues are important to be seen, but there are more cinematic ways to present them. For what it's worth, it's effective in telling the struggles of a woman. It ended in such a way where one would think that life must go on despite it being tough.
No comments:
Post a Comment