Un Pelicula Españolas

wow. nagamit ko yung alt-164 sa ASCII.

Like most of my lakwatsa, this came unplanned. Skizzo (whom iL call Marquito from hereon... will explain later) texted me last Monday regarding the ongoing 6th edition of the "Pelikula". It's an annual Spanish film festival, showcasing movies from Spain and Latin America and sponsored by Instituto Cervantes of Manila. That night's film screenings were "Los Ultimos de Filipinas" and "Ciudad en Celo".

I intended to go home early that day to paint my miniatures but a good film and my eternal wanderlust is more often a recipe of shattered schedules for me. Work has been craptastically clingy last Monday, though, so we were late for the screening of "Los Ultimos" when we arrived in Greenbelt. Lumamon na lang muna kami, since "Ciudad" was not up until 9pm.

Guy talks, ensued between me and Marquito. The type that girls talk about kapag sila-sila lang din. Hehe.

We went back to Greenbelt just in time as the patrons of the earlier film were already coming out of the cinema. We recognized a few prominent faces but most of them belongs to the more mature generation. "Gurang" sa Tagalog.

"Ciudad en Celo" or "City in Heat" is por solo adulto (for adults only) but when I was watching the movie, I can't see why it is so. Not at least compared to our local pito-pito "sexy" films that could easily tip it to X rating. There's a brief breast exposure but was done in good faith of the movie and in fact inserted on one of the many humorous parts of the film.

After the film showing, I more than immediately agree that a conversational movie, shot in limited settings and with few main characters can still be brilliant when driven by a genius script and storyline. My bucks hadn't went to waste.

*****

Ciudad en Celo (City in Heat)
Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!

An Argentinean film, the movie is generally comedic with a touch of romance. It reminds me of one of my favorite romantic movies "Love Actually" with the fact that the plot jumps randomly around and develops into a more coherent pattern as the film progresses. And by the fact that it doesn't even have a complicated storyline but remains interesting as you watch along, says a damn LOT.

Enter the casts. The story basically revolved around this group of friends who were in their early midlives. One of them (and a cool character) was Marquito (Marcos). The happy-go-lucky dude with a quick wit when it comes to pretty chicks. Eto yung, kung may mamanahin ako sa napanood ko, yun yung mga linya ni Marcos. Di ba Jai?? Hehe. Then there was Sebastian (Sebas), who really din't appear so much in the film but whose death made a big impact on the story arc. There was Duke, the oldest of the group and most of the movie was set on his coffee shop, Garllington. And then, Valeria and Sergio... former couples during the group's younger years.

It's a funny movie in an entertaining way. The Greenbelt THX cinema was rumbling with laughter on most parts of the movie and some laughable scenes were stuck in my mind until now. Don't get the wrong idea about the hilarity, though. This is not our usual slapstick or knockout comedy scenarios. They're simple fun and even exacts a hint of wit on their punchlines. The more serious dimension of the story, on the other hand, was engaging and encourages anticipation. It's rare for a movie of such simplicity to be not dragging.

Take note of the musical score too. It added touch to the already very "latina" settings. It could be a bore to those who doesn't appreciate the genre but if you're not up to such, then just focus on the story itself.

To describe the movie in two words: simple and brilliant. Ten gulamans.

Un Pelicula Españolas

wow. nagamit ko yung alt-164 sa ASCII.

Like most of my lakwatsa, this came unplanned. Skizzo (whom iL call Marquito from hereon... will explain later) texted me last Monday regarding the ongoing 6th edition of the "Pelikula". It's an annual Spanish film festival, showcasing movies from Spain and Latin America and sponsored by Instituto Cervantes of Manila. That night's film screenings were "Los Ultimos de Filipinas" and "Ciudad en Celo".

I intended to go home early that day to paint my miniatures but a good film and my eternal wanderlust is more often a recipe of shattered schedules for me. Work has been craptastically clingy last Monday, though, so we were late for the screening of "Los Ultimos" when we arrived in Greenbelt. Lumamon na lang muna kami, since "Ciudad" was not up until 9pm.

Guy talks, ensued between me and Marquito. The type that girls talk about kapag sila-sila lang din. Hehe.

We went back to Greenbelt just in time as the patrons of the earlier film were already coming out of the cinema. We recognized a few prominent faces but most of them belongs to the more mature generation. "Gurang" sa Tagalog.

"Ciudad en Celo" or "City in Heat" is por solo adulto (for adults only) but when I was watching the movie, I can't see why it is so. Not at least compared to our local pito-pito "sexy" films that could easily tip it to X rating. There's a brief breast exposure but was done in good faith of the movie and in fact inserted on one of the many humorous parts of the film.

After the film showing, I more than immediately agree that a conversational movie, shot in limited settings and with few main characters can still be brilliant when driven by a genius script and storyline. My bucks hadn't went to waste.

*****

Ciudad en Celo (City in Heat)
Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!

An Argentinean film, the movie is generally comedic with a touch of romance. It reminds me of one of my favorite romantic movies "Love Actually" with the fact that the plot jumps randomly around and develops into a more coherent pattern as the film progresses. And by the fact that it doesn't even have a complicated storyline but remains interesting as you watch along, says a damn LOT.

Enter the casts. The story basically revolved around this group of friends who were in their early midlives. One of them (and a cool character) was Marquito (Marcos). The happy-go-lucky dude with a quick wit when it comes to pretty chicks. Eto yung, kung may mamanahin ako sa napanood ko, yun yung mga linya ni Marcos. Di ba Jai?? Hehe. Then there was Sebastian (Sebas), who really din't appear so much in the film but whose death made a big impact on the story arc. There was Duke, the oldest of the group and most of the movie was set on his coffee shop, Garllington. And then, Valeria and Sergio... former couples during the group's younger years.

It's a funny movie in an entertaining way. The Greenbelt THX cinema was rumbling with laughter on most parts of the movie and some laughable scenes were stuck in my mind until now. Don't get the wrong idea about the hilarity, though. This is not our usual slapstick or knockout comedy scenarios. They're simple fun and even exacts a hint of wit on their punchlines. The more serious dimension of the story, on the other hand, was engaging and encourages anticipation. It's rare for a movie of such simplicity to be not dragging.

Take note of the musical score too. It added touch to the already very "latina" settings. It could be a bore to those who doesn't appreciate the genre but if you're not up to such, then just focus on the story itself.

To describe the movie in two words: simple and brilliant. Ten gulamans.