CoMo No. 10: Philippines (February, 2023)

[sally]

glimpses of the culion leper colony and of culion life - merl la voy (1929) #CoMoFilipino

wow, the film itself got leprosy. (and became beautiful, despite or because of the horrific 'smile for the camera' camp conditions it is depicting)














https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya-HpUa ... V%21%21%21

[niminy-piminy]

CAN AND SLIPPERS (Khavn, 2005) #CoMoFilipino #Football
https://youtu.be/CYT32zhhxvE

TOXIC MANGO (Khavn, 2009) #CoMoFilipino #BiblicalStories
https://youtu.be/bMh1MhvCTMY

[niminy-piminy]

THE (JI.HLAVA) BROCKAS UNVEILING, PART 6

part 6 or the second unveiling of Roque Federizon Lee aka Roxlee...


if somebody (reading these unvelitings) has got an impression (from one of the past installments), Roxlee on stage is a scandalist... well, yes, he is... but not only this...


his persona is multi-faceted and he is also an excellent scenic dancer...




whose gestures are often no less dramatic than those of a silent movie diva...



not only his partner Lolita Arboleda (lady in the white coat) was mesmerized (by his dance creations) and was taking pictures...


most of the audience too...

[sally]

native life in the philippines - dean worcester (1913) #CoMoFilipino

the hand of colonialism



the stuff of nightmares

[niminy-piminy]

DARNA VS. THE PLANET WOMEN (Armando Garces, 1975) #CoMoFilipino

The tenth movie adventure of the superheroine Darna, in which she battles multi-colored Amazon women from outer space.

Crippled girl Narda finds her boyfriend paralyzed by a mysterious beam shot from a UFO.

Together with her brother Ding, she prays for help for her boyfriend. A mysterious voice answers and sends Narda a magic stone which, when swallowed, allows her to become the superheroine Darna.

let's make it clear that it was not just some "mysterious voice" but namely Jesus who has to be blamed for all these "magic stone" ezo-bullshits being interwoven into the phantasmagoric plot.

With her new powers, she fights against alien women


who are trying to make the earth a colony of their own planet.

as we all know, there is no colonialism without a brain drain...







on the contrary, Earth's leading scientist (a typical representative of the Earth's gerontocratic elite) confronts an ever-youthful alien with a different set of questions...

Darna was created by comic book writer Mars Ravelo in 1947 and made her screen debut in 1951, followed by other films and T.V. series that have continued until the present day.

Playing Darna in this movie is Vilma Santos, the actress who is still most identified with the role.


Santos later entered politics and is now the governor of Batangas Province in the Philippines.

so, earthlings, watch this super-heroine film!
https://vimeo.com/228766980

or, if you can't do that, go home to your wives and help with the sewing!

[sally]

pag-asa - lamberto v. avellana (1951) #CoMoFilipino

really really good melodrama

https://criticafterdark.blogspot.com/20 ... -1951.html

[niminy-piminy]

ibid...

sole purpose of this post is...

to try to break down the current "prejudice against melodrama"

Though melodrama is accused of exaggerating emotions, ..., it is really the naturalism of the dream world.
We are all ham actors in our dreams, and melodrama is not an exaggeration of dreams, but an imitation of them.

Ours is the most thin-lipped, thin-blooded culture of the century.
Dry irony has risen to the point where a minor writer like Laforgue is favored over Victor Hugo.

considering the lines quoted above, i wish nobody ignores not only this film...


but the wider cinephile circles starting to fully appreciate the melodrama genre as a whole.


common (silly) objection to melodrama is "melodrama having a silly plot"...


there are always many fools who are never tired of pointing out that (for example) in this movie the heroine participates in a singing contest on the radio (not on the telly — video has not killed the radio star yet) but is preoccupied with having an elaborate outfit "to shine".
or others, who can never relish the "can you sing "oy oy mambo"?" scene (viz above), pointing out there was no point introducing this pointless character into the plot.
or yet others (not yet accustomed to complex dynamics of melodrama) who will wonder (together with the hero's mom), "who was the girl calling Victor (the hero) "honey!" and then disappearing from the narrative without a trace?"


because melodrama films are supposed to appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience, it might seem (from a killjoy pov) such feverish plots are full of errors and cul-de-sac storylines or characters.
but let's try to understand all those "errors" with the help of the old Filipino proverb...


haste storytelling of melodrama (indispensable in delivering heightened emotions) is leaving behind many "errors" on "purpose" — to pierce deeper into a viewer's mind (just like a tweet with "typos" has a wider reach).
"errors" and "cul-de-sacs" are the key "seductive tactic" of melodrama storytelling — should be fully embraced (without reservation) and relished!
not ridiculed or hated!

[niminy-piminy]

THE (JI.HLAVA) BROCKAS UNVEILING, PART 7

these concluding pictures show very clearly how moved (excited) i was...