Fun trip to Mowelfund Museum

Mowelfund Museum

I get excited every time I hear the word trip to and museum. I don't usually go to those kind of places because I don't get the chance but hearing from my Cinema professor (Sir Ashley Jamal, you can see his blog at the right side on my blog roll) that we'll be having a trip at the same time we'll able to see the history of Philippine Cinema, I was really excited. I will be able to see the actresses and actors which my mom always tell me that Nora Aunor is really pretty so on and so forth.

Going there, last September 27, my blockmates and I at the same time with my professor. We went to see Mowelfund Museum.

I was late when we went there because I waited for my friend so we can go together. I thought it was really big place like a giant museum like I always imagine. The grounds was big but inside it was like a typical museum but it was really really nice because I saw and understand more what my professor taught us. 

When we got there, I was starstruck because I saw Miss Boots-Anson Roa, she was really really nice and way way beautiful. She has a really small face (hehe). She told some informations about the Philippine Cinema, about the museum, and since I was late I forgot if it is 50% or more earnings from the MMFF(Metro Manila Film Festival) goes to the museum for the maintenance.

When we first enter the museum we saw a small theater which I think not well-maintained. Then we saw the picture of the first cinema. I saw also Charlie Chaplin. He's really small(hehe). Since I'm into production which includes props, costumes, etc. I really really want to learn to do prosthetics make-up and I really really want famous actress or actors to wear my costumes. 

Since I'm addicted to films or tv series with zombies. Someday I hope that Philippine Cinema can achieve the real zombie-look just like in Resident Evil or tv series The Walking Dead.

Then I saw different picture of the actresses and actors before. 

Outside the museum there were a lot of life size standees of Kapuso artists because I didn't see artist from Kapamilya. Outside the museum, there was a pool which is not just well-maintained but not really maintained. I think it is use for like mermaid scenes (hehe) 

Overall, it was fun and I saw and learned a lot of things. Thanks to our professor for bringing us to Mowelfund Museum.

Serbis

Here's a trailer of Serbis

Brief background about this film:

Serbis is an independent film by Brillante Mendoza, starring Gina Pareño and RP’s prince of indie movies Coco Martin. The film is a story of men who offer sexual services inside a movie house. It was invited to the official competition of the 61st Cannes Festival in France and was regarded as the most controversial in Cannes for the year 2008.

The film started when the girl was saying "I love you's" in a seductive way and unknowingly her brother was watching her. 

The Pineda family who runs a theater in Angeles City, Pampanga who is also running a prostitute service inside their theater. The theater also serves as their home. Nanay Flor which is played by Miss Gina Pareño is the like main owner of their theater while her family members do their jobs as the workers inside the theater. Also Nanay Flor files a bigamy case against her husband but loses the case and feels betrayed when her own son testifies in court in favor of his father. 

Alan which is played by Coco Martin who is financially not ready to take the full responsibility for his girlfriend who got pregnant. And there was a scene where Nayda,which is played by Jaclyn Jose, saw a vandal "Ronald love Nayda" something like that. Nayda was torn between her relationship with her husband and her "feelings" for Ronald who is younger than her. 

As the film went on, I understood why is the title like that, Serbis (Service). There was another service going on inside the theater. I think it is called, gay-guy porn. Where the guys offered sexual services. It was kinda hard and not pleasing to watch, in my opinion. Because I'm not used in watching those kind of films, especially an independent film. And also the audio and the lines, some lines were not clear and I understand because of the "zz zz zz" sound. I don't like the audio. 

I may not be a good film critique but as I read reviews about this film, I now understand the film. It really showed reality. It showed social issues. 

French Impressionism

WORLD WAR I

Only 2 studios left (Pathe and Leon Gaumont)

French cinema market - France, Belgium, Switzerland and French colonies

Hollywood cinema invaded

FRENCH IMPRESSIONISM (1919-1929)

French couldn't compete with Hollywood films

Photogenic, concerned with the unique quality

Focused on framing and optical effects instead of narrative storytelling

TECHNIQUES

One image over another

The use of blurred and distorted images were used

Subliminal cuts

DIRECTORS OF IMPRESSIONIST FILMS

Abel Gance

Marcel L 'Herbies

Germaine Dulac

Gran Epstein

1929- sound came to cinema and films became expensive

Here is an example of Impressionist film

(just click the link)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_DZ1x-xBtUM

Un Chien Andalou

directed by Luis Bunuel (1929)

German Expressionism : The World of Light and Shadows

German expressionism was prevalent in the 1920's.

It also matched the visuals in terms of darkness and delusion.

BACKGROUND:

It was a way to represent and being across the reality few could imagine.

(sex murders, depression, loss of innocence)

Expressionist Films

-which influenced music, theater, painting, sculpture and architecture.

The first Expressionist film might be 1913's The Student of Prague (a Faustian tale)

Fritz Lang was the most famous director

Expressionism has also had an influence on contemporary films. For example Dark City is influenced by German Expressionism's stark contrast, rigid movements, and fantastic elements.

Most remembered film:

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

The Golem: How He Came Into The World (1920)

Destiny (1921)

Nosferatu (1922)

Phantom (1922)

These films are wildly stylized and symbolized.

De Vierde Man : Surrealism

Here's a trailer of De Vierde Man (The Fourth Man)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUJRmw5b2oA

(Just click this link for the trailer)

Brief background about this film:

De Vierde Man (The Fourth Man) is a 1983 Dutch suspense film directed by Paul Verhoeven based on the novel De Vierde Man by Gerard Reve. Starring Jeroen Krabbe and Renee Soutendijk. 

As I was searching through the internet, I read reviews about the De Vierde Man. Most of the reviews that I have read said that it is really dark. I read also a critic saying that why does it have to had a figure of Jesus Christ. Blah blah blah and stuff like that.

For me, as my religion is Christian and I used to study at a Christian school I was kinda shocked seeing another guy doing what Christ did.

(here's the pic of the guy)

At the first part of the film, there was spider. As the film goes on, I realized that Gerard Reve represents the spider because usually the spider after mating is killed by another spider.

When Gerard went to a public talk (I forgot the topic of the talk), he met Christine, which is in the end of the film was described as a witch. He is sexually involved with Christine. Then one time he saw Christine's other lover Herman. Gerard is a bisexual by the way. Then he asked Christine to ask Herman to come over to her house. And the falling action of the story was Gerard realized that Christine had already 3 husbands. In my opinion, she mated with those 3 guys then killed them afterwards. Then Gerard realized either him or Herman will be the fourth man that she will kill. In the end, Herman died. Gerard became delusional and Christine found her fifth target.

Paul Verhoeven has said of the film: "The Fourth Man has to do with my vision of religion. In my opinion, Christianity is nothing more than one of many interpretations of reality, neither more nor less. Ideally, it would be nice to believe that there is a God somewhere out there, but it looks to me as if the whole Christian religion is a major symptom of schizophrenia in half the world's population: civilizations scrambling to rationalize their chaotic existence. Subsequently, Christianity has a tendency to look like magic or the occult. And I liked that ambiguity, because I wanted my audience to take something home with them. I wanted them to wonder about what religion really is. Remember, that Christianity is a religion grounded in one of the most violent acts of murder, the crucifixion. Otherwise, religion wouldn't have had any kind of impact. With regard to the irony of the violence, much of that probably comes from my childhood experiences during and immediately following the Second World War. In fact, if it hadn't been for the German occupation and then the American occupation, I would have never been a filmmaker."

De Vierde Man is considered as a Film Noir because of femme fatale because Christine is a femme fatale.

There are also foreshadowing when people in the salon tried to warn Gerard to be careful.

Another is when the a girl and his child represents Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary and also the spider in the first part of the film.

Trainspotting

                                               
                             Here's a trailer of Trainspotting (1996)

Brief background about this film:

Trainspotting is a 1996 British black comedy/drama film which is directed by Danny Boyle. Trainspotting is based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh, who played a drug dealer Mikey Forrester. Starring Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle and Kelly Macdonald.

Thou this film has a "dark" theme, I highly appreciated this film, Trainspotting, because it showed what is really happening on our society nowadays. It showed the life of a guy who is under the control of drugs.

The film focused on the heroine addicts Mark Renton, Spud, Sick Boy, Tommy, Begbie. When Mark Renton decided to quit heroine. He locked himself on a hotel room but his urge of having sex has returned. He find himself lying with a 15 year old girl who he had sex with. Renton and his circle of friends decided to take heroine again. 

  

(Diane and Renton)

One time, Renton and his friend Spud caught stealing. Spud went to prison but Renton avoid the punishment because he took something like a "rehab" program with the support of his parents. After spending some time with his parents, Renton moved to another place to start a new life, NEW HIM. He had a stable job.

In my opinion, Trainspotting is not that dark at all (just nevermind the scene of Diane and Renton and everytime Renton and his friends took heroine) because it is somehow funny. But if you can see, Trainspotting will teach you a lot of things. Just like it's never too late to change and stop your bad doings (if ever you have)

                   WATCH THE ENDING, YOU CAN SEE THAT RENTON HAS CHANGED

 

PS: Have time to watch this film because it's a very nice film. CHOOSE LIFE! :)

Body Heat

                         

         Here's a trailer of Body Heat which is directed by Lawrence Kasdan

Brief background about this film:

Body Heat is a 1981 film written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan.
It stars William Hurt who played Ned Racine, Kathleen Turner who played Matty, Richard Crenna who played Edmund Walker, the husband of Matty.

Film Noir is one of the most studied examples of genre theory even most film critics.

The story started when Ned and Kathleen begins a secret affair to Kathleen's husband Edmund. As the day went by thet continued their secret affair until when Ned mistakenly thought that the girl he saw was Kathleen. One time Kathleen's niece stayed at their house but unfortunately her niece saw her doing some nasty thing with Ned. Ned even met Edmund at some office. As the time went by Kathleen told Ned that she wanted to leave Edmund but she wanted the Edmund's money as well. So then, they planned to murder Edmund so that they can be together freely and they can get Edmund's money as well. Ned asked someone to built a bomb for him for Edmund's murder plan. One night Ned went to the house of Kathleen to proceed with their plan of murdering Edmund. When Ned was in their house already and Edmund was looking around at their house, Kathleen shouted "he has a gun". Then Ned hit Edmund then he brought him on an abandoned building where the bomb is built. Then Edmund's death was declared. To avoid suspicion Matty asked Ned to get Edmund's glasses at their house. When he reached Edmund's house, he became suspicious until he saw a long wire that was attached to the window. Matty came to the scene then Ned confronted her while pointing a gun. Matty told him that he really loves him. In prison, Ned tried to convince that Matty is still alive. In the end, Ned found out that Mary Ann Simpson is the real name of Matty Walker he knew. Mary Ann stole Matty Walker's identity.

SOME SCENES IN BODY HEAT

(William Hurt/Ned Racine)

(Kathleen Turner/Matty Tyler/Mary Ann Simpson)

This film is considered as a film noir because it showed femme fatale, which is the most dangerous woman. Kathleen Turner played a femme fatale. And also the setting is in urban city. Some scene of the film consists of shadows and fogs. Just like when Ned killed Edmund, there was fog when he escaped the abandoned building after he killed Edmund.