Astig: Authentic People, Authentic Story

This independent film is a story of the lives of four ordinary men, each facing an obstacle in life.


The primary message of the film, for me, is that people have different ways of solving their problems. Sometimes, solving our problems become so difficult and bothersome that we have to resort to immoral solutions. Kapit-patalim, as referred to in Filipino.


Somehow, the movie made me understand why they do such things. It made it easy for me to put myself in their shoes and imagine myself in their situation. What would I do? This question became easier to answer that I allowed myself to be tolerant of these acts for a moment, only for a moment.


Added to the great plot of the film is the excellent acting of the actors portraying their role. Although it was clear that the camera used was not the high definition type and the shots were not that amazing, these things made the film more real to me.


Symbolisms were also present in the movie. The falsified documents Ariel produces represent his lies and fabricated stories to the women he victimized.  in Boy's story, the cinema represents hope, perhaps a solution for his problems to be solved. On the other hand, Ronald's dilapidated building that has been rejected by many buyers represents his identity as a person. He was also rejected by his half-brothers, half-sisters and even his father. Baste, for me, is a symbol of a young father, a young man bombarded with a lot of responsibilities.


The movie gave me another reason to love indie films. It's real, interesting and leaves me in awe. I am looking forward for more authentic stories. i encourage everyone to support indie films especially now that a fusion between indie and mainstream films is in the works.

Malena: Beauty Can Be a Curse

Malena (2000) is a movie which revolves around a soldier's wife left alone in a small Sicilian town where Benito Mussolini was considered to be a hero. Being an extraordinary beauty, she attracts the attention of the men in her community, including a young boy by the name of Renato. Renato develops a deep infatuation for Malena and proceeds to observe her daily activities. Malena's popularity with men caused a deep jealousy for the women in her town. When news that her husband died broke out, Malena was forced to become a prostitute to survive. The women's hatred towards her worsened; it came to a point when she was attacked by them. She was then driven out of town. After a couple of days, her husband arrived in town and looked for Malena. With Renato's help, the couple was reunited and returned back in town where they started a new life.
The movie was character-oriented. It was focused on the diverse personalities of each character. The character portrayed by Monica Belluci (Malena) was a strong woman. It takes a great deal of patience to ignore nasty gossips and criticisms about you. It also is very courageous to return to the town where you faced great ridicule and pain. Furthermore, Giuseppe Sulfaro's (Renato) character was indeed an adolescent boy becoming aware of his sexual urges.

It is really very difficult to find the perfect location for a movie that focuses on a small town in a countryside so I give my congratulations to the cast and crew of the movie. According to my research, it was shot in Castelcuto, Sicily and the setting was perfect!

The theme of the movie was young love amidst the presence of a hostile society. Renato's infatuation and deep admiration for Malena evolved into love. At the very last moment, Renato found the courage in him to tell Malena's husband her whereabouts because the boy was deeply concerned about her.

As the director and writer, Giuseppe Tornatore's style seemed to center in the presence of a number of symbols. First, there was Renato's shorts. His act of wearing shorts everywhere he goes signify his being a kid, his innocence and youth. However, when he started wearing pants, he was seen as someone who is already matured. His unsent letters to Malena represent his uncertainty, fear and cowardice. The hole where Renato used to peep at Malena signifies the one-sided connection between the two of them. Renato, who uses it to observe Malena develops a connection with her while Malena, who is unaware that someone is watching her, does not get to know Renato's person. The bike, which Renato got at the start of them movie, was a sign that he was already part of the clique. It also signifies the new experience of knowing Malena. When she learned that her husband died in battle she started wearing black clothes, which represents her mourning nd grieve. At the center of the movie, we see Malena cutting off her long locks. This exemplifies her transition from being a faithful widow to being a priced prostitute in order to live. There was also another scene where Malena held a cigarette to her lip and all the men wanted to light it up. This connotes that all the men wanted to "light up her fire" or in other words, spend the night with her. Lastly, when it was when it was shown that Renato was throwing the record, it meant that he was determined to forget her.

As a whole, I liked the movie. However, I'm having a hard time determining its relevance to modern society so if there was really a significance, it was not emphasized enough. I recommend that some scenes be deleted to give way to more striking scenes.

Juana la Loca: Crazy for Love

Mad Love (2001) is a story of Juana, a Castilian princess who was arranged to be married to Felipe, the archduke's son. Although the marriage was a political strategy, soon love and deep passion developed between the couple. Because of unfortunate deaths in their family, Juana became the heir for her mother's throne as queen of Spain. Due to pressures brought by her new role as queen and the discovery that her husband is unfaithful, Juana's paranoia worsened and became an excuse for her to be overthrown as queen.


The role played by Pilar Lopez de Ayala was of a beautiful lady obsessed by passion for the only man she evr loved. She endured her husband's infidelity because of her great love for him. Felipe, played by Daniel Liotti, was a man blinded by lustful desires for another woman, and this caused his demise. According to Wikipedia, the movie was shot in Portugal, and had the look of the early 1400's to the late 1500's.


The movie's message was that a person's love for another can become so great to the extent that the person is willing to overlook any flaw or any mistake. I noticed that the director did not include Juana and Felipe's children in the story. I think this is because the movie would be longer if their children would be introduced.


The top which Juana loves to play with signifies her innocence and her inexperience regarding matters of the heart. The black gown always worn by Juana symbolizes her grief for her mother's death.


The union in marriage of Juana and Felipe symbolizes the political alliance between Castile and Flanders. The scene where Juana bore a child inside the bathroom signifies her lack of class and her little knowledge about the actions of a fine woman. Also, the coin or the amulet possessed by Aixa, Felipe's Moorish lover, signifies how she could manipulate the latter to bend him to her wishes. The movie's motif is when Juana opens her legs so that she could make love to Felipe. Honestly, the sexual scenes in the movie brought life to the movie as a whole. Without it, I seriously doubt that we would enjoy.


Overall, I think the movie was good. It was somewhat opposite the movie Malena because in the latter, Renato had a deep sense of respect for his love. However, Felipe seemed to have drifted away from Juana and focused his attention in womanizing. I suggest that to make the story more interesting to the viewers, the director should give Alvaro more significance in Juana's love. Also, the director should have shown what happened to Aixa. It would be better to put a proper ending to the supporting characters' parts in the story.

Sex and Lucia: Lives intertwined by the Past

Julio Medem's Sex and Lucia or Lucia y el Sexo (2001) is an original, erotic and somewhat confusing story revolving around pleasure of the flesh, love and deception.

The story starts when Lorenzo (Tristan Ulloa) visited the Balearic Islands and made love to a girl named Elena (Najwa Nimri). Unbeknown to Lorenzo, he impregnated Elena and she proceeded to find him. Lorenzo wrote a novel about his experiences in the Islands and one day, met and fell in love with Lucia (Paz Vega), a Madrid waitress and a fan of his novels. After six years, Lorenzo found out from his friend, Pepe that Elena and their daughter Luna (Silvia Llanos) has been found. Wanting to reconnect with his daughter, he befriends Belen (Elena Anaya), Luna's baby sitter and had a passionate affair with her. Their affair resulted to Luna's death. Lorenzo then fell into depression which puzzled Lucia, who knew nothing about the tragedy. As the movie progressed , Lucia starts to believe that Lorenzo's latest novel really took place.

It was really very difficult to comprehend the movie for it has a very complicated plot sequence. I was caught unaware that what I was actually watching was no more than a flashback. After every scene, a question would pop into my mind. At times, it was quite frustrating not to be able to understand the movie but being confused is a healthy way to maintain interest in the film.

A lot of symbols were shown in the movie and as I thought about those, I was actually impressed by the depth of their meaning. Two of the very distinct symbols were the sun and the moon. The moon was associated with Lorenzo, Elena and Luna while the sun was a symbol of Lucia's personality. She loved being under the sun because under it, deception was unveiled. It's just like her-true, frank and without pretensions. She always means what she says. Meanwhile, Lorenzo was full of secrets waiting to be discovered. He was always hiding things. The Islands symbolize a place of escape for many-for Elena, Carlos, Lucia and even Lorenzo. The hole, which was always being shown in the movie, symbolizes second chances because when you go inside the hole, you'll find yourself in the beginning of everything and in your hands, is another opportunity to change things. Un Rayo de Sol, the song always sang by Lucia, was a motif of the movie for it was sung countless times.

I noticed the director's style was to distract the audiences' attention from other minor characters by not showing their faces. I noticed that the minor characters were either facing at the back or their faces were to fit the screen.

The movie is one of the most, if not the most erotic films I have ever seen. Although some may consider it soft porn, I believe there's more to it. There were a lot of sex scenes and genital exposures but I managed to compose myself. There are a lot of reactions I got from the movie. One of these, as I have said earlier, is the importance of second chances. Sure we cannot change everything that had happened but the power to undo our mistakes is a great opportunity to make amends to the people we have wronged. It is overwhelming but it is a part of a great responsibility.

Overall, Sex and Lucia is one of the most intriguing and interesting movies I have ever seen. I recommend that the editor emphasize the flashbacks so as not to confuse the viewers. If you're planning to watch this movie, I must say that you should prepare yourself for the sex scenes and genital exposures. It's going to be one heck of a movie!

Schindler's List: The List That Can Save a Life

Loyalty to your race or humane conscience? What would you choose? Oskar Schindler faced this dilemma in the 1993 movie Schindler’s List.

This critically acclaimed movie directed by Steven Spielberg talks about the story of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), an ethnic German businessman who transfers to the city and becomes a war profiteer. He bribes Nazi officials so that he would be allowed to employ Jewish citizens. He meets and befriends Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes), a cruel lieutenant of the SS. Unknowingly, he grows attached to his workers and when he learns that the Jews would be sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, he tries to save as many of them as possible.

However, a problem arose when the train of Schindler’s Jewish women workers was inadvertently redirected to Auschwitz. Schindler immediately goes to the camp commander and bribes him to release the women workers. As the war ended, Schindler and his wife were forced to flee to evade the Red Army. His workers fashioned him a ring which a Talmudic quotation was engraved. “Whoever saves a life saves the world entire.” Schindler cried, apologized and regretted why he was unable to save more.

The movie’s theme, for me, is that friendship and brotherhood/sisterhood knows no race. However intense the Jew’s hatred for the Germans is, because of his heroism ad charity, they’ve grown attached to Schindler. In Schindler’s case, he did not conform with society’s norm, which was to loathe the Jews. At first, he was non-committal but eventually, he learned to love the Jews and respect their traditions.

I was so focused in understanding alone the movie that I failed to note more symbols. One of the obvious ones was the girl in the red coat. She symbolized hope for the Jews and when she was found dead, it seemed like hope for the Jews was also gone. The ring given by the Jews to Schindler symbolizes their heartfelt thanks to him for saving their lives even though they belong to conflicting races. Schindler’s factory also served as a haven for the Jews. They see the factory as their home because in there, they were treated fairly compared to the people in the concentration camps. The child who hid in the makeshift septic tank also symbolized abused innocence.

For me, the movie was an A. There were some scenes where I could just say, “Whoa. What??!” This is because they were confusing but the following scenes explained the movie better. They were also a lot of violent scenes that even disturbed mature college students like us so I do not recommend you watch it with children.

Still, the movie lets us get in touch with one of the world’s most devastating wars. It made us see that not all Germans that time were vile. Some of them refused to be eaten by the cruel system.

The Piano: Keys as Words

Written, produced and directed by John Campion, this 1993 film is about a mute pianist (Holly Hunter) and her daughter (Anna Paquin) who went to live in west coast New Zealand with her new husband, Alistair Stewart.

Since she loved her piano very much, Ada struggled to bring it with her when they transferred to New Zealand. Her husband, Alistair tells her she could not bring the piano because their house is very small. For days, Ada longed for her piano. When she couldn’t take it any longer, she persuaded Baines to take her to the shore so that she could play her piano. Unbeknown to her, Baines became aroused whenever she plays the piano. He began brewing plans to be closer to Ada. Baines arranged a deal with Alistair that he’ll have Baines’ land if he would exchange it for the piano. Alistair readily agrees and appoints Ada to teach him how to play Baines then told Ada that if she wants her piano back, she would let Baines touch her. She became initially offended by the idea but she hesitantly agrees. This became the start of their affair. As the story progressed, Alistair learns of their affair and tried to separate them. When he realized he cannot separate the two, he decided to go far away and let the lovers live a happy life with Flora.

The movie’s main message for me is the importance of being able to express yourself to people. I found that I am very lucky that I have found my own voice and that I have the liberty to speak my mind. It’s also a good thing that Ada was able to show her true self through the music she plays.

The piano is a leit motif and a symbol at the same time. It served as an outlet of Ada’s feelings and emotions. It also was a silent witness to their affair, love and betrayal. Each piano key represents the progress of Ada and Baine’s love. When the piano was fully recovered by Ada, she found herself smitten by the man.

The scene where Ada was running her hands all over Alistair’s body was a clear symbol of her great desire of pleasures of the flesh. She did not want Alistair to touch her because she is imagining that Baines was the one she was touching. She did not want her dream to be ruined by the reality that it was indeed Alistair she was with.

Another symbol is the scene where Alistair cuts off Ada’s finger. It symbolized the end of his patience and tolerance of Ada’s betrayal. It also meant that for him, that would be the end of Ada and Baines’ affair.

Lastly, the scene where Ada fell into the sea with her piano is a symbol that she wants to be buried with the piano’s memories but when she realized she wanted to live, she struggled to free herself. The act of being submerged in the water and then emerging alive and unharmed, for me, is a symbol that Ada was already “cleansed” of the bad memories. She was already eager to live a happy life and make beautiful memories with Baines and Flora.

Overall, I would give this movie four and a half stars for it proved to be a very critical and interesting film. What’s more, it taught me a lot of values and made me think my actions over. Kudos to John Campion and his team!

Billy Elliot: Put Your Dancing Shoes On!

Billy Elliot is a 2000 film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry.

Billy Elliot’s father (Gary Lewis) wanted him to be a boxer, however; Billy (Jaime Bell) has other ideas. He wanted to be a ballet dancer. His father and older brother, Tony (Jamie Draven) are both coil miners on strike. Despite not being able to earn money, Billy’s father sent him to the Sports Center to practice boxing. There he met dance teacher Georgia Wilkinson (Julie Walters) and joined her ballet class without telling his father. Billy showed potential and Georgia is convinced his skills should be developed more. She trained him to join the Royal Ballet School located in London. Meanwhile, Billy struggled with his best friend Michael’s sexuality and his bitter relationship with his brother. Eventually, his father found out when Billy’s boxing instructor asked him why Billy’s been absent from his boxing practices. When Billy’s father found out, he was furious and told Billy to stop his foolishness. He eventually accepted because he saw that his son has some real talent. His father and his fellow miners raised money to send Billy to the Royal Ballet School where he gets accepted.

Determination. Passion. Happiness. These are the themes of the movie. The movie teaches us to never stop reaching our dreams even if we sometimes fail. Passion for the things we love to do fuel us to be better and to never stop believing in ourselves. In never giving up, we learn lessons in life and grow more as persons.

Billy is a symbol of determination and strong perseverance. His father and brother, on the other hand, is a symbol of society’s norms and prejudices against homosexuality. Georgia is a representation of a dedicated teacher willing to forget teaching as a source of income but as a calling.

The movie has humor and that’s a big thing for an audience like me. It presents the irony and reality of life. It even made me cry just a little. I love how a young boy like Billy was able to be certain of his decisions although he is still young. He also matured when he began not to care for people’s biases about men dancing ballet. People around him are bringing him down but he doesn’t mind them and continues to make himself better. He is such an inspiration for his peers.

The movie’s music was good. Although the music repertoire was quite old, I still could not help moving to its beat. The choreography of Billy’s dances was also good. The movie’s cinematography was excellent. I also observed that there are many long shots and the point of view used was bird’s eye view. The location was also excellent because you can feel the “countryside vibe.” No doubt that the characters’ acting was superb. I sometimes felt surprised by the diversity of each character and how their personalities clash.

I recommend this movie for those who are feeling down and those who need a boost in their confidence. This movie inspires dreamers. Failure may come and test us once in a while but it is our choice to get back up and try again. This is a “feel good” movie that can give the audience a strong sense of self. It leaves us reflecting upon ourselves and upon the people around us.