Two movies
I watched two movies tonight.
The first one was a 1986 Filipino bold movie chanced upon and ordered by my son from Amazon.com and bequeathed to us after he watched it. It was titled 'Silip' and directed by Elwood Perez, and starred former Miss Philippines Ma. Isabel Lopez and bold queen Sarsi Emmanuel. Not having watched any tagalog movie for a long time, I was of course thrilled to have it. Being an artist, the nude scenes didn't shock me; nor did the sex scenes, especially since I watched it with my husband. (Of course, I didn't expect the flaunting of male genitalia and I was puzzled by Miss Philippines allowing herself to be savagely manhandled (literally) by a group of extras in the gangrape scene.) However, I thought the storyline and the dialogue was too stupid for Elwood, since I recalled him to be one of the blossoming (more apt since he's gay .. just trying to be funny) directors when I left the Philippines in '84. This movie was to me simply the reenactment of his fantasies were he born a female, what with some of the most freakingly unbelievable scenes he delivered. Like Ma. Isabel throwing hot sand or rubbing salt on herself where it 'itches', etc. Anyway, so I was still okay even for the flimsiest of excuses for the nudity and sex scenes. But what got to me and what I thought was ignorance on the part of the Filipino director were the scenes of animal abuse and child abuse which could have landed Elwood in jail had he filmed the movie here in the Americas. There was a scene of a carabao being slaughtered, first being hammered continuously in the head with a big ax until the animal rolled dead, legs and stomach up; then subsequently slit with a big knife. Then there were the parts with the children. They were made part of the nude scenes and what was most shocking was the scene in which a female teenager, no more than 13 by the looks of her, after witnessing the two main characters doing it on top of a sandy mound on the beach, approaches the male actor who was all naked and shows her desire to touch his angry organ.
No wonder there was outrage when they showed it at the Chicago filmfest that year. No wonder it is now marketed under the MondoMacabre series.
The second movie was Elizabeth: The Golden Age, starring Cate Blanchett. It was another history lesson for me, quite interesting. It was the period when England had to defend itself from Spain's Inquisition and its Armada. I had to research right after about the characters and events mentioned, to verify which were facts and which were fiction, and I felt good that the movie was mostly historically accurate. The interesting character was Sir Walter Raleigh. I still remember the room where he was imprisoned at the Tower of London from my last visit there. However, I remembered him as a literary figure, he who penned 'The Nymph's Reply' to Christopher Marlowe's 'The Passionate Shepherd to His Love'. I was confused that in the movie, he was an explorer. It was only when I read Wikipedia that I realized they were the same person. How romantic! But how possible. Who more to be inspired to write poetry than one who has spent days o'er vast oceans and blue seas ? In the movie, he was Elizabeth's love interest. I have to read more to verify this, but she indeed had him imprisoned and his wife, too, the wife being her first handmaiden. I also still have to read about Francis Walshingham (?) and King Philip of Spain and Reston, the jesuit. All of this I find engrossing. I should have majored in european history instead.
The first one was a 1986 Filipino bold movie chanced upon and ordered by my son from Amazon.com and bequeathed to us after he watched it. It was titled 'Silip' and directed by Elwood Perez, and starred former Miss Philippines Ma. Isabel Lopez and bold queen Sarsi Emmanuel. Not having watched any tagalog movie for a long time, I was of course thrilled to have it. Being an artist, the nude scenes didn't shock me; nor did the sex scenes, especially since I watched it with my husband. (Of course, I didn't expect the flaunting of male genitalia and I was puzzled by Miss Philippines allowing herself to be savagely manhandled (literally) by a group of extras in the gangrape scene.) However, I thought the storyline and the dialogue was too stupid for Elwood, since I recalled him to be one of the blossoming (more apt since he's gay .. just trying to be funny) directors when I left the Philippines in '84. This movie was to me simply the reenactment of his fantasies were he born a female, what with some of the most freakingly unbelievable scenes he delivered. Like Ma. Isabel throwing hot sand or rubbing salt on herself where it 'itches', etc. Anyway, so I was still okay even for the flimsiest of excuses for the nudity and sex scenes. But what got to me and what I thought was ignorance on the part of the Filipino director were the scenes of animal abuse and child abuse which could have landed Elwood in jail had he filmed the movie here in the Americas. There was a scene of a carabao being slaughtered, first being hammered continuously in the head with a big ax until the animal rolled dead, legs and stomach up; then subsequently slit with a big knife. Then there were the parts with the children. They were made part of the nude scenes and what was most shocking was the scene in which a female teenager, no more than 13 by the looks of her, after witnessing the two main characters doing it on top of a sandy mound on the beach, approaches the male actor who was all naked and shows her desire to touch his angry organ.
No wonder there was outrage when they showed it at the Chicago filmfest that year. No wonder it is now marketed under the MondoMacabre series.
The second movie was Elizabeth: The Golden Age, starring Cate Blanchett. It was another history lesson for me, quite interesting. It was the period when England had to defend itself from Spain's Inquisition and its Armada. I had to research right after about the characters and events mentioned, to verify which were facts and which were fiction, and I felt good that the movie was mostly historically accurate. The interesting character was Sir Walter Raleigh. I still remember the room where he was imprisoned at the Tower of London from my last visit there. However, I remembered him as a literary figure, he who penned 'The Nymph's Reply' to Christopher Marlowe's 'The Passionate Shepherd to His Love'. I was confused that in the movie, he was an explorer. It was only when I read Wikipedia that I realized they were the same person. How romantic! But how possible. Who more to be inspired to write poetry than one who has spent days o'er vast oceans and blue seas ? In the movie, he was Elizabeth's love interest. I have to read more to verify this, but she indeed had him imprisoned and his wife, too, the wife being her first handmaiden. I also still have to read about Francis Walshingham (?) and King Philip of Spain and Reston, the jesuit. All of this I find engrossing. I should have majored in european history instead.
posted by E. Deveras | 3:11 AM
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