12 Lotus

A new local feature by Royston Tan. I thought this was better than 881, without the surrealism part and it seems more real and connected to your heart.

The whole film piece up well with the main theme of the song 12 Lotus. I must say the cinematography of the movie was really good which you seldom get to see on a local film and as well as how Royston Tan played with the build up of the mood. It was a simple story but how it was being played out brought out the essence of it. I really like how some parallels are being used through out the film. There are different interpretation of the ending so it was kind of subjectivity to it but it is definitely one of the better local films you should really watch. There was this real funny part whereby it was supposedly in the past but the money notes they used was what we're using now though. The music was good too, somehow it made hokkien songs not that cheesy anymore, maybe i'll consider getting the soundtrack if there is. Well, maybe it the national identity thing that has that connectivity to it.

QUEMAR LAS NAVES

Probably you won't get the idea behind this trailer since no english subtitles is available. Let me clear the air. Quoted fom imdb.com, here is goes "The debut feature film from director Francisco Franco who co-wrote the screenplay with Maria Renee Prudencio. Quemar las naves is distributed as Burn the Bridges to English language audiences. It won the Audience Award at the 5th annual Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico and it's cinematographer Erika Licea won at Morelia for Best Cinematography. Lizette Ponce is the film's production designer. Franco and film stars Irene Azuela and Ramon Valdes were on hand at my Palm Springs screening for an audience Q&A. Eugenia (Claudette Maillé) is a former pop singer who is bedridden and dying of cancer. Her 19 year old daughter Helena (Irene Azuela) dreams of traveling the world and learns foreign languages at home and wishes she could be a glamorous pop star like her mother was. Helena cares for her mother with the help their house maid Chaya (Aida Lopez) who also keeps the aging house in working order. Sebastian (Angel Onésimo Nevares) is Helena's teenage brother and Eugenia's son who attends a Catholic high school run by a Monsignor who plays classical music over the loudspeakers thinking it will calm down the boisterous kids. Sebastian's dreams are simple and he merely wants to move to the beach. Helena is smart and pretty but she has no friends, male or female and is totally devoted to her mother's care and is also on the verge of initiating an incestuous relationship with Sebastian. Sebastian however, is falling in love with a boy at school named Jaun (Bernardo Benítez) who is the school roughneck and the son of a single father who owns a little bar. Jaun is the nemesis of the school preppy named Ismael (Ramon Valdes) who comes from such a wealthy home that he has his own chauffeur and bodyguards. Ismael's ping pong obsessed girlfriend Aurora (Jessica Segura) rents a room at Helena and Sebastian's house where Ismael discovers he is also attracted to Sebastian. This film is a drama with some doses of smart comedy sprinkled throughout but it's not a dark comedy. It is a strange story where you are never quite sure where it's going to go and keeps your interest piqued.It's a very good film for a first time feature film director and he gets the best out of a young cast."

I think its a film worth watching, it's mix of theme is interesting rounding up incest, homesexuality and the coming-of-age. I wonder it will be shown in Singapore, probably not since it is already released last year. Chances seems real slim, theme probably won't pass the MDA censorship board. I kind of like its theme song too, here it goes.