tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post116196342373744813..comments2024-03-24T20:15:00.996-04:00Comments on Critic After Dark: One cheap shot deserves another: a reply to an article on "Insiang"Noel Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-65516005825730991792011-03-19T03:44:18.773-04:002011-03-19T03:44:18.773-04:00I'd noted before filmmaker Tikoy Aguiluz's...I'd noted before filmmaker Tikoy Aguiluz's assertion, that the great theme of Philippine cinema is the sacrifice of the mother and salvation of the family, and that Insiang is one of a handful of films (Kisapmata being another) that proves to be a memorable exception to that rule.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-66914777039478544982011-03-18T23:44:27.286-04:002011-03-18T23:44:27.286-04:00I'm no film expert, I'm very far from it, ...I'm no film expert, I'm very far from it, although i have watched. I also like actor Ruel Vernal (or Bernal), the one who portrayed Dado, for his villain roles. he's a very good actor.<br /><br />Now, about Mr. Rowin's take on Insiang, well, let's put it this way: a film, in my personal opinion, should be viewed in its cultural perspective. For example, the Film INSIANG. If you viewed INSIANG and you're quite familiar on how Tondo was (during the time this film was taken).<br /><br />A film should not only be viewed on its intellectual view, but it's cultural view. If possible, although it's not practical, read stuff on <br /><br />What if there's a deviation from the norms and culture? Now that's where you'll make a statement (but i think you guys know a lot better)...<br /><br />Forgive my outsider's viewpoint.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1163442290582198822006-11-13T13:24:00.000-05:002006-11-13T13:24:00.000-05:00To Mr. Rowin;Thanks for your generous response to ...To Mr. Rowin;<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your generous response to my post. I did note in an earlier comment that in your other articles--which I did read, provoked by the first one--I was impressed by what you had to say of other films. I concede that your basic point of view--of an essentially direct, unnuanced melodrama--would be difficult to challenge (tho I disagree), and I'm fine with that; I do know critics who are not fans of the film, critics I also respect, and I do believe it's the nature of the medium that there isn't any uniform regard towards any single work. <BR/><BR/>I'd like to point out a few other Filipino filmmakers that might be more to your taste. Maybe not Gerardo de Leon, whose <B><A HREF="http://criticafterdark.blogspot.com/2006/10/gerardo-de-leon-two-vampire-films.html" REL="nofollow">vampire films</A></B> are still in the same melodramatic vein, albeit even more old-fashioned and mannered, but whose pictures are easily available, and whose visual style does I think display a cool intelligence (which I admire, very much). Maybe Mario O'Hara, whose <B><A HREF="http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?movieid=70039696&trkid=189530&strkid=16392038_3_0" REL="nofollow"><I>Babae sa Breakwater</I></A></B> and <B><A HREF="http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?movieid=70051057&trkid=189530&strkid=2111143381_0_0" REL="nofollow"><I>The Fatima Buen Story</I></A></B> (both available on Netflix or DVD--not perhaps his best works, but representative enough) I think treats similar melodrama at arm's length, again with more visual intelligence.<BR/><BR/>I might also recommend Lav Diaz's films; not easily available but hopefully will be screened at some New York festival or another. Diaz frankly dislikes melodrama, and works for hours (hence the length of his films) against it. <BR/><BR/>And then there's the possibility of a Cinemaginasian Filipino film festival again next year, in June, which I might attend; I would like to invite you to see maybe a few of the films, maybe all. I do hope you will give our cinema another chance.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1163398549780803102006-11-13T01:15:00.000-05:002006-11-13T01:15:00.000-05:00i'd like to respond to some, if not all, of the po...i'd like to respond to some, if not all, of the points made against my review of "insiang." it may be virtually unheard of for a critic to do this, but looking back on the review i now feel the need to offer an apology for its content. even though i headed the review with warnings about the extremely flawed context in which i was writing, in hindsight it seems that the review suffers from my inability to meet the film or the filmmaker halfway. maybe this is why others who have commented on my review on this blog have wrongly described my taste for "mcfilms" -- if you go through the history of my reviews you'll see that is clearly not so. i also didn't mean to walk "into some country's cinema and just [piss] all over it." the idea was to try to make sense of my own reactions to something that seemed hokey and hamfisted and yet has received a ton of praise and "classic" status. however, i readily admit that in the process of doing so i resorted to a flip, smug condescension that ruined any such investigation.<BR/>that said, what i was trying to get at in my review is that the problem with "insiang" is its intentions -- which mr. vera details so well in his post -- are sabotaged by an ineffective realization. that's why i came down so hard on the intended melodramatics and social commentary of "insiang." if the message of the film rings clear, the way in which it is imparted doesn't because brocka uses techniques i found overwrought and ponderous, and which i took as a sign of the director's uncomplicated didacticism.<BR/>perhaps i am guilty, as someone suggested, of not being able to "get" brocka's brand of "straight no chaser" melodrama. maybe "insiang" is too low for me, too simple, as mr. vera suggests, and thus i have failed to appreciate the film's unpretentious visceral power. i can't argue against those charges, but it still doesn't excuse what i concede to being an unnuanced review.<BR/>but this review was an unfortunate anomaly. i would suggest you read my other articles, reviews, and interviews before judging my approach as whole -- something i failed to do for brocka's body of work. i am interested in becoming better informed and knowledgeable on all facets of cinema, and i now have this blog favorited on my list of regular reading in order to learn more about filipino cinema. maybe the snide tone of my language and my unintentional condescension toward another culture (i contritely apologize for all "third world cinema" references) precludes any forgiveness for which i might ask, but i hope mr. vera and the readers of his blog give my criticism another chance in the future. as for myself, i know i'll be giving this blog's contents a close reading for now on -- it's a force to be reckoned with.<BR/><BR/>mjrAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1162288753729887692006-10-31T04:59:00.000-05:002006-10-31T04:59:00.000-05:00This critic seems to be unfamiliar with Filipino m...<I>This critic seems to be unfamiliar with Filipino movies</I><BR/><BR/>Ya think?<BR/><BR/>Most critics love Sirk and Fassbinder, and assert that their visual and storyteling styles take apart and criticize melodrama. What they seem to hate is melodrama taken straight, no chaser, the way Brocka and most Filipinos have it.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1162282259382807132006-10-31T03:10:00.000-05:002006-10-31T03:10:00.000-05:00Hi Noel,This critic seems to be unfamiliar with Fi...Hi Noel,<BR/><BR/>This critic seems to be unfamiliar with Filipino movies. Most foreign critics seem to hate "melodrama". For me it's just another movie genre like horror, film noir, etc. <BR/><BR/>RSEAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1162239441492895022006-10-30T15:17:00.000-05:002006-10-30T15:17:00.000-05:00Hi, Dodo, yes, do drop by. And update your blog da...Hi, Dodo, yes, do drop by. And update your blog dammit; there's a dearth of intelligent film writing out there. <BR/><BR/>Thanks Chris; I've said my piece, I'm moving on.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1162215677216591382006-10-30T08:41:00.000-05:002006-10-30T08:41:00.000-05:00Hey Noel!Stumbled on this from your old place.Upda...Hey Noel!<BR/><BR/>Stumbled on this from your old place.Updated my links and all. Just dropped in to say hi.For now.<BR/><BR/>In a bit of a hurry so I'll read the article(s) later. :)dodo dayaohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08287196617019639716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1162192675967216412006-10-30T02:17:00.000-05:002006-10-30T02:17:00.000-05:00Hello Noel, glad to see you have a more accessible...Hello Noel, glad to see you have a more accessible blog now.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132309436992915620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1162085644634038092006-10-28T21:34:00.000-04:002006-10-28T21:34:00.000-04:00The point of an all-time list is that it doesn't c...The point of an all-time list is that it doesn't change so easy, keats. It may evolve, but not regularly. I haven't seen anything that would change my list.<BR/><BR/>I've been fine, Jerome. Still writing for Businessworld, under Lali Herrera. Just went to New York, as you see. Still writing about films; most foreign critics are interested in what I know about Filipino films, apparently.<BR/><BR/>So why'd you resign and what are your plans?Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1162052388576229392006-10-28T12:19:00.000-04:002006-10-28T12:19:00.000-04:00Yep its me, keats. Will you update your Top Ten be...Yep its me, keats. Will you update your Top Ten best Pinoy Films of all-time?<BR/><BR/>Its about time, man.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1162030940556294842006-10-28T06:22:00.000-04:002006-10-28T06:22:00.000-04:00How great kung meron talagang magazine na Bomba St...How great kung meron talagang magazine na Bomba Star:) My username ediTrixiaGomez combines 'editor' (which i am), and Trixia Gomez, 70s bomba star (who i aspire to be). I resigned from StarStudio Magazine of ABS-CBN. How are you and what have you been doing?JEROME GOMEZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17145383685544517897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1162013727942397182006-10-28T01:35:00.000-04:002006-10-28T01:35:00.000-04:00Hi, ronald, is this keats? Drop by more often...Hi, ronald, is this keats? Drop by more often...Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1162006155194927362006-10-27T23:29:00.000-04:002006-10-27T23:29:00.000-04:00Hi there, Noel! Nice new blog more user-friendly t...Hi there, Noel! Nice new blog more user-friendly than your previous one. Keep up the good work man, and best regards!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1161979882984647562006-10-27T16:11:00.000-04:002006-10-27T16:11:00.000-04:00"hi noel!"Jerome? That you? So you quit Bomba Star..."hi noel!"<BR/><BR/>Jerome? That you? So you quit Bomba Star?Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1161976931921016332006-10-27T15:22:00.000-04:002006-10-27T15:22:00.000-04:00He'd been told it's Brocka's masterpiece. I think ...He'd been told it's Brocka's masterpiece. I think it is. No, apparently he hasn't seen anything else. <BR/><BR/>I love it when a big hairy guy walks into some country's cinema and just pisses all over it. All on the basis of one film.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1161975991978052442006-10-27T15:06:00.000-04:002006-10-27T15:06:00.000-04:00i have nothing important to say except 'hi, noel.'...i have nothing important to say except 'hi, noel.'JEROME GOMEZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17145383685544517897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1161969594061060972006-10-27T13:19:00.000-04:002006-10-27T13:19:00.000-04:00but he considers this as Brocka's masterpiece...i ...but he considers this as Brocka's masterpiece...i wonder if he'd seen the others?Etchiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10193104427543529688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1161968708074572682006-10-27T13:05:00.000-04:002006-10-27T13:05:00.000-04:00Thanks! The writer does seem to have substantial t...Thanks! The writer does seem to have substantial things to say about filmmakers like Lynch and Haneke...it's just that when he turns that intellectually powerful spotlight on Insiang the light seems considerably doused. I expect more, even of a negative review.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-1161966920141363602006-10-27T12:35:00.000-04:002006-10-27T12:35:00.000-04:00i haven't really seen Insiang the way critics allo...i haven't really seen Insiang the way critics allowed their viscerals to hibernate on it, and to provide a critical comment might turn out basically on assumptions and a shallow review on the film.<BR/><BR/>but somehow there is still a kernel of truth on Rowin's accusation (merely on the 1st paragraph, i'll say)---that one thing we could accept that the film is a Brocka's masterpiece just because it came from Third World--the way they look at Satyajit Ray or Abbas Kiarostami. Although we cannot deny there is discrimination on the critic's part (which i could probably attribute to his typical fondness for McFilms: burgers and fries and anything that give him the cholesterol-high), I bet he hasn't seen the best of what Third World countries yield. <BR/><BR/>nice reply, by the way, Noel :)Etchiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10193104427543529688noreply@blogger.com