Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos (Mario O'Hara, 1976) in black and white

Three Years Without God without color

This all started from a suggestion by amateur film archivist / historian / enthusiast / restorer Jojo de Vera-- 'amateur' only in the sense that he's not paid for what he passionately works for and believes in and has a vast store of knowledge and expertise about that I often call upon for advice. 

Jojo asked if I was interested in seeing Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos (Three Years Without God) without color; I said yes. When I saw it I was impressed, and suggested the idea to Leo Katigbak, head of the ABS CBN Film Restoration Project; they had a digital copy of the 2016 L'Immagine Ritrovata restoration of the film, which they regraded to black-and-white and showed this Dec. 20 at the University of the Philippines Film Center.

And the results--

Conclave (Edward Berger, 2024)

Succession

Edward Berger's Conclave is more fun than the process of choosing a world leader has any right to be. 

Anora (Sean Baker, 2024)

For better or for worse

Sean Baker's Golden Palm-winning film Anora is arguably the most enjoyable of the year, by turns funny, sexy, profane. 

But a great film? Well let me tell you.

Viy (Konstantin Yershov, Georgi Kropachyov, 1967)

A comedy of horrors

Not that Viy (Konstantin Yershov, Georgi Kropachyov, 1967) is the first-ever Soviet horror film (There's A Spectre Haunts Europe (1923)) or even the first adaptation of the Nikolai Gogol story (the first was 1909, considered lost)-- but it's the rare Soviet horror film so visually striking and tonally bizarre it's at least worth a look.

The Apprentice (Ali Abbasi, 2024)

Birth of a supervillain

Calling it: there will not be a more terrifying film to come out this year than Ali Abbasi's The Apprentice, a startlingly evoked, reasonably entertaining, essentially accurate biopic of the former and possibly incoming president Donald J. Trump.

The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013)

The lower depths

There's David O. Russell's approximation of a Martin Scorsese film, and then there's the original. The Wolf of Wall Street is everything American Hustle is-- sexy, funny, fluid, profane-- and more: disgusting, despairing, demented, in both a good and bad way.

Joker: Folie a Deux (Todd Philips, 2024)

That's entertainment

Saw Joker: Folie a Deux and-- well I liked the ending. 

Todd Philips can't direct traffic to save his life and the movie still looks like a recycle bin of older better films, among others Umbrellas of Cherbourg, One From the Heart, Pennies from Heaven, and (a Scorsese, can't not have a Scorsese) New York, New York and you can feel the droplets of sweat showering down like a morning thunderstorm from Joaquin Phoenix's brow as he strains to make a profound statement out of yet another $200 million comic book villain movie-- but I did like that ending.