tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post4192300513639652978..comments2024-03-24T20:15:00.996-04:00Comments on Critic After Dark: Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio (The Trial of Andres Bonifacio, Mario O'Hara, 2010)Noel Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-35414818154001226772013-12-05T11:31:33.829-05:002013-12-05T11:31:33.829-05:00Wish I could help you on that, but I haven't t...Wish I could help you on that, but I haven't the faintest idea about DVD releases myself. Kabayan Central, maybe?Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-20490902818547673352013-12-04T12:56:30.350-05:002013-12-04T12:56:30.350-05:00isn't there a very recent Bonifacio movie show...isn't there a very recent Bonifacio movie shown this year? Supremo i think i was the title. been searching high and low for dvds of it... hope it won't be for naught.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-28891395276946499722012-07-11T15:50:34.060-04:002012-07-11T15:50:34.060-04:00Correction: Jocyelynang Baliwag is more of a patri...Correction: Jocyelynang Baliwag is more of a patriotic than love song (unless you consider patriotism a kind of love, for flag and country, which would be valid).Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-70412751678167654792010-08-27T17:49:55.718-04:002010-08-27T17:49:55.718-04:00What? Pfft, no, hell no, I'm not going to shoo...What? Pfft, no, hell no, I'm not going to shoo you away; I agree, you're a rare bonsai, I haven't had a cyberstalker in these pages for, I don't know months. <br /><br />Go, take your shoes off, relax, hang around. Absolutely, you can post whatever inane pickaninny idea on these pages, I'll publish em. Knock yourself out. <br /><br />So what's your REAL name? C'mon, grow a pair.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-60268654001984970882010-08-27T07:15:40.056-04:002010-08-27T07:15:40.056-04:00yeah, don't shoo me away. minus me, you're...yeah, don't shoo me away. minus me, you're left with, what, three, four readers?<br /><br />constant bonsai, with i assume a bonsai mind, im pretty sane, saner than that fanatic vera who leaves all sobriety behind when faced with his idol, no matter how kiss-ass he appears before him.<br /><br />if you can dispute what ive posted here, then i gave you all the right in the world to call me anything you want just as you can't limit me in underscoring what obsession this whatsisname, noel vera, is capable of.<br /><br />where you put the garbage? in the trash bin. please say yes!<br /><br />and, yes, im anonymous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-51462055860951867752010-08-25T17:57:48.904-04:002010-08-25T17:57:48.904-04:00Yeah, but how many of him are there out there? Don...Yeah, but how many of him are there out there? Don't scare him away, I've always wanted my own cyberstalker...Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-17686159031205873902010-08-24T03:55:43.346-04:002010-08-24T03:55:43.346-04:00The Anonymous poster is either drunk, high on coca...The Anonymous poster is either drunk, high on cocaine (or both), or a bitter ingitera.A.Dimaanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04902355965503374033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-62422707169121913072010-08-24T01:42:57.489-04:002010-08-24T01:42:57.489-04:00I don't know. The Cinemalaya Festival is over-...I don't know. The Cinemalaya Festival is over--that was the best time. Otherwise they'll have screenings here, there. Keep your ears open...Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-67675363522864127652010-08-23T21:54:33.262-04:002010-08-23T21:54:33.262-04:00Jeez, you're all the way there and you got to ...Jeez, you're all the way there and you got to watch it. WHERE in the Philippines is it showing?!Quentin Tarantadohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08091214116015175705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-74813777481210097352010-08-21T01:57:39.248-04:002010-08-21T01:57:39.248-04:00Wow. I'm actually flattered. My own cyberstalk...Wow. I'm actually flattered. My own cyberstalker. <br /><br />--Noel VeraNoel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-45709546308094421222010-08-20T02:26:25.704-04:002010-08-20T02:26:25.704-04:00Need I say it? Best film of the year, of several y...Need I say it? Best film of the year, of several years.<br /><br />>>>>>>>>>> THIS IS THE BEST! I TELL YOU. THIS IS THE BEST OF THE DECADE. TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. I CANNOT BE WRONG. THIS IS THE BEST. MANIWALA KAYO PARANG AWA NYO. PANGINOON KO, PAPANIWALAIN MO SILA SA AKIN. THIS IS THE BEST FILM PERIOD. BEESSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT EVER!!!!! – Noel VeraAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-69218947450198937872010-08-20T02:26:14.655-04:002010-08-20T02:26:14.655-04:00Everything makes psychological and dramatic sense ...Everything makes psychological and dramatic sense from there. Bonifacio's seething anger (to paraphrase William Congreve: hell hath no fury like a lover scorned), Aguinaldo's passionate demands that Bonifacio be spared, Aguinaldo's heartbreakingly wordless acknowledgment that he can only do so much. It's the film's emotional core, its passionate, full-blooded heart; it's what made every hair on my arms and neck stand up while watching the picture. It's why I think the film--for all its historical accuracy, its metaphysical tricks, its cinematic fireworks (done on a shoestring budget) and its, yes, theatricality--is a great film.<br /><br />>>>> Listen to me, everyone!!!!!!! MY HAIRS ON MY ARMS AND NECK STAND UP. BECAUSE MARIO O HARA IS THE BEST FILMMAKER IN THE WORLD. LISTEN TO ME. NOBODY CAN DO THIS. ONLY MARIO OHARA – Noel VeraAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-41367893039564037412010-08-20T02:25:59.552-04:002010-08-20T02:25:59.552-04:00Oh yes--while Bonifacio's wife Gregoria de Jes...Oh yes--while Bonifacio's wife Gregoria de Jesus (Danielle Castano) sings the melancholy love song "Jocelynang Baliwag," we have Andres Bonfacio (Alfredo Vargas) and his soon-to-be rival Emilio Aguinaldo (Lancer Raymundo) slicing open their wrists with knives and pressing them together in a blood compact. It's difficult to remember, considering how thoroughly and intensely the two leaders quarreled with each other, that they were once close allies, that Bonifacio himself may have initiated Aguinaldo into the Katipunan (the secret revolutionary society Bonifacio founded to overthrow the Spaniards), that the movement was in all probability Aguinaldo's first true love--as it remained Bonifacio's continuing and (it turns out) final one.<br /><br />>>>>>>>>> Si Mario o Hara lang makakagawa nito – Noel vEraAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-28590512835261611032010-08-20T02:25:46.743-04:002010-08-20T02:25:46.743-04:00But that doesn't even get to the heart of this...But that doesn't even get to the heart of this bewitching, bothersome, bewildering film; an alternate title for it could be The Passion of Andres Bonifacio--not just because in its record of his suffering and death there are close parallels to Christ (that cruel ending--which may put Bonifacio's courage in momentary, all-too-human doubt, but does not, ultimately, refute it--only emphasizes this) but because the film, after all is said and done, is a love story. <br /><br />>>>>>> Please, believe me, Mario o Hara is the best filmmaker there is. Please, parang awa nyo na..- Noel Vera.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-33070053010512062122010-08-20T02:25:35.103-04:002010-08-20T02:25:35.103-04:00In O'Hara's case he uses the moro-moro, an...In O'Hara's case he uses the moro-moro, and anyone familiar with history will know that Bonifacio was at one point a moro-moro actor. Filmmaker/stage actor Dennis Marasigan points out that the moro-moro colloquially means a predetermined outcome, in that the moro (the Muslim) will always be vanquished; hence here, in the choice of theater form, does O'Hara reveal his attitude towards the veracity and integrity of this trial ("don't even bother defending yourself, the verdict has already been decided"). In fact, it's a song and dance that is still being practiced today, in the field of public opinion, in the arena of politics ("don't even bother voting, the winner has already been decided").<br /><br />>>>>>>> my idol o’hara is the best, only he can do this.... Noel Vera.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-73776777970300153942010-08-20T02:25:24.075-04:002010-08-20T02:25:24.075-04:00So please--no more use of the word 'theatrical...So please--no more use of the word 'theatrical' as an insult when applied to a film; that only shows ignorance. If anything, films can use more theatricality; Mike Nichols' adaptation of Angels in America is faithful enough, but thuddingly literal-minded, complete with overfamiliar actual locations and boring digital effects. A dose of the original production's giddy theatrics (including an angel with wings the size of a private plane actually crashing through a ceiling) could have lifted the production to a higher level. <br /><br />>>>>>>>>> Please, no more use of word theatrical as an insult… HUH?!!!! When you want to do theatricality, go to stage, not film. HUH?!!!! What is this? Noel Vera’s rule?????????!!!!!!!! For O’hara alone? See what fanaticism can do!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-67619569215759738642010-08-20T02:25:11.437-04:002010-08-20T02:25:11.437-04:00I don't understand the film's critics, and...I don't understand the film's critics, and their complaint about the film's 'theatricality;' what on earth do they mean? Films have been theatrical since the very beginning, from D.W. Griffith's creaky 19th century-style melodramas to Charlie Chaplin's sublime pantomimes. They have often shifted from naturalism to an actual stage: Michael Powell's The Red Shoes, Laurence Olivier's Henry V, Jean Renoir's The Golden Coach, to name a few (the Renoir, incidentally, celebrates the superiority of theater's artificiality over life's humdrum realism). They have directly translated stage plays onto the big screen in ways that are both recognizably stagebound and incontestably cinematic: Robert Altman's Secret Honor and Come to the 5 and Dime Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean; Jonathan Demme's Swimming to Cambodia. There are even great unabashed adaptations of opera and ballet: Ingmar Bergman's delightful The Magic Flute, Carroll Ballard's The Nutcracker. Theatricality is a tool, no less valid for having its roots in an older, more venerated medium; one should judge a film as to how well it uses the tool of theatricality, not condemn it for being theatrical per se. <br /><br />>>>>>>>>> this is it, the fanaticism at work. “Theatricality is a tool, no less valid for having its roots in an older, more venerated medium; one should judge a film as to how well it uses the tool of theatricality, not condemn it for being theatrical per se.” What???????! Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-12378031918605204162010-08-20T02:24:55.574-04:002010-08-20T02:24:55.574-04:00Where O'Hara differs from Dreyer, aside from t...Where O'Hara differs from Dreyer, aside from the question of money, is in his overtly theatrical style (Dreyer enjoyed a budget of seven million francs--ultimately ballooning into nine million--while O'Hara had a slightly augmented (thanks to a last-minute save by TV talk show host Boy Abunda) but still tiny budget of 1.8 million pesos (roughly thirty-nine thousand dollars)). <br /><br />>>>>>> he’y, o’hara is the best film maker IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD because despite the meager budget, he is able to do what seven million francs could do. NOBODY IS BETTER THAN O’HARA, NOBODY!!!!!!!!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-54016694375352371242010-08-20T02:24:41.799-04:002010-08-20T02:24:41.799-04:00But Kanapi is the clown in the circus, using thick...But Kanapi is the clown in the circus, using thick makeup and flashy gestures to entertain the masses; O'Hara also gives us subtler cues--the opening of many of the testimonies, for example, with the question "Are you aware of the Revolutionary Government?" Some are, some aren't; you wonder at the repetitiveness of the questions, until you realize that this is a government still struggling to establish its identity, still struggling to find out how widespread knowledge of its existence really is, still struggling, above all, to assert its authority. The trial is, among other things, an attempt to control public perception, to put a spin on matters that may have moved too fast, too far out of control. It is, in effect, an impromptu referendum on the fledgling government--a mini-snap election meant to prove that government's legitimacy. <br /><br />>>>>> what do we call this? over-reading.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-13111104301216670452010-08-20T02:24:29.437-04:002010-08-20T02:24:29.437-04:00How do we know O'Hara's intentions? Oh, hi...How do we know O'Hara's intentions? Oh, hints, allegations, interpretations, most of them directly related to us by a narrator/commentator--Mailes Kanapi, bald and in whiteface, functioning like The Common Man in Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons (the original play, not the Fred Zinneman film). She adds footnotes (historical context) and postscripts (what happened afterwards); she highlights the significance of various testimonies, whether they are lying or giving the unvarnished truth. At one point, Kanapi sarcastically wonders if a witness has lost his balls; at another, she tenderly caresses a wounded soldier and praises him for his brave suffering.<br /><br />>>>>>> and the fanaticism starts to accumulateAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-12602530090936789042010-08-20T02:24:17.315-04:002010-08-20T02:24:17.315-04:00The trial records are worth checking out by the wa...The trial records are worth checking out by the way--not just to compare the actual accounts with the finished film, but (for those who haven't the slightest idea what I'm talking about) to read the excellent short note at the bottom of the web page explaining the trial's historical background. <br /><br />>>>>> up to this point, the review is still sane.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-45265315318752331992010-08-20T02:24:03.880-04:002010-08-20T02:24:03.880-04:00Mario O'Hara's Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bo...Mario O'Hara's Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio (The Trial of Andres Bonifacio, 2010) takes its inspiration from Carl Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc; it employs the actual trial records as a rough outline (a film treatment, if you like) and fashions out of them an analytical, self-reflexive examination of not so much the truth of what happened (O'Hara seems to accept what has been written down as being truthful--without, however, forgetting the fact that this is an account written by the winners of the controversy) as of the meaning of what happened.<br /><br />>>>>>> this is actually the best Vera has to say about Paglilitis. The rest is fart.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-51260389872948012312010-08-20T02:23:50.852-04:002010-08-20T02:23:50.852-04:00Dissection of Noel Vera’s Fanaticism
The pasyon ...Dissection of Noel Vera’s Fanaticism<br /><br /><br />The pasyon of Andres <br /><br />>>>>>Should be titled “My Obsession Of O’Hara”<br /><br />There are--and I could be perfectly wrong about this--about ten films made to date about Filipino national hero Jose Rizal, including Marilou Diaz Abaya's oversized, underpowered 150 million peso (US$3.0 million) historical epic. To date there have been--and again I can be wrong--only two films made on Filipino national hero Andres Bonifacio: Raymond Red's beautiful, strangely haunting Bayani (1992), and this.<br /><br />>>>>> an intro that say’s nothing muchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-357892234141402472010-08-20T01:49:24.418-04:002010-08-20T01:49:24.418-04:00Best of, what???????!!!!!!
Huh?!!!
Anything O...Best of, what???????!!!!!!<br /><br />Huh?!!!<br /><br />Anything O'hara is best of the decade, best of century, best of the best, bestest, bestestestestest!! <br /><br />Anyone who believes Noel Vera on O'Hara is nuts!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12690266.post-2516921521998448672010-08-18T01:26:09.741-04:002010-08-18T01:26:09.741-04:00Not quite Andres and Emillio, I think; more like A...Not quite Andres and Emillio, I think; more like Andres and Emilio in love with the same woman, a fully independent Ynang Bayan. I'm thinking of a menage a trois like that found in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dynamite.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.com