Saw Kailangan Kita.
Defintely better told than Hibla, technically smoother than Gamitan. I prefer Gamitan, though--at least it shows something of the filmmaker's personality.
Yep, Star Cinema did it again--one of its "android" directors (Not my term! Kapwa niyang filmmaker!) goes and makes yet another "assembly-line product" (again, not my term). Script again written by committee--as noted by one of the people who actually wrote the script (this wasn't what he/she originally wrote, ang daming binago, etc., etc. I believe him/her--he/she's too smart to make the kind of storytelling mistakes this movie makes...).
It's a tired premise, for starters--boy goes to provinces ready to get married, falls in love again with its many charms (incarnated in his bride-to-be's sister), turns his back on the city/world in general (Reese Witherspoon plays a female version of Aga in Sweet Home Alabama). Simplistic rural over urban/Pinoy over American dichotomy.
The details aren't helpful either. On the bra issue--it IS distracting, and judging from the audience reaction, it's the main reason most of the men went to watch. There's a difference between filming a girl without wearing a bra and filming a girl to EMPHASIZE she's not wearing a bra--I'd say the filmmaker used all kinds of gimmicks (bending over, backlighting, garden hose, freaking beach scene, my god...) to emphasize the fact that, yes Claudine Is Not Wearing a Bra. So no, it's not just prurient imagination; it's prurient imagination constantly being encouraged by the filmmakers.
And it still doesn't make sense--granted she's a rebel and refuses to wear a bra--that would be a constant topic around the house but it isn't. At one point Claudine weares sleeveless and Johnny Delgado makes a cutting remark; but she spends hours with her breasts bouncing about, and with Aga as companion, and no comment from anyone?!
Have her not wear a bra, fine, but this needs serious explaining, especially in context of where and who she is (young girl in a Bicol town), and integration into her character as a whole. The way I read her, she'd be highly motivated NOT to not wear a bra--she's already in trouble, she wants to hide in the background, not flaunt her defiance, both of them...
The twist involving Jericho as an NPA soldier is good; I imagine that's what the writers were really interested in, as the point where hidden depths are revealed in Claudine's character, and interest turns into love. Fine. But nothing conclusive happens to Jericho; he runs off with half a dozen goons in hot pursuit, and it's remarked in a casual line that he escaped! So much for Jericho, who probably had a stopwatch all the time he was on the set, and left the second the watch hit the five-minute mark.
Again, Aga meeting his father is a good twist...but the soul searching Aga makes with regards to his dad is more wearying than convincing, and in the end, the dad is dripped as quickly as the NPA soldier. Apparently, the actor playing the dad (Dante Rivero, di ba?) also has a stopwatch.
The lovemaking is boring. After holding back for so long, all they can do is tentatively peck at each other? It should be a wrestling match, practically rape except it's mutual, and the hay should fly...
Aga is, as usual, prettier than any of the women in the film, including Claudine. I can't believe he's actually capable of growing a beard. Is that prosthetic or something?
Saw a remark that Claudine at 23 is already better than Vilma, Nora, etc., etc. I may be mistaken, but Nora at 23 had produced and acted in Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos. Claudine is okay, but by no violent stretch of anyone's wildest imagination is she even remotely close to touching Nora's performance in that film...
Nitpicks, most of the above, I'll admit, and easy to forgive...problem is, as I've said, the premise is so tired and the direction so uninspiring, so nitpicking is the only thing keeping me awake throughout this movie. Another Star Cinema mediocrity.
