So I again brave the theaters to find some hidden gem within the failed Metro Manila Film Fesival...
First up is Joel Lamangan's Ako Legal Wife (**/*****). Supposedly just a spoof of the Mano Po movies, Ako Legal Wife later on gets branded as an installment to the film franchise. Ako Legal Wife, I have to admit, has some genuinely funny parts. I am no admirer of Lamangan (in fact, I loath this director), but somehow, almost miraculously, he does a serviceable job here. My main problem with the movie is the story and the script. The screenplay is a bloated piece of mess. I initially thought that the film would've concentrated on the three wives of a rich Chinese businessman but sadly discovered that the storywriters couldn't resist the temptation of pumping up the storyline with various issues including a closet homosexual sideplot that merely takes away much steam from the otherwise good chemistry between the three actresses who play the wives. Ako Legal Wife works when it is focused on how the three wives try to outdo each other but falters in every other department. The three actresses (Padilla, Picache, Quinto) are quite commendable.
Surprise, surprise... because I've finally found that hidden gem in this festival which is none other than Shake, Rattle and Roll 2k5 (sorry to disagree with you Joey), or at least two thirds of it. Uro dela Cruz's Poso (1/2*/*****) is a negligible eyesore. It's neither funny nor scary. In fact, it's gratingly annoying.
Rico Maria Ilarde's Aquarium (***/*****), although evidently flawed, is quite good. The film is about a couple (Ogie Alcasid and Ara Mina) and their son, who recently moved to a condominium unit. Inside the condominium unit, they discover a mysterious aquarium. While the mother gets occasional warnings from a suspicious old woman regarding the aquarium, the family still makes use of the aquarium with dire consequences. Having seen two of Ilarde's films (Babaeng Putik and Sa Ilalim ng Cogon), I've come to understand that Ilarde is pretty much a genre director and he does well in his chosen genre. While Aquarium is definitely not an original concept, it makes good use of the tried and tested formula that made Philippine monster horrors from the past work. It's a silly plot but isn't all horror films centered around a silly concept. What grabbed me was how Ilarde somehow put in layers within the storyline. I liked the fact that the source of horror is an aquarium, something so innocent looking and harmless that turns out to be diabolically lethal. In the middle of the film, Alcasid makes a remark regarding his disbelief of the nature of the aquarium because we live in a modern world and therefore, spirits and curses no longer belong. Ilarde also makes brilliant use of Alcasid and Ara Mina by utilizing their offscreen personalities to advance the personalities of their onscreen characters (the philandering husband sideplot wouldn't probably have worked if it weren't for Alcasid's notoriety). Anyway, Aquarium is technically fine, and its shortcomings are merely the shortcomings of the genre it belongs to, but llarde makes wonders in the genre he chose.
Finally, we have Richard Somes' Lihim (****/*****). Somes was production designer to Erik Matti in Pa-Siyam and Exodus and this is his first venture into directing. I am pleasantly surprised how good Richard Somes is considering the fact that he is the most neophyte in the bunch. Firstly, he knows what he's doing. He is not going for a full feature film and works to occupy the meager running time that is allowed. He knows that the short film format is not the best medium for plot twists, complex narratives, and complicated characters so he goes for the good old straightforward plot that almost everyone is aware of. A man (Mark Anthony Fernandez) and his pregnant wife (Tanya Garcia) travel to a remote barrio (the explanation why there is never gathered but who cares?). It turns out that the barrio is populated by 'aswangs' and they're out to get the unborn child. Somes is just fantastic. This is probably the most daring horror film that came out of this country in the past years. First of all, the narrative is plainly straightforward and does not bother with indepth characterization but everything is there for you to just take the ride. The cinematography is surprisingly superb. There's this one long take that took me by surprise (the camera circles a room full of barrio people engaged in diabolical merrymaking while a harmonica plays in the background)- it just goes to show how Somes is so good at this and he's not afraid to show off his talent. Lihim transforms midway into a western when the man confronts the monsters to save his wife and unborn child (Somes completes the transformation with a sudden change of musical score and a surprisingly effective utilization of sudden zooms into the face of the hero ala Leone). Then comes the night of the attack which is effectively horrifying concluding in a final battle between the hero and the aswang chief (Nonong Buencamino). I am amazed how Somes (who is a very good production designer) decided not to too much prosthetics but merely cover the aswangs with mud. I'm not sure if Somes has watched any Guy Maddin film but the final battle reminds me of a Maddin film. Somes is clearly a fan of German expressionism as Buencamino eerily moves like Nosferatu and the cinematography, the abrupt editing can be likened to Maddin's modernist silent films. I seriously can't believe how Somes managed to get this film made especially within the Shake, Rattle and Roll series but thank God it got made. Somes is a talent to watch out for. He knows what he's doing. Brilliant!