Review of BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE

 September 23, 2009

This is the first full length Korean movie I have seen. My wife has recently been bitten by the Korean telenovela craze and I would often see her watching "Boys Over Flowers," "Only You" or currently "East of Eden". But I did not really care too much to spend time on these shows. However, when I learned that there will be a Korean Film Festival at the Shangri-La Mall this week, I decided this would be the ideal way to introduce myself to that country's films.

The movie I caught is had the curious title of "Barking Dogs Never Bite." This is another view of Korean life. There is none of the high lifestyle seen in most telenovelas depicting the Korean rich and famous. The setting is just a regular apartment complex. The action already begins even before the opening titles. A henpecked out-of-work Humanities professor-wannabe who was so annoyed with a very noisy dog of a neighbor. He got so fed up that one day, he decided to get rid of it. From there, this funny black comedy of errors unfolds. Somewhere along the way, his path intersects with that of a bored but kind-hearted bookkeeper who witnessed his crime.

There was a lot of light humor regarding the pathetic life situation of the male and female lead characters. There was a joke about a survey about ideal husbands where Humanities grad students ranked 50, even below masons. There was scene where the exasperated husband ingeniously used toilet paper to settle a bet with his overbearing wife. There was also several scenes showing the interaction of the bookkeeper and her chubby best friend which were quite hilarious.

There was however a lot of dark humor as this movie dealt about killing dogs! There were scenes which were definitely uncomfortable to watch as dogs were seen being maltreated. I'm sure the Western audience would protest about scenes where the dogs were seen being prepared to be cooked! If you are a staunch dog-lover, then this movie is not for you. I do hope that among the Korean words in the closing there is a statement that says that no dogs were harmed in the filming of this motion picture.

Now even if you do not think you would like this particular movie as I described it, there should be another featured film that you may like. This Korean film festival is FREE. Films are shown 2PM, 5PM and 8PM. Tickets are given away an hour before showtime. The Korean film festival started Sept. 23 with a special screening of "Old Boy," which has been recently hailed as one of the 25 best foreign language films of this decade. Try to catch it!

Review of A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS FILIPINO (Repertory Philippines, 2009)

January 15, 2009

Last night, my wife and I had the pleasure of being invited by Ms. Lorna Lopez to watch the preview of Repertory Philippines’ 2009 Season opener, Nick Joaquin’s famous play “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino,” a true treasure of Philippine theater.

Over the years, I have been reading several articles in the past about various incarnations of this play, which always featured a high profile cast. The lead roles were Candida and Paula, two spinster sisters who fight to preserve their ancestral home despite familial and societal pressures. Which actresses would be cast to play these challenging roles had always been big theater news. 

The play is set in the 1940s in the old house of the Marasigan family located in Intramuros. Don Lorenzo had just painted a masterpiece which he had given as a gift to his two spinster daughters Candida and Paula, who were staying with him. The story revolved around how the sisters steadfastly resisted all efforts of various people to gain possession of the painting. (It was interesting that we the audience do not actually see what was on the painting.) The intended metaphors referring to cultural conflicts of Filipino and Western values can be clearly gleaned when watching the play.

The set design was very classic old Manila. You really feel as if you are transported to another era. It really set the whole mood of the play very effectively. The main language of the play was English, enunciated by the actors with a distinct lilting Filipino accent, which I found charming (most of the time, at least). The little Tagalog expressions interspersed here and there were quite apt as well (and can be funny). The makeup and costumes were truly appropriate to the characters, and the era of the story.

It was always so gratifying to watch great actors at work. Last night, Ana Abad Santos and Liesl Batucan brought to life the sisters Candida and Paula, the hearts and souls of this play, so convincingly. I enjoyed the humorous interactions between the sisters and empathized with their problems. They really felt like our own old aunts whom we all want to help out.

I was already a fan of Ms. Liesl Batucan, especially after her delightful turn as the Narrator in POC's "The Magic Flute," and this admiration was reinforced last night. Her Paula was so infused with innocence and shyness. Ms. Batucan portrayed the transformation Paula underwent in the course of the story with so much palpable passion. I felt that Paula is the showier role and Ms. Batucan took it to town.

Ms. Ana Abad-Santos' Candida was more underplayed, the portrayal was quiet yet strong, staying true to character. Her scene where she tells Paula what happened to her at the Bureau of Science was heartbreaking. Her scenes while waiting up for Paula to come home were so tense with her silence. Candida will be alternatively played by veteran Ms. Irma Adlawan, who interpretation of Candida should be interesting to watch out for also.

Joel Trinidad was a dapper Bitoy with his new head of hair. This guy was really good as the narrator that brings the story together for us. Randy Villarama played the rascal boarder Tony Javier with just the right amount of charm and smarm. Jeremy Domingo played Don Manolo, the eldest brother.

The repartee of the senior guests during the La Naval festival scene was precious fun, especially by Ms. Baby Barredo and Chinggoy Alonso. Of course, I was very happy to finally see Ms. Lorna Lopez in action on stage as Dona Irene. The rest of the cast includes Jay Glorioso, Dido de la Paz, Jenny Jamora, Astarte Abraham, Oliver Usison, Bonggoy Manahan, Celso Ylagan, Ernie Zarate, Jejie Esguerra and Dingdong Rosales.

Repertory’s “Portrait” was directed by Jose Mari Avellana, whom we previously saw as Morrie in Rep’s opening show last year “Tuesdays with Morrie”. The music was by Lamberto Avellana, Jr. They are the sons of Lamberto Avellana, the director of the movie version of the play released in 1965, and Daisy Avellana, the original Candida on stage back in 1955 as well as in the said film version. 

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Performances of "Portrait of an Artist as Filipino" are on January 16-February 8, 2009 at Onstage Greenbelt One Theater, Ayala Malls, Makati City, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3:30 p.m.

Call the Rep office 8870710 or Ticketworld 8919999 for ticket inquiries.

Review of MEMORIES OF MURDER

 October 14, 2009

This is a Korean movie whose reputation preceded it before I sought it out. I had already seen two Bong Joon-ho movies ("The Host" and "Barking Dogs Never Bite") so in my readings, I had learned that his masterpiece is actually this "Memories of Murder." "Memories..." is about a small very rural town which was terrorized by a serial killer who victimized young women on rainy days in the 1980s South Korea.

The local police detective of that town (played by Song Kang-ho, whom I saw before in "The Host" and "The Show Must Go On") employed very backward simplistic reasoning in his investigation and violent interrogation techniques on his hapless suspects. The case also attracts a detective from Seoul (played by Kim Sang-kyung) who offers his help in the investigation.

But since their logic and approach are polar opposites, the two detectives are constantly at odds with each other. The local detective would especially want to one-up his big city counterpart. This conflict became the source of hilarious black comedy, as well as very effectively tense dramatic moments. I felt this flawed cooperation between these two characters is the heart of the movie, while the serial killer mystery was merely a backdrop.

My description here of the film is very broad. There are many gems of character development scattered throughout the film that are very noteworthy as well. The director very frankly captured the atmosphere of the time, with those creepy scenes while the women were stalked, the feeling of sheer helplessness by the police as a whole, as well as how the case affected each cop personally. The ending is quite abrupt and unexpected, but I read afterward that that was how it actually happened in real life (yes, this movie was inspired by a real case!).

This is a recommended movie in my opinion. Warning on some gory scenes of corpses for those who are queasy. Remember that this is foremost a Korean film, so do not expect a Hollywood-type movie. I definitely would want to watch more Korean movies after this one.