“Ang Larawan is a musical tale about standing together against materialism, two impoverished sisters anguish over whether or not to sell a painting, the final masterpiece by their recluse father. A bitter struggle for survival against betrayal set in pre-World War II Manila. It is a great movie if you really put every word and scene into your heart. At first watching it, you would only say that it is a story about the Painting of Don Lorenzo, the father of Candida and Paula. But if observed very carefully, it is not just all about that.

In my honest opinion, Ang Larawan is not just about a musical tale about standing together against materialism hence, it is about the art’s place in the world. If it has any other value other than monetary. If you watched the movie, you would know that the house and the precious painting are very important for the two sisters as the painting was given to them by their father to keep. The movie is about art. Specifically the place of art in this world. Is it important because it has a sentimental value and a story? Or is it important because it is expensive?

The movie revolves around selling out and giving up on artistic ideals in exchange of a comfortable and lavish life over the ideals and traditions of the past which gave their lives meaning. The movie is a call for us to remember our roots and treasure our pasts and do not give in in favor of having a comfortable life. It is always wealthier to treasure our pasts than to have a lavish life which all of us want. It is the ‘treasure’ that we need. It is the ‘memory’ that we should all be yearning for.

 

Candida and Paula by the window

 

To be honest, Ang Larawan might not be the best choice for the generic movie watchers out there as they want movies that are easier to digest but have incompetent plots. This one’s a bit hard to digest because even I was not able to get the message clearly after watching the film. But after elaborating every memorable scene, I finally understood the very message of the movie. It is not about the painting or the house. It is not about the beautiful music. It is about art. If art still has a place in this luxurious world. For me, no money can buy art if one really has a passion for it. For me, selling art is not about making money for a living. Selling art is making people’s eyes open by means of the story your put through your art. Art is not making money for a living. It is making people’s lives best for their living.”

Compare and Contrast

CASI 40 (English translation: Almost 40), a film directed by David Trueba, is about ex-lovers who happened to cross path again after almost 2 decades. Lucia and Tristan are not only ex-lovers they were also an old friend to each other. Lucia was once a successful singer years ago while Tristan survived as a sales person for cosmetic products.

Lucia and Tristan who haven’t seen each other for almost 20 years decided to go on a concert tour which lasted for 5 days. They toured to several towns in Spain, they put out beautiful performances in each town, and at the same time while they are both touring, Tristan is trying his best in persuading Lucia to go back with her musical career as a singer.   Using a van on their travel, they got the chance to have a deep and meaningful conversation which went from their past up to their future. They both had realisations that now is different because they are both turning 40 years old.

 

 

CASI 40 VS MY EX AND WHYS

If I were to compare the Spanish film Casi 40 to a Filipino film, I would compare it to the film of Cathy Garcia-Molina which is My Ex and Whys. It is because of the storyline. Both couple in the two films met again after a break up. The lovers in both stories traveled together after splitting up. Gio and Cali headed to Korea to look for Lee’s (Gio and Cali’s best friend starring Ryan Bang) fiance after seeing him mingling with a girl on a Bachelor’s party, in which Cali intentionally planned to check if Gio had changed or not. However, the plan didn’t go as planned because it cost Lee losing his fiance. In Casi 40, Tristan and Lucia also traveled in different places which made them realise how fast life can go. Without them noticing that they are turning 40 and at the same time pursuing what they love to do. Both films made the couples realise a lot of things during their trip, that talking things out and being open to each other’s insights can build and regain a crumbling love. Both films will make you giggle while watching and it will also make you question yourself as well as the film will make you assess the life and love you have for yourself and for others.

In the aspect of the difference of the films, my perspective as a viewer is that My Ex and Whys has more vibrant colors, the cinematography is great as it is appealing to the audience. There’s no boring scene because of the funny punch lines the actors throw. Personally, I can say that Casi 40 is less funny, although some scenes will make you smile, it has a neutral effect on me. The film has a warm color setting and it is a bit faded. Although differences in the films are present, I appreciate the hard works that the production did to produce the films. It gave me a meaningful experience to see these films unfold on the screen.

“The Three Little Pigs is a fable firstly wrote by James Halliwell-Phillipps to be included in his book The Nursery Rhymes of England (London and New York, c.1886.) It is about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A big bad wolf blows down the first two pigs’ houses, made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig’s house, made of bricks. Printed versions date back to the 1840s, but the story itself is thought to be much older. The phrases used in the story, and the various morals drawn from it, have become embedded in Western culture. Many versions of The Three Little Pigs have been recreated or have been modified over the years, sometimes making the wolf a kind character.

However, upon watching the short film (Walt Disney Version), unlike the original story, there are many missing spots. The running time would be much longer if they include the missing spots in the story. The one in the end wherein the wolf tried to manipulate the last pig many times. I think they did cut the story short because the target viewers are kids and they just really want to pull off the moral of the story. There are many film adaptations like Looney Tunes – Pigs in a Polka. But the best translation for me would be Walt Disney’s Silly Symphony as the movement of the film is somehow the same although it has missing some parts, still, I can really imagine that I was immersed to the situation, unlike by just reading the book.

The film adaptation of Three Little Pigs is great even though the characters had some twists like the first two pigs hid in their brother’s house when in the book itself, the first two pigs have been eaten by the wolf. Also, in the book, the last pig ate the wolf as a dinner wherein the movie, the wolf just ran away because he fell into the boiling lid causing him to be in pain.

Film adaptations are really great even if the exact thoughts from the book were not adapted. What makes it great is always pulling off the lesson of the story which makes an impact to the audience. It is good that even if it is not the exact same, they were still able to make the plot the same as the original one. Although some people do not like the way this film was adapted from a book, for me, I still liked it because the plot, movement, and depth are still the same.

Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral is a nice movie if one do not compare it to its predecessor. The storytelling of this movie is something unusual from any other movie. The main character is Gregorio del Pilar as we can see but the one who is narrating the story is Joven, the photographer of Gregorio. The whole movie revolves around the story of Goyo leading Filipino Soldiers fighting for the country from the Americans but what people did not notice is Joven is really the one narrating it. Maybe why Gregorio del Pilar protected Joven all throughout because he is the one who can tell the story and knows everything. Nearing the end of the film, Joven woke up from falling down the cliff. He got bruises and wounds but still, he was alive. It was said that Joven is a fictional character which represents the youth today that is why he was protected from the very beginning up to the end. Joven clearly describes the youth today. See this scene below.

This was a scene wherein his uncle said that, “Joven, marami kang alam pero iba ang kaalaman sa karunungan.” That is the youth, right? Youth knows everything, but only few are educated about the historical past. Joven said that even if he observes the people around him, he still does not learn anything from them. But his uncle said, “E di matuto ka sa pagkakamali nila.” This scene is really the summary of the whole film. Joven is a fictional character and his role must be something taken into consideration that he really did not exist. Joven is spanish is young, which clearly explains the traits of Joven in the whole film.

I also want to look at the character of Apolinario Mabini when he said, “Gusto kong patunayan na marunong tayong makidigma, ng may kadakilaan at paninindigan. Ngunit dahan-dahan na akong naniniwala – na baka nga tama sila na tawagin tayong mga bata.” The “bata” in the film is Joven and was described as “Maraming alam pero iba ang alam sa karunungan.” by his uncle. Mabini somehow said that the leadership of Aguinaldo and his favorite soldier, Del Pilar, who was very young when he became a general, was very wrong. Maybe they know everything about war, but clearly did not have wisdom about it that’s why they failed to fight for the country against the American Soldiers.