L’AMANT (The Lover)

In this movie, you will see Saigon before Ho Chi Minh. It is shot in a time of Vietnam where most women preferred to be prostitutes than to serve the wounded soldiers, lepers, and the cholera infested places . It appears that prostituting is giving love, a thing where many calls a profession (remember Kim in broadway). During those times, the Chinese are minority, small time peddlers in Vietnam but frequent clients for prostitutes or politically termed then as mistresses. Those who sleep with them are nasty. The story revolves around this 15 year old French girl (Jane March) and that of a rich Chinaman from Cholon ( Tony Leung) .

The narration is almost poetic weaving the life of 15 year older white girl in the eyes of an old lady. The photography is as poetic as the narration; as it reveals the beautiful angles of Mekong river that spreads to the busy port of Saigon, as it creates the different contours of a human body making love as lovely as a tree, as it makes a colorful Chinese wedding at the bank of a river like a musical performance. The dullness of the sound fits the sadness and irony that class stratification brings in an ancient city.

It is a must see movie I found in a 16 in-1 DVD with a tagline of “Lonely Nights” and within it are Malena (Monica Belluci, The Matrix ) , Karmen (Paz Vega, Spanglish) with no English translation, what do you expect in a 75 pesos though and Color of Night (Bruce Willis). If u ask me the other 12 movies or the covered pictures, well indeed it is for lonely nights.





see more reviews at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101316/

FARENILLI: IL CASTRATO

Pelikula Mula sa Europa:

Ang Opera noong 18th century ay kinikilalang isa sa mga “highest forms of art.” Diyos ang turing nila sa sinumang nilalang na kayang hagupitin ang pinakamataas na nota na sa trumpeta lamang maririnig. Marahil, higit pa ang katumbas nito kay Pacquiao sa larangan ng boxing, o kay Woods sa Golf. Inilalahad sa pelikulang ito na upang makamit ang talentong iyon kailangang putulin ang kasarian ng lalaki (lalaki lamang ang pinapayagang kumanta noong panahong iyun) bagamat ito’y isang ritwal na tanging ang mga maestro lamang ang nakakaalam. Ito ang buhay ni FARENILLI

Tuwing kasiping ni Farenilli, ang isa sa mga tagahanga niya (noong unang panahon laganap na pala ang pagsasamantala sa fans) sinasalitan siya ng kanyang kapatid na composer din pagdating ng climax(sana ako na lang kapatid mo, composer din ako), dahil nga Castrato siya at di kayang tuluyang paligayahin ang kasiping (teka uso na rin pala ang threesome noon). Ang kontradiksyon sa pelikula ay tungkol sa dalawang magkapatid; ang singer na ayaw nang makasama ang kapatid tuwing may kasiping siya, ang composer na aninong nakadikit sa tinatamasa ng kapatid.


Sa kabubuan, napakabanayad ng paglalahad ng mga detalye, parang melo-dramang kanta, angkop na angkop sa customes, at musikang ginamit. At gustong gusto ko ang pilantik ng wikang espanyol.