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Watched on Sunday January 12, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday December 31, 2024.

Watched on Friday November 15, 2024.

Watched on Friday November 29, 2024.

Watched on Sunday November 10, 2024.

Watched on Wednesday December 25, 2024.

Watched on Wednesday December 25, 2024.

Watched on Tuesday December 24, 2024.

This short sequel to 'Cleaners' proves that Glenn Barit has that special magic of bringing a movie theater audience to life.

Watched on Monday November 11, 2024.

Watched on Friday December 20, 2024.

If you've ever had suicidal ideations because of the decrepit job you waste away in just to survive, then this is the short you've been waiting for. Gilb Baldoza is able to transport us into the mind of Celso, a struggling factory worker who is on the brink of a tender insanity. Throughout the short, we find Celso's mind to be an imaginative one that hurtles drastically towards one end: of ensuring that his children can live, and not just imagine, dignified lives. I found myself moved especially by the film's clarity of vision—of understanding that the driving force of many Filipino workers in this crazy world, beyond survival, is the innate and deep desire to provide and to care for their families. This reverence for care bleeds out of the story and makes itself felt in the film's more technical aspects: from the intentional usage of CCTV footage & nostalgic y2k pixelation as devices for storytelling, to the crisp and undramatic colour grading that made every scene look like a normal day at work in the Philippines. This was definitely a gem to watch in this year's QCinema shorts.

Watched on Monday November 11, 2024.

Watched on Monday November 11, 2024.

Watched on Thursday November 14, 2024.

This is THE screwball comedy for these times.

Such a fantastic addition to the history of the genre, which has almost always been on top of each period's contemporary issues, especially in of gender, labour, or class. Of course in 'Anora' there's excellent and absurd comedic shenanigans to be had, but underpinning every moment is the unsettling reality of just how badly late capitalism and unchecked oligarchy has turned almost every social connection into a transactional affair—rendering kindness and dreams foreign to the body.

Every actor in this film was phenomenal, but the chemistry amongst Anora and the goons—all pawns under the twiddling thumbs of Russian oligarchs—stole the show.

Watched on Thursday December 19, 2024.

Watched on Saturday November 2, 2024.

Watched on Saturday November 2, 2024.

Watched on Thursday October 31, 2024.

Watched on Tuesday October 8, 2024.

Watched on Tuesday October 8, 2024.

Watched on Monday September 23, 2024.

Watched on Sunday September 29, 2024.

Watched on Friday August 23, 2024.

Watched on Thursday July 25, 2024.

Watched on Sunday July 21, 2024.

Watched on Thursday July 25, 2024.

Watched on Wednesday July 3, 2024.

Watched on Wednesday June 12, 2024.

Watched on Wednesday June 12, 2024.

Watched on Wednesday June 12, 2024.

Watched on Thursday June 13, 2024.

Watched on Sunday June 2, 2024.

Watched on Sunday June 2, 2024.

Watched on Monday June 3, 2024.

Watched on Sunday June 2, 2024.

Watched on Sunday May 26, 2024.

Watched on Thursday May 23, 2024.

Watched this film as part of the National Heritage Month celebrations at the UPFI Film Center. Hooray for restored films and hooray for free screenings!

While I loved the kundimans and the costumes, and of course I'm always a sucker for tales of generational haunting, what stuck with me as I exited the UPFI Film Center was how 'Mutya ng Pasig' captured the Pasig river as a world full of spirit and life--where lovers can pluck a bouquet of sweet-smelling water lilies, friends can commune to do their laundry while having a laugh, and families can row from one part of town to another at a pace unmeasured by the hours. But even then, the river is a world that's not fully comprehensible as esoteric forces come to sing and dance in the dark of the waters, granting enough mystery to completely enrapture my imagination.

It's overall a beautiful film with some shots--though clumsy, but earnest and evocative in their execution--that I won't forget for quite a while.

Watched on Wednesday April 3, 2024.

Watched on Thursday April 4, 2024.

Lisan Al Gaib

Watched on Monday March 11, 2024.

Watched on Wednesday March 6, 2024.

Watched on Friday March 1, 2024.

Watched on Friday March 1, 2024.

Watched on Friday February 23, 2024.

Watched on Wednesday February 21, 2024.

Watched on Sunday January 28, 2024.

• The Green Ray
• Summertime
• Gaby Baby Doll
• Lost in Translation

bc a list of four isn't enough

• Amélie
• Manila in the Claws of Light
• Little Women
• Tampopo
• Pride & Prejudice
• The Gleaners and I
• Chungking Express
• The Green Ray
• Good Bye, Lenin!
• Juliet of the Spirits

...plus 19 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.