Evil does not Exist

Japanese Film Festival 2025

Cinema 1, The Red Carpet

Edsa Shangri-la Mall 

The first four minutes (yes I timed it lol) of this nature infused movie has no dialogue, just a footage of tall trees, and the clear sky. It looks like it is viewed from the perspective of someone lying down who is being transported through a forested area. Whether this sequence is related in any way to the shocking conclusion is debatable. In the same manner, that the title itself and the ending of the film is open to various interpretations, all of which are valid depending on your level of comprehension. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Pristine images of a small rural town provide an excellent backdrop to the story of a father and daughter whose lives will soon be taken over by a company that threatens to disturb their calm surroundings. Takumi, a taciturn jack of all trades spends his days collecting pure mountain water for a local eatery, picking wild wasabi, chopping wood for his fireplace, picking his daughter Hana up from school (although more often than not, he loses track of time so the girl makes her own way home through the forest trail) and spends time with friends which is typical in a small town where everyone basically knows each other.

The quiet town, about two hours away from Tokyo (or so they say) is about to be invaded by corporate Japan. A start up company plans to put up a glamping area for local tourists to chill and relax from the hustle and bustle of city life. Naturally this doesn't go well with the community even as two representatives are sent to the town to basically pitch their brilliant idea even though their plans are all drawn up and it is merely a formality to inform the town of the major project.

In an open forum at the town hall meeting, it is clear that the company has nil knowledge about nature and how the glamping site would severely affect the natural flow of the environment. The town is also the habitat of wild sika deers which play an integral part in this intriguing film's climax. 

No, I won't reveal any spoilers. But yes, this slow burn movie about nature reacting to human interference and the disturbance of the ecosystem has a sinister twist towards the ending.  It would leave you with more questions than answers. The beautiful part is that it lingers even after you have stepped out of the movie theater. 

The director said in a lengthy interview that he specifically ended it that way so the audience can form their own opinions about what they just witnessed in the film. I guess he is correct because until now I find myself still wracking my brain cells with a million and one deductions incessantly.

L' amour et Les Forets (Just the Two of Us) France

 Cine Europa

Cinema 3, Red Carpet Cinema

Edsa Shangri-la Mall

The English translation of this French movie is "Love and Forests", not "Just the Two of Us". But I can see and understand why a forest is referenced in the title, it played an integral part in this dramatic movie about obsessively possessive behaviour disguised as love.

Blanche, a literature teacher meets Gregoire at a party she was hesitant to attend. They click instantly, as they laugh at the same jokes, discuss Moliere endlessly, and have sexual compatibility. Soon enough, they get married and have kids right away. It is only when Gregoire convinces her to move to another town away from her closely knitted family (her mother and her twin sister) that troubles arise. 

It turns out that Greg (let's call him that as it is too long to type his entire name lol) is a jealous, self absorbed, manipulative control freak and dare I say, for lack of a better term, a sociopath. He doesn't want Blanche to work, controls her finances, is in a good mood then gets all riled up over petty things. He also tends to play games like portraying himself as the victim when things heat up between them. His tearful apologies, his I.don't.know.why.I.am.this.way pleas, his 'mea culpa' stance - anything just so Blanche will have pity on him, and hope deep in her heart that he changes his ways . But it is just a ruse.

It is interesting to watch how a "supposedly" good person with all the right characteristics you would want in a life partner, suddenly turn into a totally different person. Maybe that was his true persona and he was just masking it? Was he born this way? Did some past trauma in his childhood or his adolescent years scar him? Did Blanche trigger this behavioral shift? Is he even aware that he is that way? It is difficult to decipher how these 'sociopaths' are wired.

The film is narrated from Blanche's point of view as she tells her domestic abuse story to her divorce laywer. She is a tough cookie but even the strongest among us can crumble under such an immensely intense and stressful life situation. Although it is understandable that any woman would want to get out of this situation by any means possible, sometimes it is NOT as easy as just packing up and leaving. In the same breath, what Blanche does to escape from her miserable marital woes, is in my books not justifiable, either. This is where the forest in the title comes in, but I am not giving away any spoilers. Suffice to say, you can't right a wrong by another wrong. I will simply leave it at that.

As most European movies go, this film ends with an open ended conclusion. As we see both parties enter the judge's office, we are left to form our own conclusions. Does Blanche gets her happy ending through a divorce or does Greg play his victim card to his advantage?  

Father and Mothers (Denmark)

 Cine Europa 2025

Cinema 3, Red Carpet Cinemas    

Edsa Shangri la Mall

This Danish film focuses on the length that parents will go to secure a good education for their children. Piv and her husband Ulrich surmise that their daughter Hannah is not developing properly in a public school setting. So when a  slot is available at an exclusive school in a close knit community, they grab the opportunity to enroll their somewhat shy and unenthusiastic daughter.  

Judging from the interview with the strict headmaster Adrian, this new school exudes an elitish, snobbish vibe. Yet Piv and Ulrich are determined that Hannah will finally thrive after years of transferring from one school to another school. 

They first get to meet the other parents in a meeting to discuss the annual camping trip. A whole bunch of characters who one might mistake to be part of some cult. You know those types who are active in sports, do yoga, eat healthy, self righteous and always politically correct kind of individuals. They are all seemingly friendly to each other yet also high competitive. Piv and Ulrich try to always be on their best behavior as they aim to please and ingratiate themselves with the other parents. They are further put 'on the spot' as they join the annual camping/cabin trip in some idyllic garden/forest resort. 

The film clearly focuses on merely the rapport and camaraderie between the parents during this camping trip. Their kids are mostly nameless and just shown in the backdrop. The kids are well behaved, interact with each other and all get along well. The same though cannot be said for their parents who get into each other's affairs, resorts to pointing out each other's flaws and a general sense of resentment, even envy permeates throughout their interaction at the camp. 

The characteristics and attitudes of the different characters are multi-dimensional and well acted out by the cast. This is what elevates this film from a mere PTA meeting/gathering one layered plot albeit sans the teachers. Personally I am not a parent but one does not have to be a parent to recognize the competitiveness, the hypocrisy and the false pretenses just to get their kids in good schools. It is mostly for social status if I may boldly say so because in the long run, it is the children who ultimately either suffer or benefit from the eccentric often weird shenanigans of their parents. That's quite sad.

Un Metier Serieux (A Real Job) France

 Cine Europa 2025

Cinema 3, Red Carpet Cinemas

Edsa Shangri-la Mall

Nothing much goes on in this comedy drama about a group of teachers in a middle school in a smal French town. Main character is Benjamin, a PhD student who is a substitute math teacher. Fresh graduate with no relevant teaching experience, he makes do with the help of the other supporting teachers. Nowadays, students are more vocal and quite aware of their rights so teaching isn't an easy job. 

Benjamin's parents (his father is a doctor while his mother is a professor) believes he will be better off finishing his doctoral studies first so he will have more fruitful opportunities. But as the title suggests, Benjamin is determined to prove that being a teacher is a real job. And a thankless job at that. But mercifully, Benjamin's co teachers make him feel welcome and help him adjust to this teaching duties.

Personally, I know it is very difficult to balance your job and your doctoral studies. Both tasks require a lot of time and effort, not to mention tons of research to finish. It can really lead to one not finishing one's Phd degree because work (especially teaching) takes up most of your entire waking hours. So in that aspect, Benjamin's dilemma is relatable to anyone who is in his shoes. 

Good ensemble cast composed of credible actors who all give their characters depth and personality in an otherwise predictable narrative set in a small French town middle school. No major dramatic conflict to throw the characters off key, just a very minor character arc for the lead star, no open ended conclusion to wreck  your brain cells. Everything simply falls into its proper place, a nice way to spend a lazy September Saturday afternoon.

Beyond the Blue Border (Germany)

 Cine Europa 2025

Cinema 3, Red Carpet Cinemas

Edsa Shangri-la Mall

Beyond the blue border in this case refers to the Baltic sea which separates a small East German town from the nearest island town of Fehmarn located in West Germany. Set in the late 1980s when Germany was still divided by the Berlin wall, (the East was ruled by Communist rule while the West had a democratic form of government) we encounter best friends Hanna and Andreas. They have been friends since childhood and even live in the same government type housing complex.  

Hanna is an excellent swimmer. In fact, she is part of the national swimming team. She is in training to compete in a big championship and dreams of being an Olympian. Andreas, on the other hand is a delinquent non conformist who is often sent to rehab. But you need to understand that under Communist rule, rehab is a harsh, labor intensive method of  'correcting' bad behavoir. Totally not reformative, in any way.

A desperate Andreas comes up with a plan to 'escape' from the rigors of living under Communist rule. He wants to swim towards freedom. 30 - 40 kilometers is the distance they need to swim towards the nearest West German town. Although Hanna is not really repressed and has a chance of being a champion swimmer, she decides to join her best friend. She even helps in training him like teaching him how to hold his breath under water, and how to adapt the correct swimming posture.

Filmed in a non linear structure, we are shown scenes of the friends in their daily school lives, their interaction with their peers and their parents. Along with sequences of them swimming in frigid sea waters under calm and stormy conditions, trying not to get caught or killed by the authorities. With only a thin cord connected around their wrists keeping them close to each other. They survive by eating chocolates nicely packed in a plastic bag during lulls from their swimming quest.

It is doubly disturbing how seemingly 'normal' students/friends feel that their only way to survive in a such a harsh world is to escape by swimming across the Baltic sea. Because aside from the narratives of Andreas being harassed in rehab, there isn't a very compelling reason for them to leave everything behind. In fact, Hanna is very closed to her mostly home bound father who is suffering from some mental disability which isn't mentioned in the film. On account of the closeness between father and daughter, I couldn't understand how she could just leave him behind. But I reckon her friendship with Andreas took precedence because she was willing to give up her dream of being an Olympian swimmer just to help her best friend Andreas have a chance at a better life.

A gripping tale of friendship depicting the dreams of young people who have nothing to lose and everything to gain even if it means putting their lives in danger. Beyong the Blue Border gives us a good perspective to never take freedom for granted. 

The Peasants (Poland)

 Cine Europa 2025

Cinema 3, the Red Carpet Cinemas

Shangri-la Mall

Today was the launch of the 28th Cine Europa film festival for this year. The opening film is an artistic showcase from Poland, the country where Blessed Pope John Paul II was born. This is the first time I witnessed an film styled like a mural/painting or is it the other way around? A painting that was converted into a film? Suffice to say, it was very realistically made and quite an interesting concept. 

It is the film adaptation of a 1924 Nobel prize winning novel by Wladyslaw Reymont. It is a huge feat for the filmmakers to condense into roughly two hours all the four volume novels about life in a small Polish agricultural town. A society/community where intrigues, gossip mongering, deceit, prevail in a patriarchal society with a strong feminine presence, on a daily basis. I also read that it took over 100 painters to recreate each of the live action frames for the scenes. It was so realistic that after a while, you don't notice it is a painted animation film.

The film focuses on Jagna, a beautiful free spirited 19 year old lass who tends to be both naive as well as, for lack of a better word, a sly character. The kind of person who knows she is pretty but at the same time exudes a certain innocence that men tend to fall for. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing but neither is it a good trait for a young lady.  And in the lush country side of the small Polish town, she is the center of attraction. She is of marrying age, so men of all shapes and sizes are all falling over themselves to win her. Of course in a town steeped in traditions, the one with the most wealth would be the appropriate choice as her husband.

The vivid tapestry of the changing seasons from the hot summer days, the changing color of the leaves during autumn to the freezing snowy winter nights provide a very rich background to the story of Jagna. Mostly the scenes unfold with frantic and intense tones, interspersed with laid back dragging sequences where nothing happens. Peaking towards a very fervent conclusion with "the Scarlet Letter" connotation. Suffice to say if you haven't read or heard of "the Scarlet Letter" novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, you would certainly not get my drift nor understand what I am alluding to, at all.

Don't be fooled with the stunning visuals, the animated painting frames because The Peasants to all intents and purposes is quite a heavy laden motion picture. It deals with social ills, community based envy, small town intrigues and deceit, all unfolding in a period fraught with traditional behaviors, spiritual customs, and even certain controversial aspects of religiosity.  It is quite interesting but it might not appeal to the sensitivities of everybody.

Goodbye Shirazi Girl

 Iranian Film Festival 2025

Cultural Exchange Program - Iran/ Philippines

Cinema 3 Shangri la Plaza mall

This film is based on Neil Simon's 1977 film, Goodbye Girl. The movie where Richard Dreyfuss won his Oscar best actor award as Elliot Garfield, the offbeat aspiring actor who has to share an apartment with a single mother (Marsha Mason) and her daughter.

In this Iranian version, Shabnam is the single mother who lives with her daughter in a fairly decent apartment and works as a manager in a restaurant. One rainy night, a stranger is frantically trying to enter her apartment. Apparently, Shabnam's ex boyfriend ghosted her but he owes some money to Nasim so to make amends, he allows Nasim, an aspiring actor to stay at Shabnam's apartment. 

Clearly a misunderstanding as Shabnam has no idea who Nasim is, and also why her apparently married boyfriend just abandoned her and left without any warning. Obviously there is a great deal of animosity between Shabnam and Nasim who are polar opposites yet each with their own endearing qualities. Soon their living arrangement turns into romance as they learn to accept each other's foibles while still maintaining a sense of common decency. Embracing their differences and learning to blend into each other's complex lives.

This romantic comedy has its charms as it follows to the dot the film upon which it is based, the classic "The Goodbye Girl" by esteemed playwright and director Neil Simon. A bit more cheesy sometimes veering on the corny side yet with cultural nuances inserted, this version mostly succeeds due to the believable performances of the two lead actors. 

In the Arms of the Tree

 Iranian Film Festival 2025
Cultural Exchange Program - Iran/ Philippines

Cinema 3, Shangri-la Plaza Cinemas

Iran has a vibrant film industry. Some of their films mirror the tumultuous and volatile political landscape as well as feature the complex everyday lives of ordinary people. I figure this can be applicable to any nation with a rich, colorful history and a populace that has endured so much through the years.

Filmed in its official language, Persian/Farsi with English subtitles (naturally), In the Arms of the Tree explores the complicated situation of Kimia and Farid. After 12 years, Kimia is seeking divorce as she is beset with a trauma/phobia which affects her mobility. 

They have not yet informed their young sons, 11 year old Taha and 5 year old Alisan about the divorce. Farid wants Taha to live with him as he has started to inculcate his eldest son to be a responsible son, brother and eventually take over the family business. While the youngest would go with his mother. This would disrupt the close bond of the siblings, as the impact of any form of separation/divorce would naturally be most felt by the innocent children.

Shot mostly outdoors in rural Iran, the latter part of the movie intensifies. We are kept on the edge of our seats with mixed emotions, sensing the desperation of both Kimia and Farid and like them we find ourselves praying that it won't end up in tragedy.  

A melodramatic tale about the effects of a marital discord on the lives of the children as well as between the couple themselves. Effective performances from the cast, especially the actress who portrays Kimia, her anguish was palpable and added to the intensity of the dramatic scenes.

The simple rural settings of a small town that is not yet swallowed up technology is a refreshing change from today's decaying society obsessed by instant gratification, a fast paced lifestyle and the onslaught of artificial intelligence.

The Dancing Okami

Japan Film Festival Special Program
Journey through Japan on Screen in Manila 2025

Cinema 1, Red Carpet Cinemas

Edsa Shangri la Mall 

I missed the run of the Japanese Film Festival because I was in Hongkong from 03 January to the 9th of February 2025. Luckily, this weekend they had a special screening of a few Japanese movies but I was able to secure only one ticket (35 pesos booked online with QR code) because the others quickly sold out. 

First of all, an okami refers to the traditional manager (specifically females) of a Japanese inn known as ryokan or onsen (spa). They are the driving force behind the success of many resorts in rural as well as urban Japan. There are whole towns in Japan known for its traditional ryokans which locals as well as tourists visit for much needed R & R.

Yuka is a young lady fascinated with tap dancing so she ventures to Tokyo to hopefully become a famous tap dancer. But after several auditions which don't go in her favor, she decides to go back to her hometown after her mother, an okami falls ill. Putting her tap dancing dreams on hold, she has to step up and learn the ropes of becoming an okami so she can take over the family business.  Back home is a gorgeous rural small town in the Kaga Onsen region, where everything is simplified, less hectic but still peppered with interesting and colorful characters. 

For a supposed to be dancer, she is pretty clumsy and has difficulty in her training as a landlady. Being an okami is hard work, one must be equipped with special skill sets not just in doing physical chores but also maintain a proper decorum with impeccable character and integrity.

The film then pretty much turns into a tourism campaign of the various inns and onsens of the Ishikawa Perfecture in the Kaga Onsen region. A contest is launched in the small town so Yuka along with her fellow okami trainees, decide on an extensive song and dance presentation featuring what else but tap dancing. The other land ladies all struggle with the steps yet persevere until the very end in order to showcase the onsen industry.

Good acting from the ensemble cast as you can truly feel their struggle in their dancing lessons, this inspiring tale of guts and glory towards a common goal - to promote the beauty of their town - will likely motivate the audience to never quit on their dreams, even if the journey is paved with obstacles, to keep dancing, with a never say die attitude and a whole lot of perseverance.  Everything is worth it, in the end!

The Teacher's Lounge

 KinoFest: The German Film Festival
The Red Carpet, Shangri la Plaza Cinema

Besieged by a series of thefts in a local school where pupils and even teaching staff are suspects, The Teacher's Lounge explores the length a newly hired idealistic math teacher would go to expose injustice in their diverse community. The admin zeroes in on the immigrant students as suspects, now known as racial profiling. Yet when teacher Carla herself becomes a victim of theft, she goes all out to accuse the perpetrator (the staff is the mother of one of her bright students) whom she caught on  video using the webcam of her laptop. It sends the entire high school into a web of suspicion, speculation, with a myriad of lies and half truths.

The film unfolds within the claustrophobic walls of the school, without any semblance nor background into the lives of the characters especially Carla. We can ascertain she is idealistic, righteous and wants fairness in everything she does. Nothing personal in terms of relationship status is revealed about her.

The tale progresses at a slow pace but is packed with gripping drama as the investigation takes its toil on the students, the other teachers and especially on Carla. Her idealism and her strong sense of justice is questioned, examined and put to the test as she weaves through the fallout of her accusation. Students acting out in rage specifically Oskar whose mother is the 'suspected' thief, the student council publishing a scathing article about her integrity, the other teachers distancing themselves from her, and even a disruptive PTA meeting.  

All these heavy emotions don't go lightly as the audience is also torn between rooting for Carla yet at the same time, also maligning the deceptive method she used to catch the thief. The ensemble cast of mostly kids and the actress portraying teacher Carla do well to project their characters insecurities and fears. The film concludes without any firm resolution, yet it leaves a lasting impression about our own biased assumptions about how we treat other human beings especially when so called 'bad' things happen to us.