Full River Red

 18th Spring Film Festival

Set in the 12th century during the Song dynasty, this period drama by director Zhang Zimou can make your head spin with the numerous plot twists that a motley crew of wily and cunning characters need to navigate. 

On the eve of an important meeting between rival factions, an emissary from the Jin delegation is murdered and a letter in his possession has gone missing. Qin Hui, the frail and paranoid prime minister of Song orders his underlings and his fleet of soldiers to find the murderer and the missing letter. He wants it all solved in two hours before they set out for the meeting at dawn.

The search is headed by Sun Jun, a deputy commander of the household battalion and Zhang Da, an incompetent soldier/corporal who also happens to be Sun Jun's nephew although Zhang Da is much older. Together, the unlikely duo encounter obstacles upon hurdles as all their 'suspects' have their own hidden agenda and nothing is as it seems.

A fast paced tale of treachery, duplicity, political maneuverings replete with skillful sword fights, well choreographed stunts buoyed by the stellar performance from the entire cast. It all unfolds within the confines of a serpentine grim fortress. 

Running at almost 3 hours, the plot loses steam midway then perks up again towards a climactic ending. It works because it has the correct mixture of comedy, drama, suspense, a haunting musical score and historical references. Loyalty, intrigue, betrayal (used as a survival tactic), and patriotism all weigh in heavily in this masterpiece by Zhang Zimou.  

By the way, Full River Red is a famous poem by Yue Fei, a brave 12th century general who fought against powerful invaders. During the pivotal final scene, the poem is recited out loud by the whole battalion as a battle cry and homage to General Yue Fei. Beautifully shot with and I am guessing here, drones and wide angled camera shots. 

It is China propaganda at its finest, if you ask me yet at the same time it somehow felt appropriate. After all the wild chases, the senseless pursuits, the conniving and all the intrigues - everything just falls into its rightful place, finally!

The Menu

 Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult,
Hong Chau, John Leguizamo, Janet McTeer,
Judith Knight, Paul Adelstein

"Wonderful surprises await you all"

A group are invited to feast on the gastronomic delights of renowned Chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) in his restaurant called Hawthorne on a secluded, private island. An elderly couple who are regulars, a food critic and her editor, three guys in the tech industry, a foodie fanatic and his girlfriend and a has been actor with his female assistant. All of them are affluent as the exclusive full course dining experience is not cheap, at all.

As the evening progresses from the first course to the next, the diners brutally realize they were personally chosen by Chef Slowik. Each course is specifically designed to make his guests very uncomfortable. It is like a can of worms is unleashed upon the exquisitely, well conceived dishes. It turns out Chef Julian has a lot of ax to grind not only against his moneyed guests but against the whole fine dining industry, itself.

Both Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy’s portrayal of multi-faceted, layered characters was brilliant. The ensemble cast was effectively good, as well. Do pay special attention to Anya Taylor-Joy as Margot, she is the main ingredient in this dark comedy that simmers to expose what ails the restaurant industry. The movie is a social commentary on the food industry. From sexual harassment, inequality in the service industry, the cancel culture of the food media, the canonization of popular Michelin star chefs and elitism in the fine dining world.

Make sure, you have a firm stomach as some of the scenes can be quite explicitly shocking. Much like the guests who are trapped with no chance of escaping the evil designs of Chef Julian, you will be engrossed and riveted until the fiery end. 

GomBurZa

Dante Rivero, Cedrick Juan, Enchong Dee

Piolo Pascual, Jaime Fabregas, Elijah Canlas

Cinema 1, The Red Carpet
Shangri-la Plaza Mall

It's 2024! A new year so time to revive this blog. So much has happened in my personal life these past three years but let's just go back to reviewing movies.

This Filipino film directed by Pepe Diokno delves into an important event in our rich history. When the Philippines was still under Spanish rule, a royal decree drove a wedge between the regular and secular priests. Those that belonged to religious orders such as the Dominicans, the Recollects, Franciscans and the Agustinians were the regular while the secular priests (who did not belong to any order) were primarily trained to run the local parishes and were under the jurisdiction of the bishops.

The royal decree provided for the secularization of all parishes or the transfer of parochial duties from the regular priests to the secular priests. Since there were not enough seculars to fill up the positions, the Archbishop approved the ordination of Filipino secular priests. 

Monsignor Pedro Pelaez (Piolo Pascual) was a vocal supporter of the secularization of Filipino priests. Fr. Jose Burgos (Cedrick Juan) took an active role in the movement when Fr. Pelaez died in an earthquake. Under the wise tutelage of Fr. Mariano Gomes (Dante Rivero), along with other secular priests, the movement was strongly opposed by the regulars, mostly Spanish friars who believed it would lessen their dominance and influence in society.

In high school, history books exemplify the trio GomBurza (Fathers Gomes, Burgos and Zamora) as martyrs, and rightfully so. Their execution (by garrote) by the Spanish authorities awakened the Filipino people to demand and obtain freedom from Spain. The event shaped our nationalism and paved the way for the Philippine revolution.

Years later, I am now married to a history professor and as I am quite an inquisitive soul, I would ask him about personalities, events about our history. He willingly obliges and regales me with 'behind the scenes' narratives. So I am fully aware of all the circumstances behind the secularization movement, the background of these three priests, the symbolism of their execution.

That is why of all the films shown at the recently concluded Metro Manila Film Festival, "GomburZa" was my only choice to watch at the movie theater. To avoid the crowd, I chose to see it mid January as the film festival was on its last run. Lo and behold, there were only two of us in the cinema. And nope, the other person was not my history professor hubby (he was at work), just some random cinema goer.

Pepe Diokno's direction of the talented cast was precise. His visual story telling in dark, almost sepia tones added so much weight to the melancholic vibe of the story. My favorite scene in the movie is the execution sequence. Howling winds, hushed crowd, the garrote as the center piece, the three priests agonized facial expressions as they waited for their turn to be put to death. Set and costume design was scenic and appropriate. Dialogue, sometimes sounded theatrical yet still managed to depict the era. 

Did the movie do justice to the important roles "GomBurZa" played in our history? Yes and No. 

I say no, because I felt the script could have added more anti-Spain sentiments, more atrocities/anomalies which the Catholic Church committed towards the Filipinos, not just the local clergy but the entire nation. I expected more 'fire in the belly' moments. Perhaps they did not want the film to have religious and political undertones or they did not want to antagonize the current Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines. Thus justifying this strange scene (after the execution) of a Spanish friar lamenting that history won't be kind to them, that they will be blamed for the execution when it was Spain that gave the order for the capital punishment of the three priests. 

The fact remains that the storied lives of these valiant martyrs Fathers Gomes, Burgos and Zamora deserve to be told, and is still very significant today, now more than ever.