Indie Films 'Concerto,' '100' Rated A

Two indie films both merited “A” ratings from the Cinema Evaluation Board last week. ‘Concerto’ and ‘100’ had reaped awards in the last Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and reflect the high quality of work by indie outfits.

‘Concerto’, written and directed by Paul Alexander Morales, is a moving story about a well-to-do family in Davao City displaced by World War II. Forced to live in the forest, they found themselves having a Japanese garrison for a neighbor. The family tries to adjust to living with the young soldiers, who it turned out were more humane than their urban comrades.

The two groups develop a sort of uneasy accommodation and soon the suspicions begin to melt. The family’s oldest boy, played by Jay Aquitania, makes the most of the situation by selling camote cue at the garrison and befriending the officers, having learned to speak Japanese earlier. He also serves as the interpreter whenever the officers drop by for dinner at the family’s place.

In the film’s most poignant scene, the Japanese soldiers recover a piano from the family residence in the city and trucked it to the forest. That night the family invites the officers to an impromptu concert. The family’s two girls take turns at the piano, and one of the guests contributes a piece.

In the midst of war, music provides a gentleness, a warmth that erases fears and animosities.

‘100’ stars Mylene Dizon as a young career woman who finds out she is dying of cancer. She resigns her job and prepares of list of 100 things she must do before she shuffles off her mortal coil. She meticulously notes the to-do items on post-its.

The movie takes a rational, often humorous, look at how someone prepares for imminent death. Mylene’s character first goes casket shopping. Then she tells her best friend (Eugene Domingo) but postpones telling her mom (Tessie Tomas). She has one last fling with her lover, musters up the courage to call her true love. She and her friend splurge on hair and facial treatments and a trip to Hong Kong. In one of the funnier moments of the film, her mom collapses upon knowing of her daughter’s condition and had to take Mylene’s place in her hospital bed.

Mylene grows progressively weaker, and when she finally succumbs, there is a sense not of grief, but of tranquility, like reaching the final chapter of a good book.

The film, directed by Chris Martinez, is said to be entered in film festival in Busan, Korea.

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‘Himala’ has been voted as the best Asia-Pacific movie of all time in a poll at CNN’s entertainment Web site.

Ishmael Bernal’s monumental film outvoted even Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai and Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The 1982 film starred Nora Aunor as a rural lass who turned into a faith healer. It won the best actress award for Nora and stamped Bernal’s class as a topnotch director.

The CNN choice is heartwarming. It proves that our films can rank with the best in the region, if not the world.

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Sarah Geronimo was in her element last week as she once again played to a packed Araneta Coliseum in her concert, The Next One. I was amazed at the enthusiasm of her fans. They couldn’t get enough of her! And Sarah seems to be uplifted by their energy. Her performance level must have been 110 percent.

The audience particularly went wild when she did a duet with John Lloyd Cruz, her leading man in “A Very Special Love.”

Also adding glitter to the show were Sarah’s showbiz friends Billy Crawford, Maja Salvador, Shaina Magdayao and Rayver Cruz.

Sarah later admitted that her biggest concern was to satisfy her fans. “It’s not important how many fans came to watch the show. I was more worried about making them happy.”

She profusely thanked the Lord for not letting her down.

Perhaps the biggest compliment came from Billy Crawford. “Sarah was awesome. She was amazing. She is truly The Next One,” enthused Billy.