Sine Kultura

CEBU, Philippines - Cinephiles are, once again, invited to a series of musical films this week at the University of San Carlos-College of Fine Arts and Architecture in Nasipit, Barangay Talamban, Cebu City.

A week after the educational film screening program "SineKultura" took a debut, USC-CAFA Theater is featuring a series of musical films for screening and study - both to USC students and to the public - this June 13, 15 and 17.

"This is part of SineKultura, a venue for cinema appreciation and scholarship for Cebu’s cinephiles," says a team from the Tioseco-Bohinc Film Archive.

In a post on Sinebuano.com (Cebu’s independent filmmaking scene), it was learned that "a musical film is a genre where songs are sung by characters which are interwoven in the film’s story."

Songs and music are used to develop the characters or advance the plot. A subgenre of the musical film is the musical comedy, which includes a strong element of humor as well as the usual music, dancing and storyline.

The 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s are considered to be the golden age of the musical film, when the genre’s popularity was at its highest in the Western world.

The week began with one of the most beloved of the MGM movies - the 1952 American comedy musical, "Singin’ in the Rain" (USA, Color, 103 minutes). It stars Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly, who also is the co-director and choreographer of the film, which is a comic depiction of a Hollywood film production company’s difficult and often humorous transition from silent moviemaking to sound "talkies". This is described to be "a movie about movies".

"In the famous dance routine in which Gene Kelly sings the title song while twirling an umbrella, splashing through puddles and getting soaked to the skin, Kelly was sick with a 103-degree fever at the time. The rain consisted of a mixture of water and milk so it would show up better on film but it caused Gene Kelly’s wool suit to shrink," the synopsis read.

June 15 (Wednesday) was "An American in Paris" (USA, Color, 113 minutes) which is a 1951 MGM musical film inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin. The film is set in Paris, and was directed by Vincente Minnelli from a script by Alan Jay Lerner and stars Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron.

The story of the film is interspersed with show-stopping dance numbers choreographed by Gene Kelly and set to Gershwin tunes. The climax is "The American in Paris" ballet, a 16-minute dance featuring Kelly and Caron set to Gershwin’s An American in Paris. The ballet alone cost more than $500,000, a staggering sum at the time and took a month’s time to film. No words are spoken during the last 20 minutes and 25 seconds of the film.

Meanwhile, "Dancer in the Dark" (set on June 17, Friday) is a 2000 Danish musical drama film directed by Lars von Trier and starring Icelandic singer Björk, who also mainly wrote the soundtrack of the film, but a number of songs featured contributions from Mark Bell and the lyrics were by Lars Von Trier and Sjón.

"Dancer in the Dark was shot with a handheld camera, and was somewhat inspired by a Dogme 95 look. It is filmed on low-end, hand-held digital cameras to create a documentary-style appearance. It is not a true Dogme 95 film, however, because the Dogme rules stipulate that violence, non-diegetic music, and period pieces are not permitted. Trier differentiates the musical sequences from the rest of the film by using static cameras and by brightening the colors," Sinebuano pointed out.

SineKultura is the educational film screening program of USC-CAFA for its Bachelor of Fine Arts in Cinema students. With the cooperation of the Tioseco-Bohinc Film Archive of Lapu-Lapu City, world-class films are made available for viewing for appreciation and study by film students and film/media professionals.

"This is also to create an active world cinema culture and community here in Cebu, where movie lovers and cinephiles and scholars can be exposed [and can experience] to different products of global cinema," the post added.

Last week, SineKultura opened with "Battle of the Silents: Chaplin vs. Keaton" featuring the movies starred in by English comic actor/film director/composer Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin (1889 – 1977) best known for his work during the silent film era. Chaplin used mime, slapstick and other visual comedy routines, and continued well into the era of the talkies.

Next week, Francis Ford Coppola’s "The Godfather (June 20), Fax Bahr’s "Hearts of Darkness" (June 22), and Coppola’s "Apocalypse Now" Redux (June 24) will be featured as part of the week’s theme: "Focus on Coppola".

On the 27th, Steven Spielberg’s "Schindler’s List" and Michael Curtiz’ "Casablanca" (June 29) will be screened as part of the fourth week’s focus on "Award-winning Hollywood" to complete the schedule for the whole of June.

Screening is at 5:30 p.m. Visitors to the USC-CAFA are advised of a no/low entrance fee. Donations to the SineKultura screenings are most welcome.