CBCB rates Metro filmfest

Three movies of the 2002 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMF) were given an "acceptable moral assessment" yesterday by the Catholic Initiative for Enlightened Movie Appreciation (Cinema), the movie review board of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Ang Agimat, starring Video Regulatory Board (VRB) Chairman and former Cavite Governor Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., was technically rated "below average" by Cinema.

However, Ang Agimat, Dekada ‘70 and Mano Po were described by Cinema as morally acceptable.

Cinema cited the modern special effects used in the movie Ang Agimat, which was the first time such technology was used in the making of a Filipino film. "The composition is good and well-adopted to the scenes, although the lighting was dark throughout the movie. The music can easily touch the feelings of the viewers."

"However, the lengthy dialogues did not help the movie become appealing. Instead, it has driven the viewers bored," Cinema said of Ang Agimat.

Cinema also advised that the movie still needs excellent editing to get the attention of the moviegoers. The CBCP film board also lauded the good performances of veteran actors who saved the acting of the neophytes in the cast.

While the sound and visual effects are good, the movie was boring because of the various details tackled in the movie, Cinema said.

Ang Agimat also stars Sen. Ramon Revilla Sr. and depicts the continuing struggle between good and evil. The movie clearly conveys the message that any power should not be used to do evil things, Cinema said.

Regarding the movie adaptation of the Palanca award-winning novel Dekada ‘70, Cinema said the movie was able to retain the soul of the novel, despite the limitations of film as an audio-visual medium.

Cinema believes the fidelity of the film adaptation to the novel is due to the fact that both the novel and the screenplay were written by the same author – Lualhati Bautista, who has won several awards for her work.

Cinema is funded by the Knights of Columbus in the United States, which gives the CBCP film review board a quarterly budget of P240,000.