No I'm not a filmmaker. No I'm not an art critic. And no I'm not a frustrated actress ( though maybe i am a little bit of the latter ) . I'll tell you what I am though . I am a lover of art . I just haaaaaaddddd to write about my newest discovery.
So many artworks exist nowadays and I feel that fusion of different expressions have indeed been trending . You have collaborations of multimedia art and theater, dance and visual arts, poetry and visual arts . The list goes on . But the reality is , rarely is there a perfect blend . Simply understandable because its like finding two people with exactly the same perspective .( If that were an easy feat then we'd all be getting along perfectly right ?!!!!! ) So when I went to CCP for Cinemalaya's " Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa ", in my head was this film was either going to be good or really really bad .The Film had the task of integrating Filipino poetry , film and dance.
And the verdict is . . .
The story translated to film was seamless from start to finish .
It was beautifully written . It was a story of love, not people but love. It immortalized the essence of loving. You can't choose love it chooses you . It doesn't bind ,it embraces . Moreover, it showed that love really transcends boundaries. With the story line that it had , it could have been cheaply interpreted . It could have been kabaduyan and or snooze button boring scenes but instead it communicated its point with simple but absolutely BEAUTIFUL dialogue. The poetry in the film was so cleverly used . It drew people ( or me ) in because as the student and the teacher engaged in conversation about what it was about , .. . . . I too wanted to know what it was about . Not that Im an idiot (though the subtitles helped) but it was the intensity in the scenes that made you quiet your mind and listen and understand so i too could feel. And the poetry was complimented by blunt direct to the point relate-able dialogue . The contrast was commendable.
With a good script comes a big challenge . Thankfully its actors delivered. Most memorable to me was Jean Garcia's scene where she watches her two students audition . Her scene had no words but boy did she translate eons of memories in her ten seconds of nothingness. In her eyes were the stories of pain, regret, longing, pride and so much more. Gone are days when you had to have a crazed woman scene to translate all of these emotions. Here was a scene where the actress was allowed to just be, allowed to just feel. And indeed she was remarkable. She told the story of a learned experienced woman.
Another favorite would be Rocco Naccino's scene. It was the scene where he was being paid by his friend for the tutoring session. And again with no words or even gestures he glances up and the flush of hurt is plastered in his face. And as the audiences sighed , I too knew he was hurt because he felt demoted from a friend to a nobody.He among everybody was actually the biggest revelation to me. He went from one scene to another effortlessly portraying a gay role with none of the excessive treatment as most actors would have leaned towards.
Paolo did quite a good job too. The way he made his character evolve from an innocent young boy to a compassionate and caring person was commendable. He was funny when he needed to be. He was endearing when he needed to be .
( I actually have too many FAVORITE scenes :)
And of course I must I just must say something about the dancing . It was just genius .Two boys dancing ? first impression would be wth?!!! awkward !!! But if you watch them go through the scenes you dont even think of the gay theme. You end up just appreciating the scene along with the poetry, the music and the depth of emotion that came with the dancing. Im a dancer and I could have dwelled on how the choreography was danced by the dancers but I didn't. The choreography itself was a scene telling a story. It was sensitive. It was poetry. It didn't distract the audience from the story. It took them a step further . And seeing Rocco and Paolo in the last scene I knew they too felt it . They were taking the scene and their performance to another level.
The cinematography of this film was uuuuhhhh-mazing. Each scene was like picture in an album, gentle to the eyes. The flow was in itself like a dance , graceful and elegant . Never abrupt, never excessive just simply beautiful.
All in all, the film's elements just blended together. It just worked . Everything was carefully orchestrated and from each glance to every dance step to every camera shift. Needless to say I say YES it was a total succes. A heartwarming message went viral through Sayaw. I praise the director for leading and inspiring the team towards his vision. But thats not the only reason I now have the highest of respect for him. Not only did he end up making a good movie that touched the hearts of many. He elevated the art of different people and immortalized it in film. In the end , they made ART. And I love ART.
So to TEAM SAYAW . . . CHEERS :) and guys di ko kamaganak ang producer. hehehehe.
DISCLAIMER :
But if anybody asked me what I could have improved about the film (SEEING AS NO FILM IS EVER PERFECT ) I would say the following forgivable small details . (Maybe im just oay)
1. I wish they used a dancer for Jean Garcia's " caressing the foot" scene coz it was a bit distracting to see an uarched foot since she was supposed to be a dance teacher .
2. Seemed like nauubusan ng diallogue Rocco's classmates in the assignment scene . That scene was kind of funny :p
3.When Jean Garcia goes home and takes off her make up. . . . I didn't quite get why she cleaned her whole face except her eyes. And why did she even take it off . At first I thought i was a scene to show how she has aged and been through a lot but after a while i was like . . . did she plan on seducing them ? ;p
4. With the exception of a few strong dancers , . . .some were not in unison in parts of the choreography.
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