A ‘Namets’ film treat

Namets! (2008)

Namets! (2008): 4.5/5

Every meal we eat is a journey. There are only a handful of films that take us on such ‘journeys’ (off the top of my head, I can only name ‘Ratatouille’ and that ‘Dumplings’ segment from the Three Extremes) but Namets is a film that manages to take the food adventure on a very personal scale.

Namets! is a film about life, love, and food set in the little city of Bacolod – a land I’ve never set foot in but feel like I’ve immersed myself in after watching this movie. Namets! (Yummy!) is exactly how one would describe this film. It’s a romantic comedy between Jacko (the very namets Christian Vasquez) and Cassie (an equally namets Angel Jacob) set to the visually exciting backdrop of rich Bacolod-ian culture and its small town charm.

It’s a film that succeeds in connecting with its audience on a human level (food as social glue) and certainly finds its way to touching hearts through the stomach (well it did mine anyway). It showcases a loving portrayal of food put on film, and is cute without embarrassingly forcing it. Every scene deliciously blends into the next. Though at times I felt that the emotion between the characters were a little bit forced, the supporting cast’s wackiness added another endearing quality to the fim (while watching this movie I kept thinking Boss Dolpo would do a Mr. Creosote in Monty Python and the Meaning of Life)

Dolpo-licious

Sure it’s a movie about food, but it’s also about people. The people that came together to form a community, eating together, living together. A geneally sweet and tender movie, Namets stands up to repeated viewings followed by trips to the kitchen or your favorite restaurant.

Salamat gid for a non-angsty Cinemalaya movie!

What Would Ploning Do?

Ploning (2008)

Ploning (2008): 2/5

In a picturesque town in Palawan called Cuyo, where perfect Coca-Cola moments are captured on 35mm film (ahem product placement ahem) there lives a mysterious woman Ploning, whose name is where the movie’s title derives from and centers on. Judy Ann Santos plays the title role and town belle Ploning (for which some odd reason everyone in the town of Cuyo desires) and delivers the Cuyonon dialect with very careful speech-like enunciation and utmost emotional repression.

‘Ploning’ is a case where the visuals (although gorgeously captured) do nothing much for the story (there isn’t much to tell anyway). The marriage of tourism and film seems to be the trend nowadays, as we watch every aspect of the Cuyonon lifestyle – a little bit too much that sometimes a Palawan AVP comes to mind.

While we blatantly learn of life’s “lessons” through the cashew nut metaphor, every dragging sermon and spoon-fed clichéd virtues on love and hope makes this 80+ minute film seem double its length. Towards the end of the film is a Juno-esque finale in a highly laughable flashback scene with Ploning finally showing emotion through tears reminiscent of the Mara Clara soaps that Juday fans will be glad to witness.

Love has no endo

Endo (2007)

Endo (2007): 5/5

I wasn’t able to catch this movie during last year’s Cinemalaya film fest so first off, I gotta thank the wonders of good timing that Kit Arines invited me to Endo’s premiere night at Megamall. I haven’t been genuinely touched by any film in the romance genre ever since this movie. (Seriously,haha). But Endo is in a class by itself. Endo (short for end of contract) is an honest-to-goodness drama about temp workers who meet and find love.

It’s a fun movie made with a slight hint of documentary realism, and pretty much a straightforward film which gives identity to everyday faceless people. It’s cheesy with due reason and profound without trying to be. Ina Feleo’s heartbreaking performance as contractual salesperson Tanya complimented Jason Abalos’ Leo (whom BTW has all the makings of a matinee idol with his boyish good looks and visible on screen charm- shrieking fans can attest to that, he he). Of course, kudos to director Jade Castro and writers Michiko Yamamoto and Raymond Lee for this excellent movie. ‘Ang love story ng buhay mo’, indeed.