The Sense Of Touch

The idea of the end of the world is always a sensitive matter. It will not fail to touch or scare you because it opens your mind to the possibility of all the horrifying scenarios to destroy humanity. And without a doubt, this has been one of the many themes of many movies. Although a very thin line separates comical-scary and mind-blowing-scary.

Perfect Sense (2011)

Directed by David Mackenzie

Written by Kim Fupz Aakeson

Two individuals fall in love when an unexplainable epidemic hit the world that takes away people's sensory perceptions.

As the pandemic robs people their senses which seemingly makes the end of the world closer, the film also follows the romance between the scientist Susan (Eva Green) and chef Michael (Ewan Mcgregor). Before the catastrophic outbreak, Susan and Michael were just about to get to know each other. Eventually a deeper relationship develops as more manifestations of the disease destroy the rest of the senses.

First sign was the strong feeling of grief and after a few minutes, your sense of smell would be gone; a lost of taste after feeling fright and uncontrollable hunger; the hearing after a mad outrage; and finally, a more ecstatic emotion of happiness and gratitude before losing the sense of sight.

Well, they spared the sense of touch. It was quite funny. I was not able to ignore my disbelief easily for the whole 90 minutes. I tried to take it all seriously and I did but still had a few laughs with some scenes. On a lighter note, Eva Green and Ewan McGregor were brilliant actors and they made such a beautiful couple. With the storyline tackling the importance of the senses, it gave both actors the opportunity to show their versatility. The romance did not matter much because the 'disease' was mainly the thing that glued them together. Nonetheless, how the epidemic affected their relationship was enough to sustain the message of the film about the importance of life.

The concept was a bit silly and comical at some point. But in a deeper level, it was awakening and intriguing. Realism was still at hand as people reacted and adapted when they lost their senses in way you know people will do. With the moving (sometimes distracting) narration and interesting transitions of photos and videos of people, you reflect and appreciate. Besides, the end of the world story whether apocalyptic or scientific, would always arouse emotions of sorts. So if you cannot make yourself look past the odd manifestations of the disease, you might not be able to last the 90-minute run. But Perfect Sense is intriguing enough and can actually pass as a good drama film.

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Synchronicity

Science-fiction movies are always intriguing. Imagine the universe altering the possibility and the coincidences of life.

Another Earth (2011)

A film by Mark Cahill

Co-written by Brit Marling

On the night of her celebration for getting accepted in MIT, Rhoda, curious about the discovery of the duplicate Earth, gets into a car crash. The tragic accident results to the death of John Burroughs' family. Four years after serving her time in prison, Rhoda poses as a housekeeper to make amends with John.

Another Earth was intriguing enough because of its premise of literally another earth. But it became even more interesting because of the brilliantly written intertwining lives of the protagonists. The steady, eerie ambiance further hooked the viewer's curiosity. The flow of the story was effortless from beginning to end. The film, however, focused more on the relationship of Rhoda and John, rather than its actual plot of another earth. But it was still just as captivating, with its breathtaking cinematography and wonderful musical score. I particularly enjoyed the musical saw scene performance (Natalia Paruz) and the story of the Russian cosmonaut.

Definitely an interesting piece from Cahill and Marling.  Rawness of indie films will always be much appreciated.

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Weeping For The Philippines

Major problems like poverty, the lack of education or the continuous downfall of the economy were still waiting. Relevant issues like the R.H. Bill or the Divorce Bill were still pending and taking forever to be debated by the senate over and over again. All these, once again were ignored. Meanwhile, the government chose to pay more attention in creating turmoil over the internet. And this one, oh, only took a blink of an eye to be implemented.

I admit that I do not have enough information on current events or news lately, but when the internet is threatened; I am all for it. Today, all I did was sat in front of my computer and tried my best in any way I can (in that context, I mean through the internet) to support the protest against the Cybercrime Law and protect my rights.

Republic Act No. 10175 or The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 aka Cybercrime Law happens to exist because of our supposedly trustworthy lawmakers. When you read those words joined together 'Cybercrime Prevention', you will instantly think it is one of the greatest amendments of today. It's like music to your ears because you know there are cybercrimes and we  know for a fact that we need new laws to prevent it. It covers address hacking, cracking, identity theft and spamming. It also indicates cybersex, pornography and (sucks, even) file-sharing. All these actually make sense, but then (purportedly) Sotto had to add online libel. Now, it appears as if the prevention act is just another front to hide the sole purpose of this law: silencing our voices. Clearly, Sotto is threatened by the power of the netizens after his plagiarism scandal. After shamelessly denying all accusations about his plagiarism act, he wants to take away the only medium we have to voice out our opinions in a way they can be easily heard.

I am no expert in law but I know our right for freedom of speech. The last time I checked we are living in a democratic society. However, the Cybercrime Law does not say so. It fails to benefit any Filipino citizens when freedom of expression and right to privacy are on the line. Only but the government profits from this. This is oppressive. And it is happening. Anything you post, tweet, share, comment or even like can be used against you. It has a punishment of a monstrously unjust 12-year imprisonment. Imagine twelve years in prison for stating a thought that the government did not happen to like. Or worse, simply liking a photo on Facebook about how pretty PNoy's bald head is.

This law's restrictions and parameters are not made clear enough. To our dismay, it seems as if it was not discussed thoroughly as it was passed and signed by Mister President and his senators in no time. Only two senators think there is something wrong with this law. For the love of God, what kind of senators do we actually have? What kind of President do we have? There are far more important problems the Philippine government is facing and they chose to focus on the internet right which should not be a problem at all in the first place.

Petitions and protests were not the only defiance happening against the law. Yesterday, every social media were flooded with outrage by Filipinos trying to protect their rights. I supported the bandwagon because I care. Because I have the right. Because it was our freedom we were talking about. It saddened and angered me to see that some people think so shallow and petty about the whole viral protest online. At least some people tried to participate and do something about it. Yet, the Cybercrime Law still took effect today, October 3rd. It was like a countdown to new year's. Only this time, it was a countdown to a new beginning of oppression.

The internet is powerful. Taking away the internet is taking away our freedom. Implementing this law is giving the administration more control over its people. I cannot stress enough how technology has changed our lives and given us easier access on everything. Which yes, may bring harm along the way, but everything has risks and dangers. BUT this law is not the answer. In a democratic country, suppressing freedom and silencing people will never be an answer. IT SHOULD BE AMENDED TO PROTECT, NOT TO OPPRESS. Internet has become a necessity. Of course, people will go berserk when you take ALL that away. I hope revisions will be done in the soonest possible time. Because this is like Martial Law -- Cyber Martial Law.

I admit this with shame, I voted for some of the senators who signed the said bill. Let us stop repeating these mistakes over again and vote for a truly deserving candidate. Let us not vote for the famous one. Let us vote for the one who makes a difference.

photo: in the city // Sony A300 (c)

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Post-Graduate Delirium

I like Lena Dunham. I like her television series on HBO, Girls. And I like pretty much all things she creates.

Tiny Furniture (2010)

A film by Lena Dunham

Aura (Lena Dunham) is a recent college graduate from a university in Ohio and comes home to live in Tribeca with her mother Siri (Laurie Simmons), a successful photographer and younger sister Nadine (Grace Dunham) who's looking for a good college; as she figures out what she's going to do with her life.

Aura is not exactly the character you will completely love nor totally hate. She has likable qualities and bad habits. She is a slacker, which I think is pretty normal, especially for a person her age. She cannot care less about her physical appearance. She is not afraid to try things out. She is real. Aura, pretty much, is a perfect representation of a character in between the post-graduate and pre-real world crisis. But way funnier.

I am currently going through this period. Hoping to get some ideas, motivation or any resolution, I decided to see this film. Unconsciously, I learned to love Aura. Well, because I can definitely relate to the character. I understand every inch of the slacker, confused and unmotivated side of her. Though I never got the answer I was hoping to get, the movie shed some light on my semi-soul searching phase. With that being said, I like to share a favorite scene.

*SPOILER ALERT* The film openly-ended with Aura and mom Siri in the dark lying in bed. Siri asked Aura to move the alarm clock farther because the ticking sound was disturbing her sleeping. So, Aura took the clock outside the room. Fade to black. Credits roll. And it was simply awakening.

Aura clearly needs time to figure out what she wants to do. And what better symbolism to use for time than time (by that, I meant the alarm clock) itself. Siri asking Aura to move away the alarm clock is like telling her to not worry about time and rush things. Because yes, not all of us have it all figured out even after college. The realism of the stages of undermining yourself; forcing yourself to figure out what to do; and simply getting by another day. The narrative is a little flat but it perfectly mirrored the lives of (some) just-got-out-of-college people. I loved Dunham's simple and smart humor and the few moments of poignancy.

Tiny Furniture won the 2010 Independent Spirit Awards best-narrative feature (thanks, google!), a genuinely much deserved award for a well-written screenplay.

I'm really mature but every time I come in to your room, I wanna sleep in your bed.

I'd like to put more quotes in there that do not involve sleeping or neediness but I can't. Instead, here are some of the favorite lines in Tiny Furniture on ticketforone.

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