Showing posts with label Psychological. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psychological. Show all posts
Thursday, August 25, 2011
A Probinsiyano's Journey Through Hell (Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag)
Rarely have I ever been completely mesmerized by local Philippine movies, not that I'm saying the local movie scene sucks, but for three main reasons: One, I rarely watch local movies. Two, and perhaps the reason for the first argument, they rarely make real masterpieces and if they ever do, its usually on the hush-hush, and three because of this movie., Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag, which truly sets the bar really high, as expected no less from its director, the late, great Lino Brocka, one of the greatest Filipino filmmakers of all time and of the film itself that claims to be the greatest Philippine movie ever made.
The film is about a "probinsyano" (people from the provinces or somewhere outside the big city), Julio Madiaga as played by the young Bembol Roco (before known as Rafael Roco Jr.) who went to the big city of Manila to search for his lost love, Ligaya Paraiso (played by Hilda Koronel, the character name Ligaya Paraiso literally translates to "Joyful Paradise") who was tricked and taken to Manila by a certain shady old woman named Mrs. Cruz, who came to their province and promised Ligaya and several other women a better life in the big city if they came with her. Out of worry for his lover who hasn't wrote back to her family for months, Julio decided to brave the odds and search for Ligaya despite having no clues of her whereabouts. Little did he know his adventure would take him farther and deeper than he expects into the dark maw of the city's scum. Crime, poverty, injustice are to name a general few but to get keep getting victimized by it is a different story. After all of the city's hostility, will Julio be able to keep his sanity intact until he finds Ligaya? And when he finds Ligaya, will he be able to bring her back and live happily ever after? Or will it be a shock of reality that would land the final blow, turning the kind and meek Julio into a monster of vengeance.
Julio Madiaga, played by Bembol Roco, frequents and stands like a creepy stalker at the corner of Ongpin and Misericordia street, in front of a Chinese merchandise store in which he believes, Ligaya, his missing lover is kept hidden. Imprisoned probably. But honestly, it was a big surprise to see Bembol Roco this young, and with this much hair.
Julio joins a construction company - the easiest job to get into since he has no proper education whatsoever, in order to sustain himself in he big city while he looks for Ligaya. Also his first taste of the city's bigtime injustice. He's supposed to earn 4 pesos a day while the corrupted and cheapskate of a foreman only gives him 2.50, no questions asked. Another surprise for me is the regular wage back in 1975. When I was a kid (around early 90's) 2.50 would only take you a jeepney ride no farther than 4 kilometers, and today, that much earns me only what, two sticks of gum? Amazing how the economy turned out far worse 36 years later. And amazing that that is Joonee Gamboa on the right.
Julio's lost lover, Ligaya Paraiso as played by Hilda Koronel. Ligaya was duped into being given a chance to get educated and live a better life in the big city by Mrs. Cruz (whom Julio described as fat and ugly, like a pig), a shady person who came to their province and promised several other women the same thing. Nowadays, its still the same thing. Illegal recruiters all around, taking advantage of poor citizens' lack of education and awareness, involving them with shady dealings and such. That aside, it never fails to astound me the beauty of women in classic films. Seems they have something in common, I just can't put a finger on it, that puts them a notch above today's pretty faces in show business.
Julio and his buddy, Atong, went to a local market to shop for clothing. I was totally blown away by the price of the buttoned shirt they went for at 9 pesos. And even haggled it down to a price of 6.80 because they thought the cloth was a bit flimsy (these days, the flimsier the cloth, all the more pricey). Nowadays, stuff like that would cost from 300 to more than a thousand pesos depending on the brand and make - a huge evident economic difference from 36 years ago. Today, 9 pesos would only earn you one serving of cooked rice that isn't even enough to hit the bottom.
A scenery from before that still is, and more evident than ever. A distressing slum area, or in more local terms, "squatters area". Usually formed by informal settlers who are mostly composed of probinsiyanos like Julio who ventured to the big city to try their luck at a better chance of moving up in life. Unfortunately, most of them end up stuck in slums like these. In the movie, The squatters area was second home to Julio as he was welcomed to stay there by his friend Atong who lived in one.
Just like the tagline on this show's theatrical poster:
"Sa bawat latay, kahit aso'y nag-iiba.
Sa unang latay siya'y magtataka.
Sa ikalawa siya'y mag-iisip.
Sa ikatlo siya'y magtatanda.
Sa ikaapat, humanda ka!"
Which literally translates to: "For every lash of the whip, even a dog changes thought. Lash him once and he'll start wondering. Lash him twice and he'll start thinking. Lash him thrice and he'll remember it. Lash him for the fourth time, you'd best be prepared!". Julio like the stray dog who unwittingly entered hell, through the vicissitudes of living around and getting victimized by scum, slowly evolves, turning himself into something that scared even himself. The movie, aside from being a perfect mirror of the sad realities of the impoverished sector in the Philippines (perhaps evident in other countries as well), also serves as a dire example on the downfall of man, that even the most meek of humans, once pushed far enough, can and will do the unthinkable.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
"Do you have memories you don't want to forget?" (Ef: A Tale of Memories)
I had quite a hard time finding a fitting romance anime series I could review this month since I've already reviewed most (perhaps the best)of the very few romance anime I have (Toradora, 5 Centimeters per Second etc.) and the rest I have with me borders more heavily on a different genre, drama mostly. (recently, I've learned to enjoy drawing out my emotions on good mixes of hearty comedy and tearful melodrama) So then I settled on this anime adaptation of the two-part visual novel Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two, which in this review, its first installment of the similarly two-part anime series, Ef: A Tale of Memories.
The story starts off as Hirono Hiro, a high school student and an aspiring manga artist, fails to attend his childhood friend: Shindou Kei's Christmas party as his bike got stolen by a girl who was chasing a purse-snatcher, Miyamura Miyako whom he later found collapsed on the street. Feeling responsible he ends up hanging out the entire night with Miyako without minding he stood up Kei who has deep feelings for him that she has kept hidden for a long time. Meanwhile, Asou Renji, another high schooler walks to his usual relaxing spot, an abandoned train station. He is surprised to find another person on the station's benches, a mysterious girl, Shindou Chihiro, Kei's twin sister. Caught off-guard, he goes into an awkward state and leaves immediately after saying a few words to Chihiro. The next day, he finds her again on the benches but oddly enough, Chihiro asked him a strange question, like she was unable to recall yesterday's events. Ef: A Tale of Memories follows the story of these teenagers as they experience and grow through the hardships of romantic relationships.
Zealous yet indecisive, Hirono Hiro chooses to juggle both his studies and work as a manga artist at the same time. Ultimately he has to choose for his future: continue with his studies to secure his future or pursue his passion, his childhood friend who cares for his future and his well-being or the new girl who supports his work and needs him more than anybody else.
Shindou Kei is our story's "Osananajimi" character archetype. Being a childhood friend to Hiro, eventually she developed strong feelings for him yet unfortunately, she is unable to tell him how she feels. Although her ending is quite predictable for most seasoned viewers of anime (especially of the harem genre), it still is interesting to see how she stirs up drama as she competes with Miyako, desperately trying to "erase" her from Hiro's heart.
Kei spends a lot of time around her "onii-san", Hiro. She even has the liberty to barge in his apartment to wake him up for school. Despite their closeness and Kei's eager attempts to show her feelings and how much she cares for his future, Hiro only sees her as a younger sister.
The lively Miyamura Miyako. Despite her bubbly and playful nature, she hides deep sadness and loneliness ever since her parents have separated and given her the feeling that she has been "erased" from everyone's hearts. She finds comfort in the company of Hiro and wishes him to stay by her side always.
Hiro found Miyako collapsed on the street shortly after stealing his bike trying to pursue a purse-snatcher. Hiro was about to call for medical assistance after seeing his bike thief unconscious until suddenly she woke up like nothing happened. Feeling concerned and responsible for Miyako, Hiro allowed himself to get dragged around and quickly Miyako's lively and outgoing nature made Hiro spend what she called a "romantic Christmas eve" with her until morning.
Hiro and Miyako later found out they were classmates and that they haven't seen each other since they both enjoy skipping school. Miyako also supports Hiro's passion after finding out he was a budding manga artist. She even cooks for Hiro and goes out with him often in order for her to keep him by his side always. Eventually, they became lovers much to Kei's disappointment and Hiro's confusion, finding out his "sister" has feelings for him and that he had to choose between the two of them.
Hiro's bestfriend, Tsutsumi Kyosuke. He has a strong passion in filming and is an active member of their school's film club. On Christmas eve, he instantly took an interest on a running Kei (although he didn't know it was Kei at that time) and tried to take shots of her but was instantly blocked by a truck that passed by. The thought of the girl lingered in his mind so much that he quit the film club and broke up with his girlfriend. After finding out who Kei was, he instantly asked her to become the main lead to a movie he was making. Kei agrees and ends up with him following her around filming her every emotion with his camera. Eventually, he fell in love with Kei.
Asou Renji, is also a high-schooler who has troubles choosing his career path after graduating. He often stays in an abandoned train station to ease his mind on its peaceful tracks. One day, he was surprised to find another person sitting on the station's benches since he is the only person that comes and goes there.
Shindou Chihiro, Kei's younger twin sister, unknowingly surprised Asou Renji as they met on the abandoned train station which Renji frequents resulting in a quick and awkward first meeting. The following day, Chihiro and Renji met again on the station but this time Chihiro asked him a strange question if they've met before, like she can't recall yesterday's events. This takes Renji's interest in the shy and mysterious eye-patched girl that suddenly popped out of his secret hideaway.
Even in the following days that Renji and Chihiro met, she always asked him if he was Renji from yesterday. Later on, Renji learned that she has a memory defect caused by an accident four years ago that also gave her that eye patch, that her memory lasts no longer than thirteen hours and that she gradually loses an hour's worth of memory every hour after that. Therefore, she makes up for it by religiously writing down her memories for a day on a diary that she reads every morning for her to keep track of yesterday. Renji, who fell in love with her eventually had to face the consequences of her illness. But Chihiro wants him not to since she doesn't want to be a burden to others. Things take a turn for the worst when one day Chihiro, stressed out from keeping track of her days with Renji, passes out for an entire day and loses 24 hours worth of memories and wakes up confused with only her memory of when she was 12 years old. Seeing this, Renji begins to question himself if he can still continue with his relationship with the girl tied down to 12 years and thirteen hours worth of memories.
A mysterious recurring character in the series is Amamiya Yuuko. She appears around Otowa (the story's setting) most of the time inside a Church. Whenever a character in the story contemplates on their problems she appears to them, giving advice and suddenly disappears. It is revealed later that she has ties with Chihiro's guardian, Himura but their story isn't revealed yet in this series. (in the second installment I believe.)
The first thing that really caught my eye while watching previews of this show is the unorthodox style and visual elements used in this series which is very prevalent when portraying character emotions or drawing out emotions on scenes. Shin Oonuma, who directed the series, used certain art styles like unnatural lighting, flat-colored images, scenes in black and white, split screens, strange camera angles and alternating shots. In my own opinion, the art style is superb and definitely accomplished its goal of portraying emotions in different scenes (especially with one certain scene that was really intense) and the character designs and backgrounds were very well drawn. Although, It appealed as a win to me, I believe it may not appeal to some, especially to those who are more used to and prefers the traditional animation style, and might get turned off by the first few episodes.
This is one of my most favorite parts of the series. What looks like a bunch of crawling japanese characters and a small watermarked silhouette of Miyako is actually a gradual buildup of emotional intensity portrayed, in my opinion, in the most unusual yet effective of ways.
The thing that excited me the most was the competition that went on between Kei and Miyako. Although I was expecting them to begin pulling at each other's hair, the execution on each one's emotional outbursts (especially with Miyako's) were better. Also I loved the way Chihiro's character was created. It was very different from the clichéd "girl with amnesia" since 50 First Dates and other similar romance stories. All in all, everything was very good, save for some scenes where the characters movements were animated rather awkwardly (especially with Renji). Definitely one of the best romance/drama series you'd ever hope to find.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Youkoso! Hikikomori-san (Welcome to the NHK!)
I chanced upon Welcome to the NHK! (the anime series that is since there's a manga and a light novel) in a very unusual manner. I happened to be looking at some anime terms and japanese jargon (since I'm learning Nihongo) in Wikipedia when I found the term "Hikikomori". Basically it means a "shut-in" kind of person with some social issues. Upon reading further it references to some anime characters as examples. Nakahara Sunako from "The Wallflower" (its Shoujo. Personally I'm not into Shoujo) and Tatsuhiro Satou of this anime. I'd admit this touches a personal side of me thus, my curiosity in taking a peek at Satou-kun's life. Truth be told, It was way better than I expected and I was in for some reality shock.
Tatsuhiro Satou, 22 years old. A hikikomori for nearly four years. On top of that, he is also a college dropout and a NEET. (Not in Education, Employment or Training) A victim of the notorious NHK's conspiracy (as he believes he is).
Welcome to the NHK! is a dark albeit comic series about the unchanging and miserable life of a certain hikikomori, Tatsuhiro Satou and his struggle to escape the clutches of what he believes is the reason for him becoming a hikikomori, the NHK which stands for "Nihon Hikikomori Kyoukai". (Japanese Hikikomori Association, not the japanese cable TV channel) He meets Misaki Nakahara, a young girl who happened to be doing religious rounds of solicitation in his apartment building. Misaki assured Satou that he can escape his miserable hikokomori life through her help and wanted Satou to become the subject of her "project" of hikikomori recovery support. Misaki hands Satou a contract regarding their daily counseling sessions and other things in relation to his hikikomori recovery and also indicates the fine of 1 million yen in case of a breach in the contract. With some trouble though Satou did sign afterwards in hopes of its success in relieving him from the clutches of the NHK.
The cute yet mysterious Misaki Nakahara. She seems to know many things about Satou-kun yet Satou knows absolutely nothing about her except that she goes on religious recruiting much to Satou's doubt and curiosity. She claims she is able to cure Satou of his hikikomori ways only if he signs the contract in becoming her "project".
Tatsuhiro and Misaki's nightly counseling sessions. Misaki discusses various subjects mostly on human psychology in nature. (which I find quite educational myself) Tatsuhiro made fun of Misaki's Freudian psychoanalysis of his dreams by giving her false ideas which had sexual references.
Satou also meets people from his high school. His former high school junior Yamazaki happened to have been living next door to his apartment room and quite similar to Satou is living as a hardcore otaku. He also happened to come across his former senpai (senior) Hitomi who is responsible for introducing him to the thought of conspiracies. Like Satou, Hitomi has been emotionally troubled. She admitted to Satou she had been relying on some drugs to inhibit her depression and anxiety and even recommended some to him. Satou, still in his right mind, promptly declined.
Ever since that new neighbor moved in beside Satou's apartment, he has always been bugged by the same loud anime music playing nonstop almost everyday. Satou, finally at his limit decides to confront the annoying aniota (anime otaku) next door and to his amazement, sees his high school kouhai, Yamazaki in tears. He seems to be having social issues as well.
As part of Satou's escape plan from becoming a NEET (and proving a lie he told Misaki that he is not one), he aims to become a game creator and joins the super-otaku Yamazaki in a project to create the ultimate galge. (erotic game) Though initially uninterested, his hormones respond with gusto as Yamazaki opened the heavenly gates of the world of galge to Satou.
Hitomi was as beautiful yet odd in high school as she is when Satou met her again. She and Satou were the only members of the literature club and their club meetings were usually spent on playing cards and Satou listening to her lectures on the conspiracies responsible for ruining people's lives. Again, she drags Satou into trouble with her unstable and conspiracy-ridden mind.
As the story progresses, Satou discovers many life lessons and insights as he deals with the sad realities of life, not only in his personal problems as a first-class hikikomori, but also the intense emotions and different problems of the characters and other people which eventually lead to bigger ones and drastic measures of escape.
As most likely, an effect of being a social recluse for almost four years, Satou usually speaks with his furniture. He believes that they are with him against the organization that conspired to make him a hikikomori. In the novel though, it is revealed that Satou uses drugs and his furniture coming to life was an effect of it, though this fact is downplayed in the series.
What made Welcome to the NHK more awesome is it's perfect mix of comedy, sarcasm and irony. Satou joins Yamazaki in shouting loudly, "To hell with women!" to voice out their hate for real women (as opposed to women in 2D) which Yamazaki claims to be less of a human and more of a monster. Suddenly Yamazaki's crush called and asked Yamazaki to go out and Yamazaki, without second thoughts, immediately leaves. Satou, left stupefied, dumbfounded and more depressed after the quick change of events, says to himself "To hell with everyone."
One of the most highly-rated and acclaimed anime series out there, I couldn't agree more. Like many critics say, this is fitting enough to become than just a TV series and is on par with J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" with Tatsuhiro Satou comparable to Holden Caulfield of the said novel. Without a doubt, it perfectly touches the events surrounding the life and thoughts of a hikikomori. (from me who experienced the same stuff firsthand) This definitely deserves my praise (for giving me extreme emotional highs and lows, cries and laughs) and being my number one and most favorite anime series of all time.
Oh yeah, the opening theme "Puzzle" by Round Table ft. Nino is cool too!
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