Movie Review(Bwakaw and Sta. Niña)

New Breed: Sta. Niña(Emmanuel Palo)


          Sta. Niña was all about love and forgiveness. The story revolved around the life of Pol; an ordinary guy who fell in love with his cousin, Madel, had a child with her and was eventually condemned by his family and the society. His daughter, Marikit, however, died of Meningitis when she was only a baby. They put Marikit in a casket but were later on separated from her parents because of the explosion of Mt. Pinatubo. And that’s only when the story begins.

     The setting of the film was in Pampanga, 10 years after the explosion of Mt. Pinatubo. The intro of the film showed Pol doing his work in the area where the lahar had passed by 10 years ago. 3 kids were playing within the vicinity when all of a sudden, they saw a casket. The kids had called the attention of the workers, including Pol, and all of them were stunned to see the body of the baby still not decomposed. Pol knew it was his daughter, Marikit, so he took the casket and brought it home. From there, people started coming to Pol’s house, believing that the body of Marikit was miraculous; having compared Marikit to St. Claire whose body was also not decomposed. The rising action of the film was when diseases were getting healed and more people were coming over to Pol’s house to pray to Marikit. It was that part when complications from Pol and his family arose. Madel, the mother of Marikit and Pol’s cousin, only wanted her child to have a decent burial. She believes that Marikit came back because there wasn’t any closure at all. Sister Josefa, Pol’s sister, refuses to believe of Marikit’s powers to heal people.  Having entered the convent, Sister Josefa only believes in the power of God. Both Madel and Sister Josefa are against Pol’s idea of displaying Marikit’s body in public. It was also the part when Madel’s mom insisted that none of her workers shall set foot in Pol’s house, otherwise they’d get fired. Then Pol decided to take Marikit to the parish church to have her blessed as a saint. The church refused, insisting that it’s not that easy and there should be facts. The people who claimed to have been healed by Marikit are not enough. The climax of the film was when Pol decided to join the men who will be put on the cross during the Holy Week. It was a tradition, but it was Pol’s first time to do such, believing that it will be his ticket to forgiveness from the people he had hurt over the years. On the way to the mountain, Pol was joined by some of his friends. Madel, despite the fight she and Pol had prior to the procession, had joined Pol and carried Marikit. Abel, Madel’s brother, decided to help as well, regardless of his mom’s orders. When they reached the little mountain, it was evident that the scene resembled the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the bible. It was an emotional scene. It was when the flashback took place. It was shown how Pol and Madel fell in love, how Marikit came to the world, how the Madel and Pol braved the world despite the condemnation of their family and the society and how they were also separated. When Pol was put on the cross, his Lola Bining came and due to intense heat, and probably her emotions as well, she fell down. Madel, who was carrying Marikit’s casket, came to help Lola Bining and the casket was thrown down to the ground. That’s when the falling action takes place. When the casket fell on the ground, Marikit’s body suddenly decomposed. With a blink of an eye, what seemed to be the “fresh” body of Marikit turned into a skeleton. According to the director, Emmanuel Palo, the decomposition of Marikit’s body symbolizes that it was only Pol who hadn’t fully forgiven himself. That is why he saw the casket of Marikit; it was telling him that he had been forgiven, and that it was time to move on. The film ended with a scene showing Pol and Madel visiting Marikit at the cemetery. Madel told Pol that the latter had been living in the past for 10 years. That’s why he couldn’t forgive himself. But now that everything is over, it was time to move on and start anew.

Director's Showcase: Bwakaw(Jun Robles Lana)

    Bwakaw is a story of a gay man named Rene (played by Eddie Garcia) who had grown old and had nobody else but his dog, Bwakaw. The film usually used the wide-angle lens and long shot position for the reason that the director wanted the audience to see how the surrounding and the characters affect one another. The extreme long shot position was only used once, if I remember it correctly. It was only brought into play when they showed Rene walking along the road after Bwakaw had died. That particular scene depicted how alone Rene felt because of the death of his beloved dog. The Mise En Scene in the film was the house. It was old, quiet and almost rubbish. It depicted the life of Rene. He was alone, had no relative near-by, always grumpy and, according to him, age was flipping out on him. There was also a scene where the lights in Rene’s house all went out, representing, again, his life that seemed to be losing all its colors. He had already packed all his things and had made his last will, believing that he would die anytime soon. But when he met Rez Cortez’s character, Sol, his life started flourish once again. And another Mise En Scene was when Sol had fixed all the lights in the house. It showed how Rene’s life becoming colorful again because of Sol. Most of the time, the director used the natural light. Since the film was usually shot outdoors, the director took advantage of the sun’s light.

     Generally, I'd say the film was great. Not only did it have a wonderful cinematography and plot, it showed everyone that life doesn't end until your heart stops beating. You don't stop living just because you're old and alone. Life still creates little wonders even when you're old.


Cristina Marie M. Cordero
202A