Friday, July 24, 2009

What I'm Watching #208

Yesterday was Sweden; today I took a cinematic journey to the Philippines and watched "Moreno." It's a unique film idiosyncratic to the vision and life of its filmmaker, Chris Pablo. Chris tries to tell two stories here: 1) the growing dissolution of his relationship with his irrepressibly promiscuous boy friend of seven years, and 2) the plight of abused women trapped in a T'Bolio indigenous community and their intertwined struggle with poverty and polygamy. These are ambitious themes in the hands of a filmmaker with lots of heart by little cash, rudimentary technology, and a crew of "actors" who often doubled as gaffers, best boys, self-catering meals and working off the dime. Enjoy the ideas, appreciate the vision, and forgive everything else in the middle.

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