Sunday, December 28, 2003

FILMFEST #1: Crying Ladies

Watched "Crying Ladies" with my friends today. We actually got together since our friend Max is in Manila only for a short while before he leaves for Cebu after the holidays.

I expected the Sharon Cuneta film to be humorous but instead, was pleasantly surprised to see that it's worthy of note. It's definitely far from her usual fare of heavy drama. She did have crying scenes here but it's part of her character. She, together with the characters of Hilda Koronel (who actually carried the film and is more believable and better than Ate Shawie) and Angel Aquino were hired by the character of Eric Quizon to cry at the wake and burial of his dad. Sharon got the accent and mannerisms right but she seems to be too polished to be believable as a relatively poor person. Hilda Koronel was hilarious as a former actress who plays a stage mother to her pretty daughter. Angel Aquino was interesting as a devout Catholic who wants to atone for her perennial sin of adultery.

I had fun watching the whole movie moreover when I verified the accents of the Chinese people (especially that of Eric Quizon's) and the burial custom with Allan (who's as pure Chinese as they come). There are a lot of hilarious scenes to watch out for. Except for a few inconsistencies, I find the movie praiseworthy and really deserves the Best Picture win of the Manila Filmfest

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