According to reviews, especially that of Nestor U. Torre (whose reviews I take into heart), gave this filmfest movie a good rating. That was why I was a bit perturbed when I came out of the cinema feeling a bit unsettled and unhappy over what I have watched.
While waiting for my friend, I tried to sort the movie out in my mind and why it made me feel those things. Was it the scenes of gyrating men in a gay bar? Was it the quickie scene of Tate in the elevator? Was it the the two-timing of Sonia? I then realized that it was because I could relate to the movie and what I saw somehow made me come face to face with what I have refused to acknowledged for so long.
Many people have told me that I have an uncanny resemblance to Cherry Pie Picache. It made me feel disconcerted seeing her in the big screen with all that added poundage. It made me feel like I was the one up there showing all the people how rounded I am (e.g. scene of Picache's character stripping for consultation for liposuction). Heck, her character has the same age as I do! What made me feel worse was how Cherry Pie's character resolved everything in the end. She "lived happily ever after" when she got thin and got back with her stripper-boyfriend. That scene imparts a message that one will only be happy if she loses weight. I do acknowledge the importance of losing weight and how being fat can be bad for the health, but do they have to foist that fact to the audience? Can't one have a happy ending and be rubenesque at the same time?
However, I do like the part where she still found love in an unusual person and for that person to still love here inspite of what she looked like. It made me think that there's still hope for me and my non-existent lovelife.
Facing something which you so long refused to acknowledge can be very difficult to do. But here it is in front of me. Grabbing hold of my chin and making me see who I really am.
ANGONO CAVES: A JOURNEY TO THE PAST
My grandfather is 84 and at his age, he refuses to lie down and rest. He's still full of energy and one of his quirks is to visit places that he reads on the papers. In the past month, I've been to two places which he invited me to visit with him.
Last month, we went to Intramuros to see the Light and Sound show. He was very impressed with the show and being vocal that he is, he expressed his admiration to the person in charge. I bet there is an entry of that show in his journal.
This morning, we went to the Angono Caves in Rizal. Angono is known as a haven for artists. It was not much of a surprise for a cave having etchings dating back to 3000 B.C. According to the caretaker, the cave was discovered around the 1960's. Afterwhich, the cave was placed under the "100 Most Endangered Archeological Sites in the World". We're actually #72. I marvelled at the etchings engraved on the adobe walls. Too bad we could not get near the cave. We had to stay on a wooden platform. I so wanted to touch the walls.
The place is being funded by the government but I can't see much of it. In order to get to the caves, you have to get your car through this dark and cramped tunnel. Afterwhich, you have to negotiate through very large rocks. I thought that our little Honda Hatchback would not be able to make it, but I'm glad she was able to pull through.
It was lunch time when we left the caves. We went to this place called "Balaw-Balaw" where we had lunch. It's a nice little specialty restaurant which has it's own museum featuring Vocalan. Personally, I'm not much of a fan of his artwork. It was too dark. I like paintings that are bright and I specifically like paintings of nipa huts or ricefields. I saw this really gorgeous painting at Megamall where the painter managed to draw every grain of rice. It was very breathtaking. If I had the money, I would've bought that painting and placed it in my room. Maybe that's what I'm going to ask for next year from my artist friends--a painting of a rice field with a nipa hut in the background. That would really be nice.
2004 PROJECT
It's the 3rd day of the new year and I managed to finish one project already. Last January 1, I spent it cleaning my room. I wiped and dusted all my books and every corner of my room. I finished cataloguing all my books as well. As of last count, I have 416 books in my database. All that's left is to label my bookshelves.
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