Category: Reminiscents

A fresh start

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Writing used to be something that came to me as easily as sleep. In high school and even primary school, words were allies, friends that allowed me to communicate with people about things that I would struggle to speak about. Being bilingual was never a hinderance for me when it came to writing, although speaking in both Tagalog and English is definitely the easiest for me, as I would at home. I believe that I have fallen victim to an eternal writer’s block, motivated by pubescent insecurities about my talents as a writer. From someone who aspired to write stories as a career (and actually wrote short stories in primary school and short films in high school), I find myself doubting every phrase I write, editing syntax uncontrollably, like this blog post I’m writing.

Hence, in a masochistic effort, I intend to (or at least attempt) write constantly on this blog, without any particular topic in mind. These will most likely consist of general instances in my life, even opinionated pieces on films, TV shows and other media content I come across in the future.

Also, I have begun to write a story on my favourite kind–fictional politics. I do not claim to have great knowledge of modern politics, but historical fiction has always been a passion of mine (cough, GRRM?).

Stay tuned.

The West is the Best

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In my honest opinion, Film & TV 2 has been the most fulfilling course in my undergraduate studies so far. I was able to take an idea that I felt compassionate about and transform it into a piece that provides awareness on a social scale. This film has also provided me with the opportunity to take into practice the skills that would benefit me as an aspiring media producer, in terms of communication, acquirement of resources, and most importantly in the production of The West, thinking outside the box. I believe to have comprehended the idea of having no definitive roles as Paul has promised; even though each group member had their own specialties and relayed responsibilities, we were all definitely involved in every aspect of the film’s creation. I am also very happy with time management during this semester. The group was succesful in surpassing milestones over the production process, despite having been delayed in the presentation of the rough cut. The only problem with a democratic group, besides being way too polite with each other when carrying out equipment, was waiting for everyone to affirm major creative decisions during post-production. Having specified no director in the beginning, each member would make a suggestion, only to end up taking up more time than needed to wait for the others to confirm.

Nevertheless, I was very fortunate to have ended up with such a talented and loyal film group this semester.

Riches to Rags

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Woody Allen’s recent Blue Jasmine is a Greek tragedy-esque story about a glamorous woman whose ambition and naivete leads Blue_Jasmine_posterherself to her own downfall. Quite possibly, the film gravitates itself around Cate Blanchett’s remarkable acting talents. Here, we are shown that she can pull off not only an Elven Goddess-like figure (LOTR fans) or a Manhattan social elite, but also a woman on the constant verge of nervous breakdown.

Allen creates a wonderful assimilation of past and current events in Jasmine’s life, allowing room for comparison in the changes of the protagonist’s lifestyle, as well as deduction on how things came to be. This is only emphasised by a fantastic cast that perfectly captures the classes of which the characters originated from. The transformation of major characters i.e, Jasmine and Ginger, is justly transparent with the sensational work by the wardrobe department.

Allen, as one would see in this film, has the ability to portray a multi-layered complex of a character’s story through a single phrase or movement. Jasmine’s pains from her complicated childhood, of having an adulterous husband and of crashing from her previous opulence are mirrored in her public breakdowns, during which she would mutter a few words to accentuate a flashback. The audience would not find it hard to sympathise for her plight right to the end, overlooking her mean condescension of the meager yet happy sister and her boyfriend.

Without spoiling too much of the elaborate yet superbly rich scripting of the film,  I would say that this is a definite must-watch for the film enthusiast keen on going to the theaters.