Two Films: Unofficially Yours and Ocean Waves
Unofficially
Yours (Cathy Garcia-Molina, 2012)
First,
it was a steamy one-night-stand encounter. Then, they became ‘friends with
benefits.” Finally, they fell in love, but one of them resisted it. And that’s when the conflict began. This
looked like an interesting premise, although not original. It could have
worked, but …
Speaking
of ‘friends with benefits,’ I’m reminded of another film exhibited last year at
Cinemalaya. It’s called Ligo Na U, Lapit Na Me; this one is better.
The
good thing about Unfaithfully Yours is that the actors all did well. John Lloyd
Cruz effectively acted out the vulnerability of the character he played; Angel
Locsin complemented it with her subtle but praise-worthy portrayal of her role.
And then came the ending. The desperate wanting of those behind the movie to give a happy ending botched everything.
Ocean
Waves (Tomomi Mochizuki, 1993)Synopsis (from IMDB): As a young man returns home after his first year away at college he recalls his senior year of high school and the iron-willed, big city girl that turned his world upside down.
This
is a very familiar premise for (live action) coming-of-age movies – those which
always turn out to be bittersweet, but rewarding in many cases. But, Ocean Waves is a Japanese animated
film. This film is a reminder that animation is not only apt to fantasy or
fairy tale films. Only Studio Ghibli can offer films of this kind. And I really
enjoyed the scrupulous crafting of every scene of this animated film.
Rating: 3.0/4.0
Comments