Movie No. 69 (2014): SERAFIN GERONIMO, ANG KRIMINAL NG BARYO CONCEPCION
Serafin Geronimo: Ang Kriminal Ng Baryo Concepcion (1998)
Director: Lav Diaz
Cast: Raymond Bagatsing, Angel Aquino, Tonton Gutierrez, Ana Capri, Lorli Villanueva
Loosely based on Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, this movie is about Serafin Geronimo, timid man who confesses before a female journalist about his involvement in (a still) unsolved crime that happened three years before. He just wants to tell the story to someone he trusts before turning himself to the police. The female journalist, reluctant at first, is sucked into the criminal's confession, which spans a few days. The confession becomes the basis of the movie's narrative, told in fractured flashbacks. Raymond Bagatsing (as Serafin Geronimo) earned a well-deserved Best Actor Award from Manunuri Ng Pelikulang Pilipino (URIAN). The movie, obviously done with a meager budget, does not look well-polished technically. People who have seen the director's later (lengthy) movies point out that the style he used in such movies were already evident in Serafin Geronimo. This makes me interested to watch these films that have made Lav Diaz a critical favorite in international film festivals.
Director: Lav Diaz
Cast: Raymond Bagatsing, Angel Aquino, Tonton Gutierrez, Ana Capri, Lorli Villanueva
Loosely based on Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, this movie is about Serafin Geronimo, timid man who confesses before a female journalist about his involvement in (a still) unsolved crime that happened three years before. He just wants to tell the story to someone he trusts before turning himself to the police. The female journalist, reluctant at first, is sucked into the criminal's confession, which spans a few days. The confession becomes the basis of the movie's narrative, told in fractured flashbacks. Raymond Bagatsing (as Serafin Geronimo) earned a well-deserved Best Actor Award from Manunuri Ng Pelikulang Pilipino (URIAN). The movie, obviously done with a meager budget, does not look well-polished technically. People who have seen the director's later (lengthy) movies point out that the style he used in such movies were already evident in Serafin Geronimo. This makes me interested to watch these films that have made Lav Diaz a critical favorite in international film festivals.
Despite the gore and violence and poor technical aspects, the movie still managed to be an important film that came out of a batch of movies made out of limited budget and for a limited time. It's good thing that the script was good in the first place.
Rating: 3.5/4.0
Date seen: September 15, 2015
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