Two movies in a day

Got a text message from Jani Sunday afternoon that she’d meet with another HS friend Vivian at Trinoma at 2PM. I actually had plan of going out on that lazy day, to probably catch one of the film festival entries and to succumb to holiday sales, so I hurriedly gave my yes. I asked Jani what was the itinerary for the day and a simple come-what-may answer excited me as I notice that my weekend and holiday getaways are now spontaneous, unplanned, unwritten on my scratch paper-ruled 2008 calendar.

After meeting at a bookstore where I bought my 2009 daily Gospel reading (yes, I’m into that, believe it), the plan was to watch the period film ‘Baler.’ But Vivian needed Mr. Quickie for her boots but he was nowhere to be found at that mall. So we transferred to SM North (which is, by the way, the largest mall in the country now and the third in the world with the opening of The Annex). After buying my staple Penshoppe apparel, we proceeded to the movie floor. The movie they chose would be shown an hour later and my feet were too tired already because of incessant window shopping. So I had to make an executive decision. ‘One Night Only’ would be shown in ten minutes. I said I’d rather see this film because at long last I could rest and sit and eat and drink. After a little bargaining, I got my decision un-vetoed.

As the movie title suggests and what most of you have read already, ‘One Night Only’ happens in just one night at a motel by the name of ‘Lover’s Hideaway.’ The motel setting in the film, which the movie characters say is in Sta. Mesa, is nice because each room is themed. There is jungle, outer space, Egyptian, and tropical. I actually waited for the credits to roll at the end to see where exactly is that place but there is no motel acknowledgment.

So the movie is that normal everyone-was-related-to-everyone-else comedy formula in the film. Some scenes are reminiscent of local gag shows, with the inclusion of sexy comediennes (Diana Zubiri, Alessandra de Rossi) and stand-up comics (Chokoleit, Ogie Diaz). Nothing really funny save for the reaction of those at our back who scream with malice when lead sexy actors would strip. I think my genuine laugh was just twice (mostly scenes with Chokolet). With gazillions of complications arising in the middle of the film, I am wondering and pondering as to how the writer ends the script. Or if there’s a resolution at all with that labyrinthine storytelling. I think a second or third night is imperative for the denouement.

Favorite scenes include Jon Avila’s switching from one motel room to another and back to the other, and the connivance of the gay and lesbian couples of Chokoleit/Joross Gamboa and Manilyn Reynes/Jennylyn Mercado respectively just to get in to the place.

Since we three were still in that energy and monetary disposition to watch another film, we ultimately settled for ‘Baler.’ This time we relocated to Trinoma just to have a different feel and to have dinner. Then after eating at an Italian restaurant, we found ourselves at Cinema 3 but failed to catch a portion of the first part because we struggled in our eating that began 15-20 minutes before the start of the film.

This film, meanwhile, essays a love story between a Filipina Feliza and a half-Spanish soldier Celso Resurrecion in the middle of the Siege of Baler in the late 1800s. The film is rich in history and picturesque backdrop. It documents how the Spanish troops lived and died inside a church for almost a year and how a love story survived. Acting of the whole ensemble is believable and poignant, especially the last scene of Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales. The physical setting is accurately engineered. No wonder, it garnered a lion’s share of awards.

I am not just sure whether the Spanish dialogues of Filipino actors (Baron Geisler, Bernard Palanca) are completely accurate in terms of intonation and pronunciation. Favorite scenes include that last scene, the baby delivery of Curtis (yes, there is so much power to that for me), and the reunion scene of Feliza’s Family.