The first ten minutes tell the story of a slum dweller who, unable to feed her seven children, sells one to a pedophile. Comedy gold! Actually, as the narration (“scene 36,” “Mila looks confused” and so on) makes us aware, these are characters invented by middle-class hipsters who think such poverty porn will be awards bait at Cannes, maybe even the Oscars. I should mention this all happens in the Phillipines.
The rest of the film follows the two guys making the film and their female assistant as they drive to meet their potential lead actress (Eugene Domingo, playing herself as well as “Mila”) and scout locations around a notorious dump. Meanwhile, they debate casting, whether making the unfortunate sold child a boy would be edgier (and thus more likely to earn awards), and so on. We see the same story rerun with a different cast and in different styles — docudrama, weepy melodrama, even a musical, with pretty good songs. Ms. Domingo’s explanation of the “three styles of acting” is a highlight.
This is 87 minutes of lightly satirical fluff, especially enjoyable if you like movies. Even if it’s it in the service of comedy, all the storytelling variations gives a real perspective into fimmaking. I also enjoyed hearing the way the characters fluidly elided between English and Filipino. But everything else about this, a big hit at home, is a reminder that film is a universal language.
IMDb link
viewed 10/28/2012 at Ritz Bourse [Philadelphia Film Festival screening] and reviewed 10/28/2012
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