Filipinos really love watching films. And Filipinos love making films as well. Top-notch producers Star Cinema, Regal Films, Viva Films, GMA Films and other film-making productions in the industry always come up with new movies almost every two weeks to a month, offering different genres, different (or can we say almost similar) stories. But at the end of the film, there are always two questions that come out of our minds -- Did we enjoy the film? And is the film worth paying-for?
Last Monday in our Pop Culture class, we discussed the Theory of Commodity Fetishism, and we emphasized more on the USE VALUE and EXCHANGE VALUE. Use Value would refer to the usefulness of the good for the one who consumes it, and how practical it is for us to buy it while Exchange Value is the money that a commodity can command to the market or the cost depends on its popularity or scarcity of that commodity.
Obviously, for Philippine TV, we cannot actually analyze its value in Use and Exchange because it is free, as long as you have a TV set in your house, then money won't be an issue (unless you're a TV addict like me and that consumes your more than half of the Meralco bill.). But Filipino films are in a different case.
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Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin movie poster. This
1993 film stars Maricel Soriano and
Zsa-Zsa Padilla with Gabby Concepcion |
Let us use, for that matter, one of the most popular genres/plot lines in the industry today - the 'mistress' films. These films have been existent already in the early times - with titles such as 'Langis at Tubig', 'My Other Woman', 'Nagalit ang Buwan Sa Haba ng Gabi', 'Relasyon' and 'Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin' - until now in the modern times - 'A Love Story', 'A Secret Affair', 'The Bride and The Lover', 'The Mistress', 'No Other Woman' and 'When the Love is Gone' (which is actually a remake of Nagalit...). A Secret Affair, The Mistress and No Other Woman were certified box office hits reaching more than a hundred million ticket sales. But is spending an almost-200-peso ticket worth it?
Well, for me, I am a fan of these films and I can say that it's worth it. After all, I am a fan. I can endlessly watch these films and after I buy the ticket and watch the movie, once the DVD copy is released, I would buy it too. BUT for the non-fans, would they watch those kinds of films? We are not sure. I am not sure. People have different preferences and we cannot question that. Also, people have different priorities. But as I watch those films and read reviews, I can really say that they are worth the money I paid for. These films have the same genre, but they tackle different issues. They don't offer the same acts and stories...or do they?
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No Other Woman is a 2011 mistress movie produced
by Star Cinema and Viva Films |
Let's take No Other Woman and A Secret Affair as an example. Many regarded A Secret Affair as a 'part two' of No Other Woman basically because Anne Curtis and Derek Ramsay are starring in the film again and another affair will be tackled. But when you watch the film, it's different. No Other Woman is about a woman fighting for his husband after discovering that the husband has an affair with another woman, while A Secret Affair is about a woman who did not come to her wedding after having a cold feet, and later on, discovers that her fiancee had an affair with her sorority sister after the cancelled wedding. The two films had different and realistic endings too. In NOW, Cristine Reyes (the wife) and Derek Ramsay (the husband) moved on and stayed married after a catfight with Anne (the mistress) while in ASA, Anne Curtis (the girlfriend) rejected the second wedding proposal of her boyfriend Derek Ramsay after realizing that she cannot trust him anymore. Another difference is that in NOW, the characters are already married while in ASA, the characters are not. So I guess, watching both films in the cinemas are okay and worth it, since the cast in both films gave an impressive acting as well plus they are worth to be called as films.
If there are movies that are not so-worthy of watching, maybe those are the films that do not bring any message to the viewers, but only to showcase that they can produce or make something to show to the public. But can you question the moviegoers? Of course not. After all, movies are created to entertain. But if at the end of the film, you'll ask yourself where did your money go, think again. It's your decision after all, not the moviemakers.
So, from the latest films that you've watched, most especially that MMFF had just finished its run, are they worth of your time, or not? I was able to watch two, and I can say that the other movie's worth it, while the other is... not? Hahaha! And if you'll ask me what the movies are? Secret! :)
Images courtesy of Wikipedia and Pep.PH
