There is no doubt that Mark Meily is a proficient observer of the absurdities of Philippine society. His first two films, Crying Ladies (2003) and La Visa Loca (2005), eschew the phenomena of women being paid to mourn for a recently deceased Chinese businessman and a man getting nailed to a cross to get a U.S. Visa of any serious implications for drama and comedy. Baler (2008), a period piece set during the war for independence where several Spanish soldiers are trapped inside a church as Filipino revolutionaries surround the church, is sadly an unsuccessful turn for Meily, who replaces his gift for finding humor in the deepest darkest recesses of society with trite and unconvincing romance. Fortunately, free from the restrictive clutches of a commercial studio, Meily returns to form with Donor, a hard-hitting black comedy that ostensibly tackles the kidney trade and the ridiculousness of the statutes that attempt to...
- 8/16/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Oscar 2005: Best Foreign-Language Film Entries (Afghanistan to China) Oscar 2005: Best Foreign-Language Film Entries (Croatia to Malaysia) Mexico, Innocent Voices, Luis Mandoki, director; The Netherlands, Simon, Eddy Terstall, director; Norway, Hawaii, Oslo, Erik Poppe, director; Palestine, The Olive Harvest, Hanna Elias, director; Philippines, Crying Ladies, Mark Meily, director; Poland, The Welts, Magdalena Piekorz, director; Portugal, The Miracle According to Salomé, Mário Barroso, director; Romania, Orient-Express, Sergiu Nicolaescu, director; Russia, Night Watch, Timolir Bekmambetov, director; Serbia and Montenegro, Goose Feather, Ljubiša Samardic, director; Slovenia, Beneath Her Window, Metod Pevec, director; South Africa, Yesterday, Darrell Roodt, director; Spain, The Sea Inside, Alejandro Amenabar, director; Sweden, As in Heaven, Kay Pollak, director; Switzerland, Mein Name Ist Bach, Dominique de Rivaz, director; Taiwan, 20 : 30 : 40, Sylvia Chang, director; Thailand, The Overture, Itthisoontorn Vichailak, director; Uruguay, Whisky, Juan Pablo Rebella, Pablo Stoll, directors; Venezuela, [...]...
- 4/19/2009
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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