My Cinemalaya 2011 Experience
Nono by Milo Tolentino
My friends and I really planned to watch the much-hyped Babae sa Septic Tank, but as always with popular films, we weren't lucky enough to catch its screening in Greenbelt during Cinemalaya week.
For those who are not yet aware, it was the first year they actually shown
Cinemalaya films at a venue different from the CCP. (But please let me know if this is a misguided claim from moi)
Anyway, so we missed Septic tank, we all know that those who were able to catch it with seats are the Lucky ones and we ended up viewing "Nono".
Nono, according to a lunchtime kwento by my officemate, is a Netscape movie, meaning this is one of those featured films that have already been shown abroad before the Cinemalaya screenings and have already received awards prior to it's premiere here in the country.
Look at it's poster, see how intriguing and amusing it looks :)
We did not expect anything out of the movie since we have not seen one sentence that describes it in the flyers. But we were in for a big surprise. Nono started out a little rocky, it was too raw for my taste, I told myself. Plus the one acting as a gay man.. you can actually tell he is a straight guy acting as a gay man. The acting as a whole did not look good during the first few scenes and a few minutes into the movie, I was starting to regret spending my precious P150.
But as the story developed, we all started to realize that it was a fun-filled movie, full of heart & emotion. The script is wonderful. Some of the best and funniest scenes were coming, shockingly, from the amateur child actors!
Nono, who's real nickname is Toto, is a little boy suffering from cleft lip and palate and although his face has already been surgically repaired, he still speaks in a muffled manner or in Tagalog, he is what you would call informally as a "ngongo". The actor who plays Nono was really the one who brought the whole movie altogether. He was such a treasure of an actor, young as he was. His confidence was sky high! I truly did believe that he was a young boy begging everyone to believe he can win a declamation and, even more so, write his own piece.
I love Nono. I found myself laughing uncontrollably, and even during the sad scenes, you cannot help but feel sincerely sympathetic for the young boys in movie. I am not a genuine movie critic, but as a simple Filipino looking hopelessly for good & creative Pinoy entertainment, I found love for the Cinemalaya film Nono.
At the end of the film, the whole audience cannot stop themselves from clapping. We were even so privileged to actually meet the stars of the movie. There was a short Q&A with the director and cast. The actors were not like they were in the movie! Proof of my ignorance, because I expected that they would somehow be like themselves in the film. I really admire the people who chose the cast, especially those who picked out the young actors from hordes of wannabe child actors out there. They found pure talent in the children of Nono.
The director, Milo Tolentino,man!, he is surely one to watch out for. And in the next Cinemalaya festivals, I would probably scour the schedule pamphlet for his entry before I try out anything else. Hopefully, he has an entry next year!
I hope that you would be able to catch a screening of this film because it's truly a gem.
Have a good day!,
Kcat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_the_Septic_Tank
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