Indie films, where are thou?

“Where are the indie films?”

Ayn, my cinemate, groaned.

At Robinsons’ Mall, I told her. That was the time that the Cinemalaya pips were peddling their wares, encouraging teachers to, eherm, require students to watch the films. For the students, it was a chance to goof off – legally. For the organizers, it meant revenues. Hey, at P70 a pop, these films don’t come cheap.

No, no, no… she said.

“Not just the Filipino indie films… why is it that we have practically very little access to indie films in general?”

She complained that she saw the poster for the movie Juno in Robinsons, but when she came back a few days later, the poster was replaced with a Star Cinema outing. Ellen Page looked uncannily like Anne Curtis-Smith.

She cited a list of films she liked. Little Miss Sunshine. There Will be Blood. No Country for Old Men. Modern classics all.

“Haven’t found those titles in the marquee,” she said, attacking her sizzling spare ribs with ferocity, as though the steak was responsible for the blacklist.

I did, I assured her. But they were gone faster than you can say Gore Verbinski.

While movies like Supapalicious and Ang Cute ng Ina Mo are raking in the moolah.

Makes you want to cry. In frustration, I helped her attack her steak too.

Revisiting the Classics

Decided to revisit the classics last night, starting with Casablanca.
*Sigh* I really have to say this: Good dialog has gone the way of the panda. And unless there’s some serious screwing going on, the species might just vanish.
Consider the exchange:

Captain Renault: This is the end of the chase.
Rick: Twenty thousand francs says it isn't.
Captain Renault: Is that a serious offer?
Rick: I just paid out twenty. I'd like to get it back.
Captain Renault: Make it ten. I'm only a poor corrupt official.

Said with the just the right kind of Bogart crispness, with Claude Rains (as Captain Renault) giving a self-aware sneer as he delivered the last line, it was a dialogue that gives us a peek into the souls of the characters.

And then there’s another:
Ugarte: Too bad about those two German couriers, wasn't it?
Rick: They got a lucky break. Yesterday they were just two German clerks. Today they're the "Honored Dead".
Ugarte: You are a very cynical person, Rick, if you'll forgive me for saying so.
Rick: [shortly] I forgive you.

Call it whatever you want. The dryness of the delivery, the right amount of zing, the unforced humor. One of the best scripts celebrated now is Juno, but the one-liners seemed so contrived, much of the movie felt like one night in the Vegas Comic Circuit.

I’m keeping a promise to myself now: I will be watching one classic movie per night, if the schedule allows me. Who knows, it might be a beginning of a beautiful friendship.