Watch “Namets” @ Cinemalaya
Watched "Namets" by Jay Abello and Vince Groyon with PJ. Love the script: the wit and humor; the short dialogues, and its subtle discourse on the good, old Negros (nostalgic dito kaya hesitant to embrace ‘progress’ as seen sa character played by Christian Vasquez, a self-proclaimed chef. Ang irony, quite ignorant siya sa local culture dahil sa ‘hang-over’ sa "glorious past" fueled by the boom ng sugar industry) vs. the present-day Negros that is open sa global influences (seen sa character played by Christine Jacob na nakapag-aral sa Switzerland. Embodiment siya ng "think globally, act locally") revealed via local cuisine (lots of sweets and oh yeah, chicken) and landscape (the mountains and the seas, the wet market, the historical landmarks plus the golf course - I’m glad not much of the usual ‘hacienda’ this time). My fave scenes: ‘yung with the bata and Ronnie Lazaro as tatay (dahil sa poverty - contrast sa mundo ng 2 chefs - a father attempted na katayin ang mga alagang hayop ng kanyang anak. Pero dahil sobrang love nga ng anak - binigyan niya ng mga pangalan - na ganun nga sa Panay at Negros - walang magawa ang tatay kundi magparaya. Kumain na lang siya ng gulay:). Saka ‘yung scene sa chicken restaurant where a father tries to educate his children sa proper way ng pagkain/pag-enjoy ng Bacolod inasal. Witty. Brilliant. Gusto ko rin ang opening at last scene, na pinagbidahan pala ni Joel Torre: ang pag-discover ng mga sinaunang tao ng fire at pagkain and how yummy it is. Panalo s’yempre ang acting ni Peque Gallaga as the boss. Perfect talaga for the role. Wala nang iba pa. Pati ang ‘middleman’ na I find satirical - present-day version - ng hacendero-kabo-sacada system. Gusto ko rin ang acting ni Christian Vasquez. On the other hand, I and PJ kept thinking sino kaya ang puwede pa sa role ni Christine (na may Negrense blood (?) at may certain celebrity status) kasi we were distracted sa kanyang Ilonggo accent. Hindi natural. Parang hindi rin masyadong ramdam ang onscreen chemistry nila ni Christian. I was imagining someone na simple - a natural beauty - with a degree of sensuality:) All in all, I’m happy with the film, lalo na dahil it promotes Negros:) Love the shots. Sana manalo:)
