Screen scorchers from Cinema One

TORRE. Delivers a crackerjack portrayal in “Kabisera.”

We’ve had a love-hate “relationship” with Cinema One and its uneven entries—for instance, we loved the storytelling innovations introduced in Richard Somes’ “Yanggaw,” the thematic boldness of Antoinette Jadaone’s “Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay,” and the moving simplicity of Remton Zuasola’s “Ang Damgo Ni Eleuteria”—but, we couldn’t stand the alienating abstractions of “Anak Araw,” the vacuous bluster of “Edsa XXX,” or the meandering pretentions of 2011 Best Picture winner, “Ka Oryang.”

With delayed screenings and canceled exhibitions (Kristian Cordero’s “Angustia”), we find its ninth edition a little disorganized—but, the festival’s current 15-feature film lineup is also the best (and most commercially viable) we’ve seen to date! (As of this writing, we’ve yet to watch four more entries.)

Film to beat

The film to beat is Alfonso Torre III’s briskly paced drama, “Kabisera,” featuring a crackerjack portrayal from Joel Torre as Andres, a fisherman whose simple life is turned upside down when he finds bricks of shabu (crystal methamphetamine) floating in the sea. The film is as much a gripping morality tale as it is a showcase for its actors’ (Torre, Art Acuña, Bing Pimentel) range and thespic depth.

Benji Garcia’s cautionary “Philippino Story” follows the “undefined” relationship of gay painter, Bastian (Mark Gil), and his boytoy Philip (Jun-jun Quintana), who’s “forced” to do sexual favors to support his cash-strapped family. While it isn’t all that original, the movie is well-told and appropriately unsentimental—and Gil’s award-worthy performance is heartbreaking without being cloying.

GIL AND VELEZ. Egoless characterizations in “Philippino Story” and “Bendor,” respectively

Biggest draw

Like 2009’s “Bakal Boys,” Ralston Jover’s “Bendor” effectively mirrors the desperation of its poverty-stricken protagonists. But, the film’s biggest draw is Vivian Velez’s subtle, egoless characterization as a candle vendor in Quiapo—who sells illegal abortifacient pills on the side.

Mes de Guzman’s terrifying but flawed “Sitio” puts a disjointed spin on Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games,” about Jonas (John Prats) and his sisters who find themselves being held hostage by their ancestral farm’s caretakers!

By channeling Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Jet Leyco’s four-act “Bukas Na Lang Sapagkat Gabi Na” is a must-see, because it astutely dramatizes the terrifying and discombobulating horrors of organized religion and militarization. It breaks the triteness and predictability of mainstream storytelling, but does so without alienating viewers.

In Ian Lorenos’ profanity-ridden “Saturday Night Chills,” happy-go-lucky bosom buddies, Mark (Rayver Cruz), Jeff (Joseph Marco) and John (Matteo Guidicelli), belatedly discover that the risks are bigger than the losses when they decide to make a quick buck via gambling and odds-betting. Loreños (“Alagwa”) demonstrates his knack for building suspense and a sense of desperation.

Even Siege Ledesma’s “Shift,” about the “relationship” forged between boyish Estela (Yeng Constantino) and her gay friend, Trevor (Dominic Roco), and Keith Sicat’s convoluted “Woman of the Ruins,” about mysterious Maria (Alessandra de Rossi) who reappears on an island seven years after she inexplicably vanishes, have their charms.

Miko Livelo’s crowd-pleasing “Blu Bustamante” proves that an indie need not be ponderous and bleak to tackle a relevant theme.

Using the Filipino diaspora as a backdrop, it tells the story of engineer George Bustamante (Joem Bascon), who’s forced to play a stunt double for a sentai TV series a la “Voltes V” when he loses his job in Japan.

With a winking tone and winsome portrayals from Bascon and Jun Sabayton (as his loopy confidant, Ramon), the movie is one of the festival’s more entertaining entries!