Chopsuey.

Movies watched: Dead Calm (Kidman), Awakenings (DeNiro, Williams), and Chopsuey (Romana, Pascual).

I’d like to say a few words about Chopsuey: it’s the first Filipino movie I really love. I refrain myself from watching Filipino movies (one of my reasons would be its dull storylines and dry concepts -  it will always be about superheroes with magical powers, the overrated love with tragic accidents like amnesia, or the usual stuff), though I’m not really against Filipino movies. So maybe I’m not really nationalistic in terms of movie-watching but I have my own ‘convincing’ set of reasons.

The uniqueness of Chopsuey’s storyline sets it apart from the mainstream. It’s about the Chinese-Filipino culture here in the Philippines, and how they live with the strict and age-old traditions of the Chinese which might not be applicable with the contemporary cultures of today. Piolo Pascual, Dimples Romana, Krista Ranillo and Andrea del Rosario acted as four Chinese sibilings of an agreed (or whatever you call it: forced?) marriage – which is one of the traditions they despise the most. Though this movie is obviously about love, the different hindrances and complications make the story more puzzling and touching as well.

I like the way they act (especially Dimples Romana and her speech about being the queen of the marketplace since it’s the only thing she enjoyed most because her Chinese husband treats her not as a wife but as a mere housemaid), the cinematography, the script and the flow of the story.

Di ko alam kung anong gusto ko. Gusto ko lang, mamalengke! Lilibutin ko lahat ng palengke sa buong pilipinas at bibili ng gulay sa Baguio, ng baboy sa Bulacan, ng itlog ng pugo sa Laguna… At syempre papakainin ko kayong lahat, pero pagdating kay Greg (her husband), hahaluin ko yung sauce nya ng Dora Rat Killer, muriatic acid at pesticide!

I’d better finish this off.