Catch these Mike De Leon classics on-screen this November
The line-up features Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai too
This November 17-26, QCinema International Film Festival will celebrate restored classics. Featured works in this edition are Mike de Leon’s ‘Itim (The Rites of May)’ and ‘Kisapmata (In the Wink of an Eye)’ and Wong Kar-wai’s ‘In The Mood for Love’.
Apart from its QCinema screening, the restored version of ‘Kisapmata’ (1981), will also be shown at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, which is currently doing a retrospective on Mike de Leon for the entire month of November. Titled ‘Mike de Leon, Self-Portrait of a Filipino Filmmaker’, MoMA’s website referred to the director as “one of Filipino cinema’s fiercely political and dramatic storytellers in his own right.”
Starring Charo Santos, Vic Silayan, Jay Ilagan, and Charito Solis, ‘Kisapmata’ is Mike de Leon’s take on the Cabading family murder-suicide case. Inspired by Nick Joaquin’s ‘House on Zapote Street’ crime report, the multi-awarded film is regarded as one of Philippine cinema’s most horrifying in history.
De Leon’s 107-minute-long psychological drama ‘Itim’ (1976), recently premiered as a Cannes Classic at the Cannes Film Festival.
Voted as the Gawad Urian best film of the decade (1970-1979), the film stars Charo Santos in her first feature together with Tommy Abuel, Mario Montenegro, and Mona Lisa.
‘Itim’ follows a young photographer from Manila returning to visit his paralyzed father in his hometown. On his visit, he documents the place’s Holy Week rites where he meets a mysterious woman named Teresa who is haunted by her sister’s death.
Deemed one of the best romantic movies ever made, In The Mood for Love (2000) by Wong Kar-wai features two broken-hearted people who find solace in each other. The film stars Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung.
Known for his non-linear narratives and unique cinematography, the film by the Hong Kong director is listed as one of the major works produced by Asian cinema.
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