connect, disconnect

during my debilitated state, i was reading, re-reading blogs about Filipino films, recalling all the great movies of the past.  there were loads of wonderful pinoy classics from the 50's to the 80's.  the output became quite so-so in the 90's until now.  that's just me being set in my old ways.  it's not entirely mediocre, it just depends on one's afiliation.  there are loads of showbusiness practitioners in Philippine cinema today, whether they have the acting chops or not is debatable.  will their stars continue to shine for decades?  who knows what the future brings?  it depends on career strategy,  will they make mistakes or the right decisions.

to continue the high school trend since Easy A, let's tackle the pinoy movie genre. of all the pinoy plots and melodramas set in a high school, after all these years, i only like one movie. 14 going steady (1984) was created to produce a new bunch of regal babies after maricel, snooky etc.  janice de belen was the highest-billed star in this flick, deservedly so because all others were newcomers.  janice was flordeluna and i was an avid viewer of flordeluna.  i was ten when i watched this on my own probably in Holiday theatre beside City Hall where my mom worked.

directed by  joey gosiengfiao, set in a private high school.  janice (maita) is rich. gretchen (lualhati) is poor. nadia (bobby) is middle-class and going through puberty. lualhati pretends to be rich and wants to be like maita. the film is about courtship, raging hormones, formation of an identity and all the stuff a typical teenager grapple and confound with in their daily interactions. i like the school paper angle.  can't wait to watch this again.  too bad i don't have cinema one.