Kusina

Kusina - a film with heart / rating 7:10 --- Caught this one at Cinemalaya 2016. No expectations at all, although I somehow knew it would be a quality film because of the leading actress (Judy Ann Santos, an icon of Filipino film and TV).

The film starts off in the early 1940s, in the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the invasion of Japanese forces. We meet a young Juanita, who is doted upon by her grandmother and learns the art of cooking (Filipino cooking - with all of its gorgeous textures and meals - see: pinakbet, adobo, ginataan, etc.). Cooking becomes a metaphor for love and loving. Cooking becomes Juanita's tool to connect with the people around her - her father, her grandmother, her husband, her kids. As tragedy and heartbreak mar her life as she courses through womanhood and the history of the country itself (no spoilers here), cooking becomes her refuge.

Albeit for some technical misgivings (sound, lighting, etc.), "Kusina" does its best with adapting the screenplay (Palanca award 2006) to film, presenting it in black box theater form - the setting is the kitchen throughout the whole film.

Worth the watch.

Kusina is a comeback film by Judy Ann Santos. It's a non-Star Cinema film and an indie film entry to Cinemalaya.

The story is very simple, it's about a glimpse of a life of a woman through decades. The movie mostly set in the kitchen. We see her from her in the kitchen from childhood to an adult in different time lines.

What's the main problem I got in this movie is that at times it's confusing. You don't know that a situation has ended if you don't listen to what they saying.

What makes this a worth recommended is that its like watching a live opera in a theater. I've seen a film like this. Set only in the kitchen, if you listen carefully what the characters saying yes it's just OK. You will never lost in a scene.

As a whole,the acting is superb especially Judy Ann Santos, the movie may be dull but it's interesting and it's a worth a look for its rarity.