Criticine 4! Sa wakas! Tell your neighbors, tell your friends!
For what purpose does a film journal exist today? Is it necessary? What function should it serve?
These questions, seemingly simple but with answers that are fiercely debatable, are ones that I began to think about after listening to the podcast called "Tracking Film Cultures" from a recent CD-ROM issue of Vertigo. The podcast, a dialogue between Cahiers Du Cinema editor Jean-Michel Frodon and the editors of UK-Based film magazine Vertigo, spoke mostly in reference to print-film journals, but I believe many of the points addressed are relevant for online publications as well. Jean-Michel made a strong point, and one that I agreed with, standing firm that the critical journal:
.. is now more necessary than ever, because everything is more accessible than ever, which means that everyone is left... is not alone, but is left facing all the opportunities, and we know that none of us is alone, there is someone very close to our ear, and that someone is called 'the market'. The market is whispering in everybody's ear what [they] should see, and we know that the more things are accessible, the more everybody is tempted to see the same thing. And then facing that there are different structures, not only magazines but obviously magazines, to propose, to build the access to desire to other things than what the market is telling you to see at this very moment, which is showing in all multiplexes at the same time...
I do believe that with other bodies, including film festivals [and] including teachers, there is more work for us to do now than ever to build this alternative relationship with cinema.
And the other thing which has to be done, I think, which Cahiers is trying to do and I see Vertigo is also trying to do, is to use cinema to understand the world we live in.
How does one go about facing this challenge, of building this alternative relationship to cinema? First by covering and writing about it (this issue includes new reviews on Amir Muhammad's The Last Communist, Azharr Rudin's The Amber Sexalogy, Dennis Marasigan's Sa North Diversion Road, a feature on Uruphong Raksasad and a reflection on recent highlights from a foreign SEA cinema chronicler), and then trying to make it come alive (with engaging pieces on older films that deserve an audience wider than the ones they have gotten, like Apichatpong's Tropical Malady- which has never shown in the Philippines- and Mysterious Object at Noon, Lino Brocka's Bona, and the cinema of Thai experimental filmmaker Sasithorn Ariyavicha), but also to look at what is happening critically (as is done in the review of the film Singapore Dreaming and the newly pressed book Singapore Cinema, and a piece that looks critically on the current cinematic resurgence in the Philippines).
Criticine is proud to announce a new partnership with the Thai language film journal Bioscope (http://www.bioscopemagazine.com), a wonderful journal whose activities and reach extend beyond the written page into the organization of screenings, contest organizing, book publishing, DVD producing, and film commissioning. Criticine will be translating into English selected Bioscope articles on Thai cinema, and Bioscope in turn will have permission to translate selected Criticine articles into Thai for their publication. An exciting exchange, and I feel an important one, that is directly in the spirit of the vision we have for Criticine.
With the release of this fourth issue this November 2006, Criticine celebrates its first birthday. We'd like to thank all of our contributors for their challenging ideas, our copy-editor and translators for their gracious service, and our readers for making it all worthwhile. We hope we've helped you understand the world we live in just a little bit better, and look forward doing so more in the future.
Alexis A. Tioseco
Editor, Criticine
[This issue is dedicated to Leonardo Lilles Tioseco.]
INSIDE CRITICINE 4:
Interviews:
A Conversation with Sasithorn Ariyavicha pt.1
"There are Thais who make these kinds of films?" Bioscope's Graiwoot introduces us to the experimental cinema of Sasithorn Ariyavicha.
Features:
Gazing with Fresh Eyes
Over a year has passed since Gertjan Zuilhof presented his S.E.A. Eyes At the IFFR. Here, he takes a moment to reflect on recent rumblings.
Mysterious Objects: On the early works of Apichatpong
How did a haircut create an opportunity for a first time filmmaker? Criticine reprints an early article by Bioscope editor Suparp on the early works of Joe.
Uruphong Raksasad: Self-sufficiency moviemaking
If there are such things as 'Otop films', Uruphong Raksasad's documentaries about his northern hometown are their prime specimen.
Monster!: I survive through other people's memories.
Thai critic Graiwoot Chulphongsathorn hasn't forgotten the Thai premiere of "Tropical Malady". He recreates the experience for us in this detailed analysis of Joe's mysterious work.
Revolutions Happen Like Refrains in a Song*
*(Or rather, are declared as often):
Amidst a State of Dependence, A New Philippine Cinema is Born. Alexis Tioseco challenges notions of independence in the burgeoning Philippine cinema.
Reviews:
Bona
Bona: martyr or monster? Noel Vera revisits Lino Brocka's classic tale of obsession and stardoom.
Book: Singapore Cinema
Benjamin Mckay serves as our critical guide through Raphael Millet's handsomely produced book, "Singapore Cinema"
The Last Communist
Amir Mummad, touted in Film Comment magazine as "the world's funniest Muslim filmmaker", delivers his latest essay film, "The Last Communist", on Chin Peng.
The Amber Sexalogy
Malaysia indie cinema staple Azharr Rudin is a name to watch. Benjamin McKay unravels his sophisticated experimental sextet, "The Amber Sexalogy"
Singapore Dreaming
The HDB and beyond (or beyond the HDB): Vinita Ramani looks at the latest local film to have made noise in Singapore.
On The North Diversion Road
Before Abbas. 10 conversations, 10 characters, 2 actors, 1 car: Dennis Marasigan adapts Tony Perez's infamous play on infidelity.