Leave Nothing but Footprints
anonymous
August 9 2015, 23:38:52 UTC
#AboveTheClouds has a nice storyline BUT it tolerates and/or promote outdoor vandalism as socially acceptable practice of self-proclaimed conquerors (kuno) who visited the mountains - no whatsoever lessons about taking good care of the environment yet the movie portrays that the parents of Andy, one of the lead character, loves that particular mountain but they vandalized.
Re: Leave Nothing but FootprintsialmanAugust 10 2015, 02:09:07 UTC
I agree. I think that the filmmakers cannot hide beneath the veneer of realism or even artistic freedom. As public artists, they have a duty to ring the right bells, to send a clear and unequivocal message about caring for the environment. They may argue that this was unintentional, that it was never their plan to romanticize vandalism, but they should also be equally responsible for the result, for the consequence, however outside the sphere of their ambitions. I'd like them to answer the question: if those vandals were removed, would the film had been less effective, would Andres have been less affected?
RE: Re: Leave Nothing but Footprints
anonymous
August 10 2015, 02:55:09 UTC
One more point that I'd like to add in my comment above, the movie DISRESPECTS the sacredness of the coffins of the dead.
"Kung iyong kabaong kaya ng kamag-anak nila ang buksan ng mga estranghero ng walang pahintulot para lang tingnan ang kalansay na nasa loob, okay lang sa kanila?" (If the coffins of their loveones are opened by the strangers without permission just to see the skeletons inside, is ir okay to them)
Re: Leave Nothing but FootprintsialmanAugust 10 2015, 03:40:04 UTC
Sang-ayon ako sa iyo sa puntong ito. Kahit pa sabihin nilang ginawa lang nila ang kabaong na iyon (props) at walang aktwal na kabaong na ginalaw, sadyang nakapanlulumo ang karakter ni Pepe Smith, na magsasabing napakadalas nyang gawin ang paglalakad sa bundok, na sasabihin pa niyang ang mga espirito ay nagbabantay sa kapaligiran, pero ganun-ganon na lang ang pagbale-wala niya sa mga kaugalian ng mga taga-dun.
Re: Leave Nothing but Footprints
anonymous
August 10 2015, 04:28:30 UTC
An argument was started in Cinephiles Facebook. I was asked what would be my treatment if the vandal part was removed and here's my answer as a scriptwriter myself ---
Vandals are hardest to remove especially if they were carved in stone. As what you said, a photo would be enough. They should've let the stone where it was and it's former state (facing down the soil). Grandfather and grandson will renovate the ancestral home to remove the clutter (the house, with so much clutter, would suffice to symbolise the father's generations of destruction, opening a coffin is not anymore necessary), they will buy picture frames and assemble them all with their photos on a cabinet -- one of the frames will have the "vandal" and Ruru's parents' photos. I see this as a proper and transformative ending.
Re: Leave Nothing but FootprintsialmanAugust 10 2015, 05:07:11 UTC
Your alternative ending actually addresses what I felt was lacking in the film: a sense of denouement. Although there were signs that the characters of Pepe Smith and Ruru Madrid had approached an acceptance of each other, with the grandfather calling his grandson Andy, and the grandson introducing himself as Andres, I think that the act of reaching the summit was empty in itself. Did they finally bridge the divide that resulted from years of separation? Are they less strangers to each other after the experience?
Thanks for sharing your views. I wrote the review from a very specific perspective: that of an outdoorsperson. Glad to see a different view on the matter.
Re: Leave Nothing but Footprints
anonymous
August 10 2015, 06:12:21 UTC
You're welcome! After all, mountaineering is not all about reaching the top. It's all about we going home and bringing what we have learned in your journey to enrich your life and the people around you. Having a resolution at home would have had a great impact. As what another blogger mentioned (I forget the link, I am sorry), "their climb was aimless, only a show of grand cinematography from the top to add beauty to the film".
I hope Pepe Diokno and the entire prod team reads your blog as well as the comments. They have not grasped the true essence of mountaineering in their film.
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"Kung iyong kabaong kaya ng kamag-anak nila ang buksan ng mga estranghero ng walang pahintulot para lang tingnan ang kalansay na nasa loob, okay lang sa kanila?"
(If the coffins of their loveones are opened by the strangers without permission just to see the skeletons inside, is ir okay to them)
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Vandals are hardest to remove especially if they were carved in stone. As what you said, a photo would be enough. They should've let the stone where it was and it's former state (facing down the soil). Grandfather and grandson will renovate the ancestral home to remove the clutter (the house, with so much clutter, would suffice to symbolise the father's generations of destruction, opening a coffin is not anymore necessary), they will buy picture frames and assemble them all with their photos on a cabinet -- one of the frames will have the "vandal" and Ruru's parents' photos. I see this as a proper and transformative ending.
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Thanks for sharing your views. I wrote the review from a very specific perspective: that of an outdoorsperson. Glad to see a different view on the matter.
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I hope Pepe Diokno and the entire prod team reads your blog as well as the comments. They have not grasped the true essence of mountaineering in their film.
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