THERE is an old song called “And When October Goes” and when I tell you it is by Barry Manilow, you will guess it is a cheesy song. Well, not that cheesy, but with lots of sentiment and great drama. I will confess: I got to know about the song not by way of Manilow but through the cover of the inimitable Nancy Wilson. When at last I heard the version of Rosemary Clooney, I was hooked to the seemingly spontaneous melody of the song: The children running home beneath the twilight sky/Oh for the fun of them/When I was one of them.
October is such a precarious month. There is a tentative feel to it. Nothing happens in October that marks a distinct season.
It is the month before November with its Halloween. And then, there is December with its Christmas.
In my diary, however, October is a calendar filled with many events. Before October goes, mark these events:
The Spanish Film Festival opened yesterday, October 7, at Greenbelt in Makati with an invitational premiere of Felices 140. The opening cocktail was held in the Ayala Museum at 6 pm.
In his review of Felices, The Hollywood Reporter’s Jonathan Holland talks about its director: “Gracia Querejeta has a reputation for spearing the hypocrisies of the Spanish middle-class via solid, quietly-spoken, character-based dramas. Maribel Verdun, who wowed us in Y Tu Mama Tambien, stars in this film as Elia who wins huge in a lottery and there unspools a plot that is both wicked and charming.
From a director who started in Spanish cinema comes a thriller called Regression. The filmmaker is Alejandro Amenabar, who gained international reputation with The Sea Inside, and redefined the horror genre with The Others. In this new film, Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson are part of a narrative about a family in Minnesota being investigated for engaging in Satanic rituals. Hawke plays Bruce Kenner, whose personality is given to obsessive traits that allow him to probe into the case and look into the dark side of his own character.
Emma Watson plays Angela, a young woman who loses her mother in an accident and finds refuge in religion. Kenner’s encounter with Angela will bring the latter to help solve the puzzle of the demonic rites. Watson, who is all grown-up now, will always be remembered for her work in the Harry Potter series.
Regression is Amenabar’s sixth feature film and the third he has done in English. The film, an offering of Pioneer Films, opens on October 14.
Who remembers the Cold War? With globalization connecting Russia and countries that were then part of what was known as Soviet Union, it is almost impossible to think that these countries and the Free World—the term is really dated—used to be hard-core enemies. That period could be remembered as years made elegant and dark and menacing by spies. The film Bridge of Spies is exactly that kind of film to make us remember with caution and nostalgia those years. Tom Hanks stars in this thriller as James Donovan, a lawyer from Brooklyn who finds himself involved in the negotiation for the release of an American pilot. The CIA and the KGB, two names shrouded in cloak-and-dagger mystery in those years, provide the backdrop for the heroic journey of Donovan. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Bridge of Spies is from 20th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros. The film opens also on October 14.
Rumors, gossip and all, Keanu Reeves remains a hot leading man. In a film called Knock, Knock, Reeves is a happily married man who one day, when he is all alone at home, receives two very attractive female visitors who seduce him. That begins the unfolding and disclosing of his life something that is beyond his control.
Eli Roth, the same man who helmed Hostel, directs Knock, Knock, explains the premise of the film as about the fragility of the world we build to live in. Described as an erotic thriller, Knock, Knock is distributed by OctoArts International and opens also on October 14.
The month of October is also the Indigenous Peoples Month. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) celebrates this event yearly through the Dayaw Festival, reputedly the biggest gathering of indigenous peoples. Organizing the festival is the NCCA’s Subcommission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts. For this year, Dayaw will have the theme: “Katutubong Kaalaman Para Sa Kalikasan at Kapayapaan” (Indigenous Knowledge for Environment and Peace).
Dayaw is known for its interesting range of activities, which include forum on issues that concern indigenous peoples, performance of dances and presentation of rituals and ceremonials, cultural exchanges and encounters, arts and craft exhibit, culinary and traditional cuisine production, and many others. Dayaw will be held from October 15 to 17 in Angeles City and San Fernando, Pampanga.
And when October goes and before it does, let me to rectify what I consider a grave lapse on my part. In my review of Taklub (See BusinessMirror, Reeling, October 1, 2015), I cited the name of Julio Diaz as the estranged husband of Bebeth (Nora Aunor).
It was a brilliant scene, a gem of a scene, and it involved the vastly underrated Soliman Cruz engaging Aunor in a quiet interaction. Not Julio Diaz, as I wrote. So there.
Before October goes, I fly off to Tokyo on October 20, on the special invitation from the International Relations of the Tokyo International Film Festival and the Japan Foundation Asia Center. The privilege will allow me to attend not only the Tokyo International Film Festival but also the Japan Content Showcase and its film and TV market place.
It will be autumn in Tokyo, and the song “And When October Goes” will finally not be out of sync with my person. I lived in the city for many years as a student and researcher, and this fall should be a homecoming. My playlist now includes Eva Cassidy’s lament in the form of the song “Autumn Leaves,” but the list includes as well the blues and dirges of the great Billie Holiday. I will play all these songs as I walk the dark streets of Ueno and bask in the gaudy lights of Shinjuku. And then, of course, there is Roppongi Hills—and the tony cafés that play Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald all day. But first, a sip of the great coffee of the immortal Doutor, the best-kept secret of Tokyo and its other cities.
Autumn in Japan. What a gift.