MMFF 2023：电影从最差到最佳排名

目前延长的马尼拉大都会电影节 (MMFF) 将于 1 月 14 日星期二结束，希望参赛作品能在收银台上赚到更多钱。

The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is set to conclude on Tuesday, January 14, and everyone is hoping that the entries will perform well at the box office.

马尼拉大都会电影节 (MMFF) 将于 1 月 14 日星期二闭幕，大家都希望影片能取得良好的票房成绩。

However, it is no longer a secret that this year's edition — the golden one, no less — has been a disappointment, especially in terms of box office performance.

然而，今年的版本（同样是黄金版）令人失望，尤其是在票房表现方面，这已不再是秘密。

So, what went wrong? For one, the high admission prices are no longer affordable for the masses, who used to consider movies as the cheapest form of entertainment. And then, there’s Netflix and other forms of streaming services that are accessible to everyone.

那么，到底出了什么问题呢？其一，高昂的门票价格不再是大众所能承受的，他们过去认为电影是最便宜的娱乐形式。然后，还有 Netflix 和其他形式的流媒体服务，每个人都可以访问。

Also, in spite of the claims of the MMFF people that they have a good batch of films this year, their 49th edition still offered better choices. There was the historical epic Gomburza, for instance. Even the horror entry in this ongoing filmfest, Espantaho, would come out pale as a ghost compared to last year’s Mallari.

另外，尽管MMFF人士声称今年的影片数量不错，但第49届MMFF仍然提供了更好的选择。例如，有历史史诗《Gomburza》。即使是正在举办的电影节中的恐怖片《Espantaho》，与去年的《马拉里》相比也显得苍白如鬼。

Of course, there was the feel-good Rewind which earned close to 900 million pesos in 2023. All in all, last year’s festival grossed over a billion, while the current one has yet to reach P600 million as of this writing.

当然，还有让人感觉良好的《Rewind》，它在 2023 年的收入接近 9 亿比索。总而言之，去年的音乐节总收入超过 10 亿比索，而截至本文撰写时，当前的音乐节尚未达到 6 亿比索。

Even in terms of artistic value, it’s slim pickings this year for the filmfest. But then, there are still some entries worth watching.

即使就艺术价值而言，今年电影节的选择也很少。不过，还是有一些作品值得一看。

Below, let us rank the MMFF movies — artistic-wise — from 10 (being the lousiest) to 1 (being the best):

下面，让我们从艺术角​​度对 MMFF 电影进行排名，从 10（最差）到 1（最好）：

10. Hold Me Close

10.抱紧我

— Based on a Korean drama, the story of this film goes to Japan, but gets lost there. It’s a movie by Jason Paul Laxamana, who is a reliable enough film director. 100 Tula Para Kay Stella is his best movie — and, hmm, his only commercially successful one.

— 改编自韩剧，故事前往日本，却迷失在那里。这是杰森·保罗·拉克萨马纳（Jason Paul Laxamana）的电影，他是一位足够可靠的电影导演。 《100 Tula Para Kay Stella》是他最好的电影，也是他唯一一部在商业上取得成功的电影。

His most recent work, Hold Me Close, however, is not only the lowest-ranking in terms of box office, but also the most artistically inferior among the entries in this soon-to-be-concluded film festival.

而他的最新作品《紧紧抱住我》，不仅在票房上排名垫底，在艺术性上也是最差的。

In the movie, the moneyed Carlo Aquino goes to Japan to sell ... squid?! Heck, it’s not even his own stall. It is owned by his soon to be inamorata Julia Barretto and her brothers.

电影里，有钱的卡罗·阿基诺去日本卖……鱿鱼？！哎呀，这甚至不是他自己的摊位。它的所有者是他即将爱上的朱莉娅·巴雷托 (Julia Barretto) 和她的兄弟们。

Julia has the power to determine if a person is positive or negative through her sense of touch. It’s a very unreliable barometer — and a complicated one.

朱莉娅有能力通过触觉来判断一个人是积极还是消极。这是一个非常不可靠的晴雨表，而且是一个复杂的晴雨表。

The explanation as to how this movie got into the filmfest is far simpler. Viva needed to field an entry — and so the company sent this one, hardly promoting it because, well, from all aspects, it’s a dud. Let’s just say Hold Me Close is a token entry. Low-budget and practically zero in terms of promo. It may fare better in Netflix.

关于这部电影如何进入电影节的解释要简单得多。 Viva 需要提交一份参赛作品，因此该公司发送了这篇参赛作品，但几乎没有对其进行宣传，因为从各个方面来看，它都是一个烂作品。假设“抱紧我”是一个令牌条目。预算低，促销几乎为零。 Netflix 的表现可能会更好。

9. Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital

9. 奇怪的频率：台湾杀手医院

— This horror film casts real-life celebrities as themselves. And so we have the likes of Enrique Gil, Jane de Leon, MJ Lastimosa, Alexa Miro, Rob Gomez and two social media personalities. Their goal is to hit three million views and they believe this is possible by flying to Taiwan where they plan to penetrate an abandoned hospital believed to be haunted.

— 这部恐怖电影以现实生活中的名人为主角。我们有 Enrique Gil、Jane de Leon、MJ Lastimosa、Alexa Miro、Rob Gomez 和两位社交媒体名人。他们的目标是达到 300 万次观看次数，他们相信通过飞往台湾可以实现这一目标，他们计划深入一家据信闹鬼的废弃医院。

They know their mission poses a lot of risks, since many have tried prior to them — with deathly consequences. But they proceed anyway. And so, we see an assembly of the most idiotic people this side of the continent. Seriously, are there people like that?

他们知道他们的任务会带来很多风险，因为许多人在他们之前就已经尝试过——并带来了致命的后果。但他们还是继续前进。因此，我们看到非洲大陆这一边最愚蠢的人聚集在一起。说真的，有这样的人吗？

They know their mission poses a lot of risks, since many have tried prior to them — with deathly consequences. But they proceed anyway. And so, we see an assembly of the most idiotic people this side of the continent. Seriously, are there people like that?

他们知道他们的任务会带来很多风险，因为许多人在他们之前就已经尝试过——并带来了致命的后果。但他们还是继续前进。因此，我们看到非洲大陆这一边最愚蠢的人聚集在一起。说真的，有这样的人吗？

In the hospital, we see how death befalls them. Do we care? No, we actually cheer because they deserve such fate.

在医院里，我们看到死亡如何降临到他们身上。我们关心吗？不，我们实际上欢呼，因为他们应得这样的命运。

The film has its good side though. It’s basically well-polished technically, particularly the sound design.

不过这部电影也有好的一面。它在技术上基本上是经过精心打磨的，尤其是声音设计。

8. ... And The Breadwinner is

8. ...养家糊口的人是

— Vice Ganda’s best filmfest entry is still 2019’s The Mall, the Merrier. The Breadwinner shows a different Vice Ganda though — as a dramatic actor. And he’s good.

— Vice Ganda 的最佳电影节作品仍然是 2019 年的《The Mall, the Merrier》。不过，《养家糊口的人》展现了一个不同的副甘达——作为一名戏剧演员。他很好。

While most parts of the film are funny, some 20 per cent is devoted to serious, annoying family drama. Some talents here also go to waste given their thankless roles: Gladys de Castro, Jhong Hilario, Malou de Guzman and, especially, Eugene Domingo, who comes in late — almost an afterthought — in the story.

虽然影片的大部分内容都很有趣，但大约 20% 的内容是关于严肃、烦人的家庭剧。这里的一些人才也因为他们吃力不讨好的角色而被浪费了：格拉迪斯·德·卡斯特罗、钟·希拉里奥、马卢·德·古兹曼，尤其是尤金·多明戈，他在故事中出现得很晚——几乎是事后才想到的。

Surprisingly, the ones who shine here are Maris Racal and Anthony Jennings, fresh from their December scandal. Of course, Vice Ganda is his usual funny and

令人惊讶的是，这里最耀眼的是 Maris Racal 和 Anthony Jennings，他们刚刚从 12 月份的丑闻中走出来。当然，Vice Ganda 还是他一贯的搞笑和