17 November 2023 – Film enthusiasts, local officials and media flocked to Gateway Cineplex for the opening night of the QCinema International Film Festival, which featured the debut of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things in Southeast Asia. This Venice Film Festival winner of the Golden Lion award is a fitting addition to the film festival’s lineup, as QCinema aims to take the festival experience up a notch in line with its 11th year theme, “Elevated.”
The 10-day festival features 60+ titles divided into a total of 10 sections – 7 sections for exhibition screenings and 3 sections for competition. And with its new programs and initiatives, QCinema aims to be more inclusive to all festival-goers.
“There is value in taking a risk in showing people something that is new to them,” festival director Ed Lejano says, talking about the tour de force of titles they are bringing to the table in this year’s QCinema.
QC Mayor Joy Belmonte, Guest Speaker QC 1st District Rep Hon. Juan Carlos C. Atayde, and QCIFF Festival Artistic Director Ed Lejano are in attendance on the Opening Night.
There is no film more fitting to open this celebration of the arts than Poor Things. While the flow of the film parallels a coming-of-age story that we are familiar with, the treatment Lanthimos brought to the silver screen is unlike any other. Even with obvious differences from his early work such as Dogtooth, both films still dance to the same music by evoking discomfort with their peculiar treatment and presentation and the use of themes that hit close to home.
Photo courtesy of Poor Things Official Trailer by Searchlight Pictures
Poor Things follows the story of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a Frankenstein-like creation of unorthodox surgeon Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), who she refers to as “God.” When Godwin Baxter brings an apprentice (Ramy Youssef) home to track Bella’s development, it appears to the assistant that Bella’s brain lags behind her body in terms of maturity level. He soon finds out that she is the result of Godwin saving a pregnant woman who took her own life – Godwin placed her unborn child’s brain inside her body, which gave her child the chance to live without reviving the woman who had willingly taken her own life. This is mostly where the sci-fi in the film takes place, as most of the scenes that follow are oddly relatable moments following the protagonist’s story.
Bella soon meets Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), who brings her outside the confines of God’s home for the first time in her life. Here’s when saturated colors replace the black and whites of the first half of the film, both literally and figuratively. We see Bella immersed in the outside world in a setting that treads the line between traditional and futuristic, and we find ourselves in awe at how the filmmakers carefully crafted this environment. From the antiquated wardrobe to animated cable cars, this world is one we have never seen before and makes it worth applauding those working behind the scenes. In this retro-futuristic world, Bella discovers the joys of sexual awakening, cries at the pains of hunger and poverty, defies social and gender norms, and experience a lot more things that move her childish mind to blossom into the liberated woman she is in the film’s closing sequence.
The story brings a balance of emotions, quirks, humor and social commentary, all while we watch Bella Baxter transform into a more worldly adult. The twists and turns as we jump from one act to another are weirdly relatable, but the storytelling of Lanthimos along with excellent production brings us an elevated experience. As we grow to love Bella Baxter’s self-discovery, it is hard to imagine anyone else playing her role. From the explicit sex scenes to the iconic dance number in Lisbon, Emma Stone perfected every single bit of Bella’s transformation. A personal favorite is her dramatic scene in Alexandria upon seeing the face of cruelty and death. Stone’s acting prowess is truly a standout in this piece, and it won’t be a surprise if she bags her second Oscar this time.
Poor Things delivers an over-the-top epic with its fantastic visual storytelling and stellar performance of the cast. Lanthimos effectively paralleled Frankenstein with this post-modern film adaptation, resulting in an incredible masterpiece, almost paralleling how “God” reinvented Bella Baxter to become the brilliant creation that she is.
Photo courtesy of Poor Things Official Trailer by Searchlight Pictures
Watch the Poor Things screenings on November 18, 8:30 PM at Gateway Cinema 5 and November 25, 6:30 PM in Shangri-la Cinema 3.
The QCinema International Film Festival will run from November 17 to 26 at select cinemas in Metro Manila. Tickets will be sold at PHP 250, with discounts applicable to students, senior citizens, and Quezon City citizens. Find out more about the rest of the films in the lineup here.