Min Persona

I was rather intrigued by genre of the film. Psychological films more often than not start of vaguely and progress cryptic. Psychological dramas similar to more psycho-thrillers show the story unfold as the movie progresses. This film sort of gets in your head as it goes along. It’s play on insanity and personal identity which gives the title it’s edge is very appealing. The beauty of films like Persona is the ability for it’s interpretation to be open to the viewers. One thing can be said by a group of viewers and yet if another group completely contradicts that notion, the opposite would also be true.

The film walks a very fine line of psycho-drama/thriller to psycho-horror. It’s scary to think that the act of one personality consuming the other is a far-fetched possibility. But then again, maybe the film is showing us how split-personality disorder is really created. When a person’s personality is fractioned by the cause of another being. The title “Persona” really is spot on as a big underlying theme of the film is played on the character’s identities.

A Woman is Gleefully a Woman

The film plays off it’s rather cheerful storytelling. It builds entertainment with gags on all corners of the movie. I expected nothing less than a masterpiece after knowing it was a big budget film. Plot-wise, it had an interesting twist as Karina, a stripper decides that she wants to have a baby against the wishes of her significant other. What makes this plot interesting to me is that it builds the drama by Karina who then convinces Jean-Claude’s more than willing best friend Jean-Paul.

The movie I still would not consider a musical despite it’s singing and dancing instances. I love the truth behind the movie as I did some research after the film and found out that most of the actors wore their own clothing. Godard created this movie as a secondary feature to his first film “Breathless”. This film although entertaining lacks the cinematic innovation that Breathless had. It was however, a great follow-up.

Heavy Trip

Heavy trip talks about the story of Turo who finds himself unable to get out of his own village, and the only thing that keeps him going at the moment is being the lead vocalist of his amateur band called Impaled Rektum. For 12 years, Turo and his own bandmates have kept practicing and practicing but has never performed at least one gig. They eventually are visited by a person from Norway who happens to be this huge promoter of a heavy metal music festival and they have to decide on what decision to make. Because of which they ended up doing risky and dangerous things just to fulfill their goals and hopes in the end. 

It is uncommon to see a bunch of misfits and weird-looking human beings join together in a band and call it Impaled Rektum. One of the most important elements that resonated with me in the film is the comedic meat that just simply kept you entertained and wanting for more. I mean, who would not want to see a bunch of characters with one wearing heavy makeup and do weird stuff together all for the sake of their band. The passion that resides within each and everyone of them is tremendous and beyond extremes. It shows commitment and love in what they do. Their closeness for each other just adds the little cherry on top. 

As you get yourself into the first few minutes of the film, you can see that it is not one of those films that nails deep in your emotions trying to suck every ounce of feeling in you. In fact, it is a very playful and whimsical film to watch due to it comedic element and the variety of jokes and laughs that were exchanged. In a way, the film did well in providing that experience to their audience. Other than that, it makes you learn to appreciate the genre of heavy metal and how individuals like it let it sink in their lives. Heavy metal is under appreciated until now and having this movie be released in 2018 is a good thing as it will allow the audience to get to know this music genre given that it is not one of the first options of people. 

Although many people claim to have a stereotype for these kinds of people, “Heavy Trip” allows you to look inside the hearts and minds of these very individuals who appreciate that sort of lifestyle and have a difference in interests. I have to say, heavy metal is as important as every music genre and should not be judged or undermined by anyone. 

The Edukators (2004)

The Edukators (2004) is a German-Austrian crime drama following three young activists who break into homes to rearrange the furniture of wealthy homeowners for the purpose of leaving political messages. The film is left-leaning through and through, brimming with themes of the lower class versus the elite class, with the youth representing the lower class struggling to make ends meet while the apathetic elite lives it up in mansions with their designer vehicles. The Edukators as they called themselves thus targeted certain members of the elite class who were shown to be completely ignorant towards the plight they perpetuate. This dissatisfaction with capitalism is by and large the entire point of the film, and this frustration is made palpable in almost all its aspects.

Yet, this is not another leftist or propagandist film pushing for armed struggle, even though the film does go there at one point. Rather, Hans Weingartner chooses a plot and characters that are wholly nonviolent to make viewers think about where they stand in the political spectrum. Audiences also perceive a certain conflict of ideals between past and present (one example being the ideals of Hidenberg) in the film and are invited to consider both sides of the spectrum. This is something I particularly appreciated about the film: it didn’t sway too much to either side, and instead simply encouraged its audience to think.

Audiences receptive to these ideals will find much of value to watch. I personally found the three protagonists’ impassioned soliloquies on the state of society and the state of their individual lives to be quite moving. Jule, for example, was a waitress working off a debt she incurred because of a freak accident that led to a wealthy businessman taking advantage of her. These stories serve to give these ideologies as well their own human faces: viewers are put face to face with the realities of the systems they themselves unknowingly perpetuate in society. Social justice is perhaps the clearest theme, and this is something any viewer would relate to regardless of their political leanings.

To an extent, I felt like the romance story arc was placed there solely to provide a bit of fan service as well as to make the movie a little more desirable and accessible to Western or mainstream audiences. While it did lend the film a more human face for viewers who may not be completely on board with the ideologies presented, it ultimately felt unnecessary not to mention half-baked in its overall execution. Not only was its contribution and effect on the plot very meager and unsubstantial, it was also very stressful to watch as it only served to make the protagonist a little unlikeable.

Admittedly, the love triangle was certainly central to the film’s story; viewers cannot help but feel disappointed towards one protagonist as he commits infidelity and betrays the trust of his best friend. However, this only serves to emphasize that as the film closes, there’s a sense that these three are working towards something bigger than themselves, whether that is the fight for a more just society, or simply their unshakable bond as friends.

Heavy Trip: Truths of Life

I’m probably one of the many people in the class who favor Heavy Trip the most among all the films that were shown to us. But when I first found out that we would be watching a film about a heavy metal band, I did not expect to like it at all since I don’t really listen to heavy metal music. Little did I know that I don’t have to be a fan of metal music to enjoy this film. In fact, Heavy Trip is a film that, in contrast to our notion of heavy metal music as dark and atheistic, is actually very light and funny. But beyond its comedic quality and referential humor, Heavy Trip reflects a lot of truth in the world, which we can all learn lessons from. Certainly, the film does not just revolve around a Finnish heavy metal band wanting to become famous, it’s actually a whole lot of other things. Above all, it’s a feel-good film that I can watch over and over again.

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First, it’s a film that defies norms and stereotypes. In my experience, the film defied my expectation of how it would make me feel. Similarly, I thought the main characters, also the members of Impaled Rektum, would be reckless and self-destructive human beings, but they were actually very loveable. They’re a bunch of soft, sensitive, and timid personalities who are only trying their best to achieve their dream in life. After all, who would’ve thought that a vocalist of a heavy metal band could also be caregiving for psychiatric patients? Indeed, the film teaches us to not judge something or someone so easily despite preconceived notions, because if we continue to do so, we might just become like the band’s toxic community.

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This brings me to my second point, that the film is about an underdog’s tale of redemption. In their small conservative town, Impaled Rektum was looked down on. They were called Satanists and considered outcasts in the community. Given that they had long hair, they were called “homos,” which was regrettably a term used to put them down. They were praised when the people thought that they’d be going to Norway but automatically ridiculed again once the people found out this isn’t true. Thankfully, the band didn’t need their validation and acceptance to achieve their dream, which they were able to do so eventually. And this teaches us to pursue our passion no matter what other people may say. We must also learn to celebrate outcasts and embrace our identities even when it does not conform to society’s expectations. In the end, the people who try to put us down are the same ones who beg for our help when we’ve proven that we’re better than them.

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Lastly, Heavy Trip is a film about trust. It’s about trusting each other and having a sense of brotherhood. It’s undeniable that they couldn’t have performed in the Northern Damnation without the help of each and every member. And this is why this film is probably the only one that I’ve watched where a corpse went crowd-surfing. It reflects their love and respect for one another that despite Jynnky’s death, his mere presence still gives them a sense of courage and fulfillment.

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Home for grave: Raw (2016)

Raw (2016) was perhaps the best title for a movie as grotesque as what we just watched it class. The plot is quite simple. Justine, a lifelong vegan, is sent off to the same veterinary school her parents attended and met years before. On her first day in her new environment, she is forced to eat rabbit kidneys as part of an initiation for a fraternity, and she wakes up with a strange rash the next day and suddenly starts to crave meat.

And although Raw (or “grave” in its native French) didn’t exactly strike me in the way I would expect a film classified under the horror genre would, it was just as horrifying. Time and time again I found myself filled with a sense of dread as the film portrayed truly horrifying scenarios: a girl devouring parts of her sibling, or discovering her parents’ history of cannibalism, or waking up in a bed next to a rotting, half-eaten corpse. This was a horror that didn’t aim to scare per se. Instead, I felt it was big on shock value that owed itself to numerous plot twists throughout the film’s progression.

With all of these horror-esque elements though, there was also a clear theme of coming of age throughout the movie. Even just the bare premise makes this evident: a young girl going off to college and discovering herself. As Justine comes to grips with her cannibalistic tendencies, there is a lot of self-discovery that happens in the process. All things considered, it does read like a teenage girl going off to college to experience the world. There’s a lot of sex, drugs, and rock and roll involved here, and she comes out of these experiences a completely different person than when she started, no longer the shy, vegan girl she was when she entered.

As with all coming of age flicks, a lot of Justine’s internal struggle seemed to depend on the question of conforming to society’s expectation or staying herself. In the beginning for instance, you could see that she was not completely on board with what the fraternity group was all about. She seemed to be having no fun at their initiation party, nor did she seem to be willing to be “hazed” by eating a rabbit kidney at all. Garance Marillier does an excellent job at performing this internal struggle of Justine’s: one scene that particularly stuck out to me was when she ended up chewing into her own arm, presumably to avoid taking a bite out of her roommate in the middle of a sexual encounter. The tension in that moment became clear, and it was perhaps that point in the narrative that we began to see Justine slowly giving herself up to this new side of her.

And so it is perhaps the rawness behind Raw that makes it such a striking film. The coming of age element is not just an emotional or spiritual journey of self-discovery, although these are definitely part of it. Instead, the turmoil happens in her innermost being: the tension is quite palpable as we witness Justine fighting her most primal desires with every fiber of her being. Her cannibalistic side is a rabid animal: she is swept away by its current as it continues clawing away at her innocent, brainiac self, all she knew for the past few years of her life, building up into a terrifying crescendo. The violence that occurs inside of her heavily outweighs any of what happens on-screen.

Better than Slayer: Heavy Trip (2018)

Everything you need to know about Heavy Trip (2018) is summed up in the line, “We play symphonic post-apocalyptic reindeer-grinding Christ-abusing extreme war pagan fennoscandian metal,” and the fact that this line is repeated multiple times throughout the film’s one and a half hour-long runtime.

Speaking as a big fan of heavy metal music for as long as I can remember, it didn’t take long for me to connect with the film’s rather unorthodox subject matter. It follows a group of friends, all twenty-something year-olds working day jobs, who play in a metal band looking to make it big.

The dialogue reads like the footnote of that niche: the hopeless musician just waiting for that big break, struggling to make ends meet by working nine-to-fives. The struggles that come with this lifestyle are touched on quite substantially in the film: having to book shows, buy a touring van, promote your demo, work day-jobs, etc. The twist comes in that these musicians just happened to play death metal (as something of a purist, this is completely subjective; their take on the genre had traces of thrash and deathcore, although this is a completely different discussion on its own) and lived in Finland. As a result, the four also have to deal with the discrimination that comes with playing a rather extreme type of music. There are some true to life themes that come with it as well: overcoming adversity, maintaining personal relationships, and ultimately, the power of friendship.

And from the aforementioned description of the band’s sound, you can already tell what kind of ride you’re in for. For the untrained viewer, the four boys Impaled Rektum might come off as a little too eclectic. An example of this is when just as the four musicians are seemingly apprehended, they do the only logical thing to do in the moment: jump off a cliff and survive the fall unscathed. Yet, directors Jukka Vidgren and Juuso Laatio pull this off in way that isn’t corny or lame, and is instead genuinely fun. Even though it wasn’t as outrageous, unpleasurable, or estranged as other offerings of European cinema, Heavy Trip still had a distinctly foreign flavor to it. I felt that the dry humor for example, was reminiscent to that of Edgar Wright’s earlier work.

However, it is clear from the get-go that the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, and neither should you. Once the final credits roll, I found that this took nothing away from what the film was at its core: an earnest and heartfelt love letter to the struggling musician. Every scene is able to capture the youthful excitement of being out on the road with your friends to play music, and this is contrasted with the gritty reality that playing music you’re passionate about is difficult.

Thus, since Heavy Trip is still a film about musicians, it is no surprise that the band’s music took center stage (pun intended). Their hit (and only) single is played a number of times as well throughout the film, which really lets this aspect of the film shine. Metal fans should rejoice at this; not only is it a genuinely good song, but references to metal greats are peppered in the dialogue as well.

The next time I need my fix of  symphonic post-apocalyptic reindeer-grinding Christ-abusing extreme war pagan fennoscandian metal, I’m glad I’ll know exactly where to look.

Get ‘schooled’

The Edukators‘ premise was actually very interesting to me. It was summarized as a narrative about three teenagers who break into the rich’s houses to “scare” them out of their privileged ways and mindsets. It attacks the issues of capitalism and how, even though it is advantageous to some, it is not beneficial to many. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer (and the edukators want to do away with this reality). Even though I found the plot interesting, the element of the film that caught my attention the most was actually the characters of the movie. The characters were very complex and different from one another. I believe the film had a character-driven story because of each of their traits and complexities. Peter, Jan, and Jules all had different strengths and weaknesses which contributed to driving the story forward. Out of the three of them, I liked Peter the most. I found him the most decent character because of his choices throughout the movie. As an edukator, he was more of the leader figure. He was who Jan turned to whenever he did not know what to do because Peter seemed more calm and collected then him. As a boyfriend, he was just trying his best to be good for Jules. He just acted like a typical boyfriend. As a friend, he always had Jan’s back, no matter what Jan did. He seemed like a well-rounded character despite his flaws. Jan, on the other hand, was more flawed than Peter. As an edukator, he often knew what he was doing, but he still depended on Peter to fall back on. As a friend to Peter, I felt like he was not as good a friend as Peter was since he kind of “stole” Peter’s girlfriend. He started falling for Jules (for some weird reason — I honestly do not know what they saw in her) behind Peter’s back even though Peter was dating Jules. What kind of a best friend would do that? It did not help that he tried to justify what he had done to Peter, which cause their big fight in the latter part of the film.

From the three edukators, Jules was the character I hated the most. I mean, the entirety of the plot of the film was her fault. None of the events would have transpired if she had not incurred the debt she owed to Hardi, or if she did not leave her phone stupidly in his house when they broke in, or if she did not cheat on her boyfriend with his best friend. She made so much mistakes and still got away with it in the end. She was able to escape paying her debt, got out of going to prison for everything she had done, and even managed to keep both Jan and Peter in her life.

I guess I understood what the edukators were fighting for but I got pissed that they got away with so much things even though they did not deserve it (especially Jules). I feel like they should have gotten what they deserved since they did cause a lot of problems for someone else even if he was merely living his life with the money and name he created for himself.

Nothing Like Your Ordinary Metal Head: Reflections on Heavy Trip

For such a heavy theme, you’d think that Heavy Trip would include gore, violence, sex, rituals, and other metal and goth things. But it begins with a scene in a small town that looks so homey and safe, you’d wonder if you’re watching the right movie. You’d also think that the main character Turo, with his long hair and all black outfit, would crash and destroy anyone who’d get in his way. And yet, you’re presented with a shy type that can’t even respond back to the insults his neighbors have for him. Personally, I was excited to see this film given that I’m familiar with metal music and quite actually enjoy it. But the film presented me with scenes far from what I associate metal music with. The film itself was a complete contrast to how most people would imagine metal heads to be like; and that for me, was its best feature.

Heavy Trip shows us a very lighthearted take on how a “Symphonic Post-Apocalyptic Reindeer-Grinding Christ-Abusing Extreme War Pagan Fennoscandian metal band” pursued their dreams despite constant stereotyping and scrutiny from their community. It begins with a band with big dreams, who despite their heavy outfits, could still be mistaken as teenagers with the way they’re acting. Given this, the metal heads really where breaking all the stereotypes assigned to them. For one, Turo’s character as the lead vocalist of the metal band doesn’t seem to match his shy attitude and his anxiety with performing in front of an audience. He is sweet to his neighbors and even works in a nursing home, which isn’t very metal at all. However, Turo’s dilemma of lying to his community about being accepted into the metal festival in Norway, became an avenue for him to grow. It showed us the progression of a basement metal band to a band that proved to be the most “metal” band there is.

There is always this constant struggle present with the characters trying to break free from the stereotyping they receive from the people around them. Heavy Trip itself being a comedy that features metal heads is already breaking away from the stereotype of metal bands being “metal.” Although the band were true to their persona, given the outfits and the hair, I believe it was only after they left their basement and pursued their dream of playing in Norway that they were able to truly break away from the confines of what was expected of them. Pasi remodeled himself to Xytrax, wearing corpse paint on his face and reindeer fur, which showed his love for mythology, occultism, Satanism, and crappy fantasy literature. Oula was able to redirect his aggression through playing drums for the band, and he has never been more calm than ever. And Turo was able to fight back the people who called him gay by showing them how gay he could be, and then saying that “Gays are real men. Manly men.” 

This film only goes to show us that even metal heads can be as lighthearted as how the film was. It shows us a different side to them where they try to pursue their dreams despite the many challenges they are faced, which a lot of us can relate to. They too, struggle just as normal people do, it’s just that they live their lives quite differently from us. Maybe a lesson one can learn from watching Heavy Trip is that corpse-make up wearing, occult-loving, gore enthusiasts metal heads can also be your loving neighbor that gives you pie every morning.

Heavy Trip: “What? HAHA”

Prior to watching the film, our professor mentioned that the movie probably would not be the best film we would see the in entirety of the course. Despite this, he emphasized that the movie would probably be the most lovable one out of them all.

As a graduating senior loaded with much requirements, I forgot the last time I was able to laugh like that with my classmates. As students of the Ateneo, we get so caught up with everything that is asked of us and we forget how to have fun and laugh even for just a while. Regardless of such a simple plot, the manner of how the film was produced, definitely did not fail to entertain the life out of me.

Heavy Trip (2018), which was directed by Jukka Vidgren and Juuso Laatio, is a Finnish ensemble comedy film that depicts an aspiring heavy metal band, called Impaled Rektum, waiting to have an opportunity to show the world what they think they can do. Don’t be fooled by the heavy metal part, you don’t need to be a fan of heavy metal to enjoy the film, as I am not one myself. Just like most movies that involve bands, they start from the very bottom. The band was initially made fun of and ignored by many of the residents in the town they lived in. They weren’t happily recognized or received by anyone until they found their one hit wonder of a song that could potentially send them to the biggest heavy metal music festival in Norway.

The comedic film just makes you look at your seatmate as they say, “What? HAHA” with much of the stupid moments that constantly happens, which will not fail to make any normal person laugh. From the beginning of the movie, you could already tell it was quite entertaining with how they described the roles of each of the members of the band. Most notable one’s were Pasi (Xyntrax), the weird yet entertaining and intelligent bassist, and Jynkky, the deardevil yet witty and lovable drummer. It was also quite hilarious to me to find that the very inspiration for their music is rooted from where they practiced in, which was when they were killing deer. Other witty and crazy moments I enjoyed was the manner of how they got a photo for their album, and the corpse that was crowd surfing during their concert.

With comedic movies, you just expect them to make you laugh but this one’s taught me something I feel is quite timely and very important. As we are about to go down from the hill, I suppose it is important for us to recognize that we must be creative with everything that we have and embrace every opportunity we get in reaching our goals and dreams. At the same time, we must not forget how to laugh and enjoy the moments that we have with one another as each and every one of us go through our own individual battles. Life’s short, learn from all the stupid “What? HAHA” moments and continue to be yourself in anything that you plan to accomplish.