#dagitab

Sa pagtatapos ninyo sa UPIS, magsisimula naman ang panibagong yugtong malaya ninyong hubugin.

Baunin ninyo ang husay, dangal, at paninindigang nalinang sa inyong mga taon sa UPIS. Patuloy sanang sumiklab ang dagitab sa inyong pagsusulat, paglikha, at paghahanap ng katotohanan saan man kayo dalhin ng inyong mga pangarap.

Maliwanag ang kinabukasang naghihintay sa inyo, mga Iskolar ng Bayan. Ipinagmamalaki namin ang lahat ng inyong naging pagsisikap at tagumpay, at sabik kaming makita ang mga landas na inyong tatahakin.

Let’s take a moment to hang our logical thinking cap and dive right in, fully-dressed, to six surreal shows that can awaken your inner dreamer.

1. The Greatest Showman

There are musicals. And then there’s The Greatest Showman. It’s a creation born from sound intertwined with sight, from fears intertwined with courage, from self-doubt intertwined with greatness. Slowly, it nudges the dreamer in you who doubts himself, who is ashamed of himself, who feels out of place in a very expectant and judging society, to wake up and face your fears with courage. 

Director: Michael Gracey | Writers (Screenplay): Jenny Bicks, Bill Condon | Lead/s: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron | Year: 2017 | Country: USA

2. Hang the DJ

This show is for the dreamer who has resigned himself to loneliness, the one who craves romantic love right down to his bone, but who has also been countlessly frustrated with what life brings him way. In the sea of dreariness and dreadfulness that is Black Mirror, we can find one or two episodes that leave us bubbling with forgotten emotions-- that is, hope and happiness amidst all bleakness.

Director: Timothy Van Patten | Writer: Charlie Brooker | Lead/s: Georgina Campbell, Joe Cole, Gina Bramhill | Year: 2017 | Country: UK

3. The Great Gatsby

I attribute much of The Great Gatsby’s film success to Fitzgerald’s articulacy. Many writers can arrange words together to narrate a story. But few have the gift of stringing words together to create worlds you feel are literally seeing, to speak of insights that strike you so deep, you’d have to pause reading for a moment.

It awakens the dreamer in your that thrives on excitement. The clash of loud sounds and colors could be a bit excessive, but I suppose that was a deliberate illustration of the excessive, selfish lifestyle of the characters. The ending cautions with you a moral, though. At what price are you buying your satisfactions?

Director: Baz Luhrmann | Writers (Screenplay): Baz Kurhman, Craig Pearce | Lead/s: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton | Year: 2013 | Country: Australia/USA

4. La Canción del Mar (Song of the Sea)

When my older brother first recommended this animated movie to me, I was still naive to the potential of colored lines and shapes to constrict my throat. Sure, Disney and Pixar have created numerous tear-jerking movies, but there was a different feel to them compared to this movie.

It awakens the dreamer in your that belies in mythologies, that there are greater forces that live among us, quietly guiding our lives. It’s easy to be cynical when you live in the concrete jungle of cities. But when you are quiet in the midst of an untamed forest, or atop a boat in the middle of the bubbling sea, you can hear a whisper saying that there are greater things around us that move our world that we are yet to understand.

Director: Tomm Moore | Writer/s:  Tomm Moore, Will Collins | Lead/s: David Rawle, Brendan Gleeson, Lisa Hannigan | Year: 2014 | Country: Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, France

5. Jeux D’Enfants (Love Me if You Dare)

Similar to Hang the DJ, it awakens the dreamer in you that believes love has no rhyme and reason. Your decisions can treacherously tear you apart, but somehow, you will find your way back in each others’ arm. The world’s worst war is minute compared to your battles within yourselves and each other, but it doesn’t matter. The rush, the euphoria you feel when you gaze in each others’ eyes trumps it all. Everything else can, and will be forgotten.

Spoiler: You don’t get a clear logical answer in the end. But I think that’s what makes this movie all the more magical. And heart-wrenching.

Director/Writer: Yann Samuell | Lead/s: Guillaume Canet, Marion Cotillard | Year: 2003 | Country: France

6. Dagitab (Sparks)

What happens when a middle-aged husband and wife are situated in the brink of separation? Dagitab narrates the struggles of two university professors who are torn between blandness and excitement, comfort and the unknown. The strikingly real shots of life contrasted against bizarre situations stirs the dreamer who has a penchant for the dangerous.

Like The Great Gatsby, it cautions you in your pursuance of what excites you. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t. There are great lessons to be made from great mistakes. 

Director/Writer: Giancarlo Abrahan V | Lead/s: Eula Valdez, Nonie Buencamino & Martin del Rosario | Year: 2014 | Country: Philippines

These shows deliberately stretch and compress time. They are created through artificial props and stages that are manicured to the smallest details. They are far, far, far away from the realities of life. 

Maybe in one aspect, they could all be a manifestation of greed, or even an avenue for escapism. But for others, a clip worth one to two hours is what drives them harder to escape rigidity, challenge status quo, and become better than who they are yesterday.