Mga Mumunting Lihim

http://pinoyrebyu.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/mga-mumunting-lihim/

 

Verdict: Value for Money
Pinoy Rebyu Score: 3.31 (8 ratings)
Genre: Drama
Writer/Director: Jose Javier Reyes
Cast:  Judy Ann Santos, Iza Calzado, Agot Isidro, Janice de Belen
Synopsis: The death of Mariel (JUDY ANN SANTOS) was met with such hurt by her three closest friends.  But it was her best friend, Carla (IZA CALZADO) that she leaves a most special gift, a box full of her diaries through the years.  Carla has been Mariel’s friend since their high school years; they have practically shared everything in their lives together.  Their two other girl friends, Sandra (AGOT ISIDRO) and Olive (JANICE DE BELEN) formed the quartet who would get together ever so often and served as a mutual support system.  Despite warnings from Sandra and Olive not to read the diaries left behind by Mariel, Carla could not help herself  to find out what was written on those volumes of handwritten materials.  True enough, what she discovered completely shattered all her perceptions and beliefs of the friendship shared by the four women through the years.  Inside those diaries were all the little secrets that the women kept from one another—all the hidden emotions, stories and comments that made their lives a sham.  Death should be a closure but it could also be a terrible beginning and realization of what was hidden by the living.
Trailer: 
Reviews:
4.0       Mario Bautista (Showbiz Portal)
“Vastly entertaining and both hilarious and tragic.” (Read full review)
4.0      Allan Diones (Abante Tonite)
“Inspirado ang pagkakasulat at pagkakadirehe ni Direk Joey Reyes sa kanyang first Cinemalaya ­entry na ayon sa kanya ay isang personal film.” (Read full review)
4.0       Fidel Antonio Medel (Cinephiles)
“Vicious dialogue. A bit overblown. But thoroughly enjoyable & affecting. Great acting from the 4 leads.”
3.5       Philbert Dy (Click the City)
“The film is actually really great when it just settles down and allows the characters to talk. They are, after all, played by some of the finest actresses in the country. The film does find its rhythm, and though there are portions of it that I really didn’t like, the sum ends up being much greater than the parts.” (Read full review)
3.5        Vinny Tagle (We Talk About Movies)
“What makes this movie work is its script that realistically captures the complications that normally come even with the best of friendships.” (Read full review)
3.5         Jay-r Trinidad (Cinephiles)
“Na-gets ko na kung bakit biglang napunta sa Cinemalaya si JJR. Mahirap ibenta sa sweet Star Cinema ang script. Pero ang sarap panoorin ang storya. Maaaring medyo exaggerated ang ibang mga sinabi at eksena (pero posible pa din naman siya sa buhay ng “ordinaryong” tao). Napakasarap ng usapan sa confrontation scene. At winner na winner si Janice de Belen. Medyo olats lang talaga yung product placement.”
2.5         Dodo Dayao (Cinephiles)
“Turns out a Joey Reyes artfilm is no different (at least tonally) from a Joey Reyes mainstream film, right down to the totally inaccurate advertising agency milieu (a medium-sized ad agency, itself an endangered species these names, saddled with a name like Brainstorm Trooper is not exactly the sort that goes A List, and it wouldn’t hurt to fact-check really) while trying out a handful of indie tropes as if on a whim , from shakycam (which would’ve worked for the entire film reaslly) to the dead-person-talking-to-camera that comes out of nowhere. Having said that, there is potentially volatile material here about the benign treacheries that transpire between friends sabotaged only by the need for pat closure and a not exactly insightful or profound resolution (“everything will be allright in the end” huh?). Having said that, the dialgoue is often crisp and smart and the acting is impeccable, particularly Juday.”
1.5          Skilty Labastilla (Young Critics Circle)
“The premise of friendships unraveling as hidden feelings they harbor about each other are surfaced by a diary could have been made into an interesting film but Joey Reyes does not come up with engaging back stories that support that premise. The result is a tiring string of scenes that get too old quickly when the viewer realizes that these ‘explosive’ secrets do not ultimately mean much at all to the people involved. It’s just ironic that Iza Calzado’s character tells her advertising colleagues to revise a proposed concept because it forces emotions out of viewers. Mga Mumunting Lihim itself does just that.”