Agaton & Mindy (2009)



Agaton & Mindy (Peque Gallaga, 2009)

Philippine mainstream cinema is a cinema of convenience. It exists primarily because it is comforting and safe, especially to the audiences it persists to please. Formula dictates predictability, and predictability dictates convenience. Convenience is the single most important element to convince an audience already inconvenienced by corruption and poverty. Thus, it is hardly surprising that the most profitable Filipino films of the last few years are formula-driven romances, escapist comedies and fantasies, and predictable thrillers. Given the day-to-day hardships that the Filipino audience has to go through, there exists an inherent thirst for easy and stress-less entertainment. They do not want the challenge of connecting the dots. They prefer the dots connected, with the image, complete and crystal clear before their eyes. Peque Gallaga's Agaton & Mindy seems to be conceived from this capitalist philosophy.

Agaton (Chase Vega) and Mindy (Louise de los Reyes) are dance partners for an upcoming recital. Their dance routine, entitled Young Lovers, requires intense sensuality from both dancers. However, Agaton and Mindy are worlds apart and the requisite madness their dance teacher (a joyously over-the-top Cherie Gil) instructs them to possess feels farfetched. While attraction exists, the reasons for their being apart seem to outweigh the probability of them falling in love. Agaton, left by his mother with his sister with only a Rolex watch as clue to his identity, is poor and works as a manservant for a wealthy woman. Wealthy Mindy, constantly bothered by her mother's sudden disappearance and her father's perceived infidelity, suffers from constant bouts of madness, where she switches from energetic mania to suicidal depression in a matter of minutes. Keeping true to the spirit of commercial cinema, the two dance partners find common ground, and eventually develop a volatile but well-meaning romance.

Gallaga reverently follows the formula. This proves to be an unwieldy exercise for the maverick director who made Scorpio Nights (1985), a film that explores perversity through a student who starts fantasizing about the security guard's wife from downstairs when he chances upon peeping holes in his apartment's floor, Baby Love (1995), a rebellious romance between two pre-pubescent lovers, and Pinoy/Blonde (2005), an undecipherable romp that misses the mark because of its scattered influences. Agaton & Mindy lacks the exhilarating energy, the humor, the fabricated fantasies that occupy a conventional Filipino romance, whether it is a big-budgeted Cathy Garcia-Molina production or a serialized soap opera. It is predominantly flatfooted, with only a few moments of undeniable beauty and seamless emotional manipulation. The story is as uncertain as Mindy's incessant mood swings, with the palpable passion fluctuating whenever the narrative decides to branch away momentarily. The principal cast, Vega and de los Reyes, do well with their inexperience, considering their roles are reliant dominantly on charm.

In summary, Agaton & Mindy is not as entertaining as it could have been. Thus, it is a good thing that Agaton & Mindy isn't actually a conventional romance, as it initially purports to be. While the film follows the narrative arcs of a conventional romance, it only does so to enunciate the illusion that escapist cinema perpetrates. The highest-earning romances of the past few years have a few things in common: an impossible romance; Cinderella-type side-plots, complications that threaten the impossible romance; and finally, a fantabulous climax that eradicates these complications to allow the happily-ever-after ending. For example, Garcia-Molina's A Very Special Love (2008), a romantic comedy that earned more than a hundred million pesos despite the steady influx of Hollywood blockbusters, has the impossible romance between the scion of an extremely wealthy family and a down-to-earth assistant editor being threatened by the scion's insecurity and many familial worries and the lowly assistant's dwindling patience for her beau's unpredictability. Their romance is eventually salvaged by the scion embarrassing himself in public, just to be rewarded with the assistant editor's much-awaited "I love you." Agaton & Mindy is exactly the same save for its final note.

Agaton professes his love with heroic passion. Conventional cinema has instructed us to believe it, and believe in the power of love. We can almost see the dots connecting, forming the picture of Mindy, free from the clutches of her psychological anguish swooning for Agaton's impassioned dance recital. We can almost see their happily-ever-after ending. However, Gallaga decides to stay on Earth, and abruptly ends the film. To the hopeful romantics, those bamboozled by the barrage of escapist entertainment, it only signals the two lovers' inevitable reunion. To the realists, it changes the entire picture. Agaton & Mindy, by Gallaga's sleight of hand, transforms immediately into a different creature, an indictment of the shallowness of what pleasures us as a nation. For almost the entirety of the film's running time, Gallaga made us believe that the world revolves around the puny romance of two troubled teenagers. He retreats from his prolonged exercise of creating cinematic illusions and starts to tell the truth: there is no magic. Sometimes, we just have to give up and continue to live.

4th Birthday Party @ home

We had a small birthday party at home for the boys. Since i spent too much time on the school "big project" so i thought at home just a really simple one. I told hub to get a "lok lok" car this year so i don't need to cook and prepare so much things. Very tiring. This "lok lok" car actually already in my mind last year, but hub said don't want, so this year we thought give it a try.

Cake, food, guest list all settled, since is a small one, we also not invite a lot people, just some close friends from my side here and hub's friends, easy peasy, so just wait for the day to come. 6 days before the actual day, hub suddenly ask me, did i get a clown for the kids, i said no, i thought is a simple one, so didn't plan so many things, and my brain cannot think so much also (that is before my big project day).

Quickly call Peggy for the clown contact and also browse through online , those famous one, price are expensive and just for one hour. My colleague give me a few online contact, i browse through and give them a call, majority are malays, price a bit cheaper than the usual one but i doubt the "quality" of the clown. End up i choose this Party Pops , spoke to the person in charge, Ms Syakirah, a friendly and nice lady, the price reasonable, 2 hours - RM450 Balloon Sculpting + games + magic show!!!! Everything settle in 2 days time. Phew!
On the actual day, sil help me with fried "mee hoon" and i fried some nuggets, sausages, drummets for the kids and not forget preparing some more konnyaku jellies. The birthday party theme is "spiderman & batman" i don't know why suddenly my boys are into this two characters. I dress them in batman and spiderman costume which i bought in Hong Kong.

Now, just let the pictures tell the story........

Father in law, barb and hub's sister start attack with the foods..






batman and spiderman theme of course got the theme paper plate, too bad i only manage to find one design for batman.

sister in law's fried mee hoon, very yummy wor...

some drummets, sausage and nuggets for the kids.
the birthday boys - Cruz in batman costume and Fearles in Spiderman costume. I get the balloons with the matching colours and also one each spiderman and batman balloons. :)


Ashley the little model with her por por

Scot, one of the handsome twin boy of Jacss (hope i got it correct??)
this is the guests i invited. :) Peggy and family, Angie, Jacss and family, Barb and family, Jazz and family ( she is not in the picture, she came a bit late)
Elaine and her sweetie pie - Amber

Two bat boy and girl. Guess who is the other bat girl?? That is Faythe!! Jazz's little girl!!
clown doing the balloon sculpting

view of the party

all kids enjoy themselve with the clown




see how excited all the kids!!!!
magic show with a bird!!
game time!!!!
kids and their partner..

mummy wrapping!!! this is my first time!!!! hahahhaha
Peggy in action!!
me in action..hahhaha
Fearles wrap by my sil

Peggy with her "piece of art"
me with my "art"


sil with Fearles...
And the winner for the mummy wrapping was won by Peggy and her boy Kieran!!!!!

this is another game, i don know what is that, i was not around, i was busy entertaining with my guests. :)




this is another game involve parent and the kids. This time, Jacss and her hub and her twin boys in the game too and also Laundry Apah and Kieran.
Dancing around the newspaper and fold till the smaller piece than stand on it. Everyone is sweating!!!!! But everyone had fun!!!!
me and Jacss and Fearles
Now i know, Cruz can really dance!!!

this is how they stand on the newspaper and see who can stand the longer! This is the ending part, from big piece to the smallest piece of paper.
Here come the batman & spiderman birthday cupcakes from Lea Oven, same baker to the Dibo birthday cake.




Happy Birthday!!!!!!!



kids can't wait to attack the cup cakes!


Yummylicious!!!
my two happy boys!!!!
two birthday boys with their cousins!!!
Last but not least, my boys would like to said "Thank You" to Aunty Sie Choo, Misha jie jie, Aunty Sasha, Aunty Peggy, Aunty Angie,Aunty Jacss, Aunty Alice, Aunty Barb, Aunty Elaine, Aunty Jazz, Vivian jie jie for the lovely pressies and thanks for those who come to the party to make it more interesting and more fun!!! Muackssssss!!