Aguila

Directed by: Eddie Romero

(1980)

I have never seen anyone who starred on a lot of films until I browsed through Fernando Poe, Jr.'s list of films. His films are not just of pure entertainment but also depict the political, social, and economic conditions of the country which of course, entail a lot of action scenes because FPJ is FPJ. His films would not be complete without those scenes. My mom used to tell me that she and her siblings sometimes watch FPJ when they were still little while shooting the film since it's just near their home. I've never been a fan of oldies movies but hey, this one's a classic (not to mention that it was led by FPJ himself).

The three-and-a-half-hour film is entirely about the life of Daniel Aguila. The movie begins in a scene where the Aguila clan is celebrating the birthday of Daniel Aguila, who happens to be missing for a long time during that event. The story was being reiterated by his wife, Salvacion Llamas de Aguila. One of Daniel's son tried to look for him in Mindanao, hoping that he would be able to find his father. Family ties and relationships was also evident in the film, most especially the relationship of Daniel's son with his aunt, Isabel, and the relationship of Isabel to her stepfather, Simeon. 

Preserving the dignity of one person is necessary to get the trust of the very few. Just like in politics, if one person values his/her dignity, he/she would most probably gain a lot of supporters and gain the trust of the general public. Standing for what you believe is right and moral is a must for every leader. A leader should be not self-centered; he/she should always put others first since that is the reason why they are there in the first place.

Being a good person is not about having wealth or power. It is about making others realize that we are all interrelated and therefore we should all act together towards achieving success. It is about harnessing your own potentials in order to make yourself grow. It is about gaining the respect and trust of others.

RATING:

Movie poster taken from:

http://fpj-daking.blogspot.com//

Good Morning President

Directed by: Jang Jin
(2009)

This Korean film [so far] is my favorite among all the films that we've seen in class. Even though i'm really not a fan of Korean or other Asian films, I was able to appreciate the beauty of this film, not just its audio and visual effects but also the story line and its humor. It is about the life of three presidents in Korea, all of which are undergoing dilemmas which involves making a choice/decision. They all found themselves struggling towards making the right choice: one choice could benefit themselves while the other could change the lives of their constituents. It's a matter of making a choice and not regretting it afterwards. 


The first President in the film is already approaching the end of his term and he won a lottery. Beforehand, he promised that if he wins the lottery, he would donate the money to his fellow Koreans. [Un]fortunately, the president won and had a heart attack; people were not aware of the real reason why he was hospitalized. They all thought that he's a family man, because the first thing that he looked for when he regained his consciousness was his wallet. He cried upon opening his wallet and people, again, thought that he cried upon seeing his family photo, little did they know that he cried because he saw his lottery ticket, which actually hit the jackpot. The jackpot prize should be claimed within the next six months and it is still during the President's term. He visited the presidential chef in the kitchen and had a little chat with him about life. It was really a hard decision for the President but it just proved that he is a man of his own words. He donated the prize that he won to his fellow Koreans even though he somehow regret about it, but it was soon replaced by contentment and satisfaction. 


The second President's dilemma is about being a kidney donor to one Korean student's father, who would die soon if he won't have kidney transplant. At the same time, his administration is facing negotiations with North Korea. Confused and worried, he paid a visit to the presidential chef in the kitchen and spent time talking to him about life. At first, he was hesitant to donate his kidney but he soon realized that he needed to do it to save the life of the student's father. Next thing he knew, after he donated his kidney, another citizen wants him to be a donor, again.


The third President in the film is facing a divorce with her husband during her term. Since she's really busy with her role as the country's president, she didn't have enough time to spare for her husband that is why her husband decided to file a divorce and he said to her during her birthday celebration. It was a tough time for the President and since she was advised by the two former presidents to visit the presidential chef, she did so. Just like what the two former presidents did, she spent time having a conversation with the presidential chef. The chef said that he and his family are happy despite the fact that he rarely goes home. The President had realizations and soon found herself going back to her husband.


The film ended in a bookstore, where a book entitled "Good Morning President" was written by the presidential chef. 


It was really nice that the film was beautifully sewn together despite the different moods in its story line. It was a mixture of comedy and drama, with some twists and turns. I turned out to be emotional while watching the film, even though some scenes were intended to make the audience laugh. I also  had some realizations that being a president is a really tough job since it also overlaps with one's personal life. Making a decision which could either make or break you is one of the hardest realities in life. I might be close to dreaming, but i'm really hoping that our leaders would eventually have a change of heart, thinking about others first before thinking about themselves and their families. In the first place, they are in their positions because they are public servants who [should] aim to serve their country and their fellowmen. Surely, politics makes people rich, but were they able to have a good sleep? Are they bothered by nightmares because of what they do? Do they get real contentment and satisfaction in their lives?


Conscience is one of the best enemies of politicians in every country. It's either they make decisions that would benefit themselves or their constituents. It's either they end up getting too much for their families or making a great impact in the lives of the very few.

RATING:

Trailer from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beJ6Wns7LkM

A Special Relationship

Directed by: Richard Loncraine

(2010)

The story of this film revolves around two of the most influential leaders in the world, Bill Clinton, the former President of the United States of America, and Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It focused on the “special” relationship between the two leaders, before, during, and after they took positions. Clinton showed his support to Blair before he got elected as Prime Minister and continued to support and influence Blair as he took hold of his position.

I got quite intrigued with the title of the film at first since “A Special Relationship” didn’t really describe Clinton’s relationship with his wife nor Blair’s relationship with his wife. Instead, it described the relationship of Clinton with Blair and vice versa, since World War II. The film drew several reactions from the class, as if we’re watching a romantic comedy movie where Clinton and Blair acted as lovers. But it was clear; the movie showcased the relationship between the USA and the UK, with their leaders being able to influence each other. Clinton got involved in a scandal and since Blair was known to be a very close friend of him, he was asked by the media about it. Blair gave a “safe” statement to the press and was continued to be liked by many. UK’s Prime Minister gained a lot of supporters, for his intentions were clear, which is for the betterment of the people in UK and its allies. It was his choice if he would get himself influenced by Clinton in decision-making, at first, he always agrees with what Clinton says but eventually, he learned to stand on his own and make his own decisions without the influence of his “special” friend. Both of them learned to manage their relationship throughout their terms since it is not just a political relationship. I believe that all leaders should maintain a harmonious relationship with other leaders but they should take note that they still need to draw a line between a personal relationship and a political relationship since it would greatly affect the decisions that would be made. If leaders are united, it is for sure that it would be easier to assist countries who need help and aid. But the downside of this is that when a war comes out, it would be more likely that countries which have special relationships with other countries would have more allies to help them out during the outbreak of the war which would result to a higher number of casualties.

I have to say that Michael Sheen really looks a lot like Tony Blair and he did a very good job in portraying the role of the prime minister, even his mannerisms were evident in the film. Since it is an HBO film and it was just released recently (last year), it has clear and good audio and visual effects. The film’s setting is dated back from 1992, and the producers of the film did a great job in making everything look like it’s back in the 90s.

RATING:

Source:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWHjHMrRiE4

Spinning Boris

Directed by: Roger Spottiswoode
(2003)

Based on a true story, Spinning Boris is about three American political consultants hired to turn tables for Boris Yeltsin's reelection campaign for the very first democratic election in Russia. Yeltsin's approval ratings were down to single digits and the task of the American consultants is to bring it up. They got confused on who really hired them since everyone that they met told them that they are hired conversation after conversation but they are very sure of one thing: they are hired to help Yeltsin in his reelection campaign. The three went to Russia and were confined to the President Hotel and were only allowed to leave the place as long as they are guarded by the security. Hired by a political elite, they were told not to disclose the identity of the person whom they're working for as well as to keep their own identity. Since Yeltsin would not want himself to personally meet the American consultants, they only get to consult with Tatiana, Yeltsin's daughter. They searched and studied the reasons on what brought down Yeltsin's numbers through various ways such as polls and focus group discussions in order for them to formulate specific courses of actions that would pull the numbers up. One of the things that the consultants did was to provide people who are part of the polling group a machine which determines their reactions and approval/disapproval of the things shown to them. Pictures and clips of Yeltsin while delivering speeches were shown to the group and results showed that people do not like it when Yeltsin is not smiling and when his speeches are long. Because of this, the three decided on coming up with new campaign materials where Yeltsin is smiling and he was told to smile more in front of the crowd. This greatly helped in pulling his approval ratings up so they continued with it. Results also showed that people liked seeing Yeltsin planting trees that's why they made planting trees as a part of his campaign which also helped in increasing his approval rating, climbing into double digits.

The film practically showed how one could actually win an election and how one could gain the support of people by knowing what the constituents want from their politician. The American consultants considered and applied the grassroots level approach since the public are the ones who would cast their votes during the election that is why there is a need to know on what they like on the politician that they want to vote. Politicians should not waste their money on campaign materials which are not appealing to the public, instead they should plan and design their campaign materials based on what the public like. Some people approve of Yeltsin only because they see it as an alternative to the Communists and not because they like Yeltsin. The consultants said that there is a need to "go negative" although Tatiana disapproved of it but afterwards, she saw the need for it and agreed to do it. Yeltsin's approval ratings increased gradually but before the elections it decreased again. But the result of the first ever democratic election in Russia made Yeltsin Russia's first President.

There were a lot of factors and hindrances toward attaining success in Yeltsin's campaign. Since English is not commonly spoken in Russia, the American consultants had a hard time talking, listening, and explaining to the Russians on what they wanted to do. There is always a need for a translator. There was a scene in the film where Tatiana asked them to explain some terms that they used. Another one is a time where they wanted to withdraw the candidacy yet the American consultants never gave up [although they almost gave up]. They did their job and they were successful in doing it. 

Favorite/memorable lines:

"In the U.S., you'd advise a politician with those kinds of numbers to get another occupation."

- Dick Dresner

• Yeltsin's single digit approval ratings did not became a hindrance to the American consultants from doing their job. They believed that these numbers could still possibly go up but if they are in the United States of America, it would be impossible for them to pull the numbers up.

"One of your tasks is to advise us, a month from the election, about whether we should call it off if you determine that we're going to lose."

- Oleg Soskovets

• Determined to win, the American consultants continued playing the game and they were indeed successful in the end. 

"The task was simple education, campaigning 101, stuff like the proper use of polling and the need to test via focus groups just about everything the campaign was doing, or thinking of doing."

- George Gorton

• The success of the campaign of politicians is most likely attributed to what the majority of the public wants.

RATING:

The Distinguished Gentleman

Directed by: Jonathan Lynn
(1992)

Some people would always have the notion that it is easy to get into politics since it is an advantage if you have all the means and charisma to promote and endorse yourself to the constituents. Yet being elected entails a lot of responsibility, some of which [or most] are completely forgotten to be fulfilled by politicians. The Distinguished Gentleman is a film about an aspiring politician who took advantage of the popularity of another [deceased] politician's name in order to win a seat in the Congress. Thomas Jefferson Johnson (Eddie Murphy) is a con man who deceives people through his confidence. He was able to win a seat in the Congress with the use of the popularity of deceased Congressman Jeff Johnson from his own hometown, Florida. In politics, it is necessary to gain supporters and Johnson did this by asking for the help of the senior citizens who are part of an organization. Johnson was able to get 5000+ signatures for his endorsement and he used the deceased congressman's old campaign materials by visiting his widow and asking for it personally. Since the general public are more likely to vote politicians whose names are "popular", Johnson won and became a congressman and he was set to go to Washington D.C. He went to D.C. with his "assistants": his cousin and two other friends. Of course he took advantage of the perks and benefits on being a congressman but day by day, he realized that politics is indeed a dirty game he needed to play. He was challenged by Dick Dodge, the chairman of the Power and Industry committee yet he was able to turn tables for him, proving that he is not just some greedy politician who only cares for his own interest but indeed a concerned politician who wants to make the most out of his power for the benefit of his constituents. He fought for the rights of the children in his hometown who are suffering from cancer because of the electric power company that operates near their school's vicinity. 

More often than not, incumbent politicians take advantage of the "newbies" just like in the film, Dick Dodge, knowing that Johnson is "new" in the world of politics, took advantage of him and made him believe everything that he said. There was this instance where Johnson got involved in an accident with an honest congressman and he turned into Dodge to ask for help and what to do. Dodge fooled him by telling him to bring the congressman into a certain hospital since it is safe from the media. Johnson did what Dodge said but in contrary to what he said, media people were asked to go there and broadcast the incident that happened to the congressman. Of course Johnson did not know what to do since he is just new in this game that's why he asked Dodge for help. It is very disappointing to know that the very people whom you might be able to ask help from would be the very people who will eventually bring you down. Politics is like films. The audience are not aware of what's happening behind the scenes. Politicians are like actors. The audience were captivated and impressed by what they say and do on screen. Getting into politics is just one step, staying is the second one which is the hardest. It is like a life and death situation where you have to choose whether to get yourself influenced by others or not. A life and death situation where you have to choose whether to take advantage of your power and authority to fulfill your responsibility for the benefit of your constituents or for your own good. Jeff Johnson soon realized what his real agenda is, which is to extend help to his people. He might not be knowledgeable of the constitution and what it entails as well as other political stuff but he surely knows how to help his people which is by talking and listening to them first-hand on what their problems are. This is a grassroots approach which needs to be learned by ALL politicians. It is not good to suggest and formulate courses of actions (projects and programs) from the point-of-view of the politician or his administration. There is a need to get it from the perspective of the constituents who will benefit from it. 

Sometimes I find it hard to watch movies about politics since some of it are really serious and dragging yet this one's tweaked and the entire film's comedy. It made the movie lighter to the audience, without making them bored on the conversations done in the film. This film was made during the year I was born yet there's still no difference on the current situation of politics. 

RATING:

Source:

http://www.listal.com/movie/the-distinguished-gentleman-1992/pictures