Have you ever watched a movie that affected your life to a point as to alter some of your movements in a cautionary way? I have. “Jaws” made me think twice before heading to the deep part of the ocean. “Exorcist” made me imagine the bad behaviour I witness out there to be demonic. Needless to say, I watched these movies when I was in my early twenties and, though I’ve revisited “Jaws” once, I admit having stayed away from “Exorcist” altogether.

Twenty-one years into this millennium, I’m finding that scary movies have deviated in such a way that the moviegoer analyses the plot to understand how the story is unfolding. Unlike “Jaws” and “Exorcist” which were that graphic to change my ways, movies like “Get Out” and “Us”,  both written and directed by American actor Jordan Peele, make me think and analyze the story, for there is a story in each of these movies. While they are both thrillers, they are psychological and thought-provoking.

In the late 60s, when “Goodbye Mr. Chips” made it to the Philippine cinema, a female relative went to see it. She had just been certified by the Philippine Board of Accountancy after getting her Bachelors’s degree in an elite all-female college. At 21, she was ready to conquer the world. Turned out, the world was not ready for her. She had taken instead a bookkeeping job just to get her foot inside the door, so to speak, and was feeling disillusioned at how her life was shaping up. So, she spent an afternoon watching the movie by Peter O’Toole and Petula Clarke. The movie did not lift up her spirits. It made her teary and sorrier than ever. Her academic background was becoming a liability to her and she was starting to realize that attendance in
an elite school was no guarantee to success in the workplace. Fast forward 52 years. She finds the DVD of this movie in a Christmas sale of library items at the Toronto Reference Library and remembers the day she watched it. She recalls the sadness that ensued after watching it. This was the second time she’d be watching the movie, after more than half a century. She was still teary after but this time, they were of a different nature.  She related to the male character who had become a widower dealing with old age but, who has kept the statue of Atlas which was given to her as an anniversary present by the wife who was killed during WW2. Same waterworks, just different reason for them.

People go to movies for many reasons but mostly for entertainment.  In the Philippines where the weather is generally hot and humid, Filipinos head to the movie theatres not just to entertain themselves but also to be cool and comfortable even for just a couple of hours. Fuel is costly in the Philippines and not everyone can afford an air conditioning unit installed in their homes. Filipinos are big on movie watching, whether they’re Hollywood or local movies. I’ve acquired this trait way before I immigrated to Canada. These days, my choice gravitates towards war movies. Any war movie catches my attention, whether it’s Hollywood, foreign subtitled, or Tagalog. With war movies, I am able to detach any emotion that I may feel. After all, what I watch is already history. And I know, nothing can change history. It is what it is.