It’s
the very first time that Sineng Pambansa
had the chance to be shown in SM Cinemas hinting that more people will get the
chance to watch it. Also, this year’s entries are called All-Masters Edition where in participants are veteran mainstream directors
making the competition more exciting. However, it also makes it hard for us to
choose what we’ll watch because every film looks good and worthy for the
hundred pesos fee. Despite the hard time choosing a film, my friends and I
decided to watch Maryo j. delos Reyes’ Bamboo
Flowers.
Bamboo Flowers is a film that focused on
family, a Maryo J trademark. The film was divided in three stories who at some
point in the film, met unexpectedly and unintentionally. The first story is
about a young boy, Omel, his Mom and his grandfather whom he calls Papang. He and his papang used to be a part of a dance troupe performing for tourists
in Bohol where the film was set. His mother, on the other hand, is a tourist
guide. When his Papang became ill,
Omel was forced to leave his family and work in the city to provide for his
family. While working on an appliance center in the city, he was discovered in
talent search which he won. Sadly, an unexpected event happened and changed his
life just before he won the TV search, Papang
died. Another story focused on the relationship of mother and son. After the
death of their family’s provider, Sandra and her son Eric had no choi
ce but to
move and live in the province leaving their lavish life in Manila. Eric hated
being in the province but still manages to make friends in the local kids in
the end. And lastly, we saw the challenges a young couple faces in their
relationship. Both Luis and Dolores are college undergraduates—Luis a Maritime
student and Dolores a tourism student. And when Luis failed his exams for the
nth time, he was forced to be back to his family and help father in farming and
his sister who was still depressed after his husband’s death. Dolores, on the
other hand, met an old foreigner during her internship in a resort. The
foreigner eventually falls in love with Dolores and offered her a job in either
Palawan or Boracay in exchange of marriage. Despite the offer that’ll change
her life, Dolores declined the offer and rather went to live with Luis in the
province.
When
I first heard of Sineng Pambansa, I
felt really excited because I’ll have another chance to watch a film festival
entry and the fact that mainstream directors will be the ones participating, I
expected that more
than good. Bamboo Flowers is a
good film but it didn’t exceed my expectations and did not leave me at awe. It
surely taught the audience something.
And maybe I just expected more because it’s done by a mainstream director. The film
made sure that it showed the beautiful sceneries of Bohol.
film entries will be 
Anyway, aside
from its main theme which is family, the film also focused on friendship, love,
and most importantly, hope. Eric and Bingo basically exhibited youth and
friendship, Luis and Dolores obviously expressed that love can beat all odds,
and Omel is an example of a persevering and determined guy. His growth from a
salesman to a new star displays hope. At first, I find it odd that all of the
three sub-stories involve death. It was only at the conclusion of the film when
my question was answered. Apparently, the term bamboo flowers is indeed a part of the bamboo plant that becomes
visible only when the plant was about to die. This explains why each story
tackles death. The film pointed out that in spite an unfortunate death of a
loved one, we have to learn to accept these changes and continue to move
forward in our lives. 
