I've watched the movie three times. Two times in the Cinemalaya film festival, and once in SM North EDSA. I don't know if it is just me and my attachment to Pisay a.k.a Philippine Science High School,
pero siya ang pelikulang walang sawa kong panonoorin, ulit-ulitin ko man siya. (I am so redundant. About the movie... this is probably a very biased opinion because I am a Pisay alumna, but how can I not help but love a movie about my school?)
I not only love the movie because it is about Pisay, the school I went to for four years and come to love despite all the hardships it gave me. I love it because it shows the reality of a high school student's life; it breaks the stereotypes of high school sweet hearts, shows the reality of academic pressure and expectations, reminisces the friendship between fellow students, and a lot of other things that will take forever if I say them all individually. Also, it is not only about high school life, but life itself. My favorite lines include Mr. G's lines from his Bio class ("We do not change in order to survive, we survive in order to change.") and the narration of Minggoy in his scene with his Lola (It goes something like... "Ang buhay iba-iba. Ang buhay ng isa, limang buhay na ng iba... buti nalang, sa ibang dula ng universe, kung saan ang E ay equal to m c squared, hindi mahalaga ang iksi o haba ng panahon."
Aside from those things, I am once again inspired and convinced na ako ang kabataan na pag-asa ng bayan. My country needs change, like back then in the 80's, when Marcos was overthrown by people power. I am convinced that I went to Pisay for a reason, and that is to be the pag-asa ng bayan. Everytime I see or hear something related to Pisay (especially the movie), I want to do something for the Philippines. A lot of Filipinos want to get out of this place for good, pero patuloy na umaalab ang aking puso. This movie reminded me that because of Pisay, I love the country because it is where I came from and grew up with. Kahit na maraming bansa diyan na di hamak na mas maunlad sa Pinas, ito pa rin ang bayan ko.
On a lighter note, the movie made me more curious about Pisay and the history of our country back in the 80's. What's more, I want to know more about the teachers who were portrayed in the movie: Ms. Casas, Mr. G, Ms. Fanny and the Soc Sci teacher (I do not know her name)... especially Ms. Fanny, or Dr. Fanny A. Garcia in real life. If only somebody knows the desperation inside of me just to talk with her. Why so? Because I am studying in La Salle, and she is a professor there! I need to muster up a lot of courage to barge in to the Filipino Department just to ask her about her life in Pisay and the 80's. *sigh* Ang kapal talaga ng mukha ko. Hahaha. Wishful thinking. I do not even know how she'll react if I tell her I'm from Pisay and I want to talk to her... but who knows? I really want to know more about my school, and my country. LOL. ^^
Okay... this post is incredibly long already. To my Pisay batchmates, teachers and staff (that includes the librarians, the guards, etc), thank you for all the memories. To Director Aureaus Solito, Mr. Henry Grageda, the Pisay alumna who contributed stories for the movie... (and all the other people involved in the movie), thank you for making such a wonderful movie about our school, and thank you for making it such a great experience for me. ^^