The film, set in the 1980s, is centred upon a young student, from 1982 as a freshman and ending in 1986. The background is the last years of Martial Law in the Philippines where the Marcos dictatorship was at its peak.
In the film adaptation, director Jon M. Chu turns each musical number into a massive show stopper, with grand set pieces and a wealth of diverse dancers. Yet, in this attempt to show reverence for the people of the Washington Heights barrio, Chu, or maybe more specifically those in charge of casting, left out a crucial part of the community, Afro-Latinos.
If you've watched 'Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles', you are either someone who believes “nothing happens” in this three and half-hour film or you’re like me who believes everything happens.
Despite the film’s efforts to reframe its heroine with modern complexity, a certain emotional distance lingers.
A dynamic journey of self-acceptance and identity.
The film does not add anything to its own conversation or genre, and falls flat once it’s about to end and must declare some sort of conclusion.
She is being made to justify why she doesn’t believe he’s a feminist, instead of him having to justify his choice to claim he is one.
