Banal starring Christopher de Leon, Paolo Contis and Alfred Vargas

Banal, one of the movies in the Metro Manila Film Festival 2007, is probably the most controversial one. Originally given an X-rating by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) for being an anti-church flick, Banal caught the attention of many movie critics and viewers.

And I can’t understand why…

…why nobody can’t openly criticize Christopher de Leon’s performance and say to his face, “YOU SUCKED!”

….why Cass was included in the cast.

…why Paolo Contis even accepted this movie…didn’t he realize that taking part in it is quite demoralizing, given all the talent he has?

…why the plot seemed to have a lot of utterly nonessential sequences…FOR GOD’S SAKE, DO NOT STRETCH THE MOVIE ANY LONGER!

…why the dialogues are so 1970s…one could almost see the actors flinching in disgust as they blurt out the corny lines.

…why the “assassination plan” against the Pope was so outrageous, one would think it was concocted by Beavis and Butthead. 

…why Cesar Apolinario won as Best Director…I honestly don’t know.

…why this is the Best Story…I don’t wish to figure out why.

…AND why I even wasted 1 hour and 54 minutes of my precious time waiting for what’s supposedly so “censurable” about the plot. Unfortunately…it came at the ending.

And I realized I was duped.