‘Kono Basho’ a film entry to Cinemalaya 2024 | Screengrab from YouTube/Project 8 Projects There is a saying that “grief is just love with nowhere to go,” and it is true, so when someone find the place or person that they can give the love that they get from a certain heartbreak, they slowly find themselves healed and comforted. That’s the message “Kono Basho,” one of the film entries to the Cinemalaya 2024 , tried to impart to its viewers. Directed by Jaime Pacena II, “Kono Basho,” which literally means “this place,” is set in the tsunami-stricken city of Rikuzentakata in Japan and tells the story of two estranged half-sisters, Filipina anthropologist Ella (Gabby Padilla) and Japanese painter Reina (Arisa Nakano), who reunite at their father’s funeral and were forced to bond as they make peace with their personal wounds.
The film utilizes the technique that “less is more.” It didn’t try to be groundbreaking with its plot or dialogues, but it still did something to make the audience feel they are on a journey with the characters, who are searching for a way to recover from their grief and personal issues. “Kono Basho’s” strength lies in its sincere storytelling and beautifully shot cinematography.
The movie also shows the way two nations deal with grief through the lens of the Japanese and Filipino individuals, may it be personal or communal. It shows that even those who don’t share the same roof or identity, once grief enters the door, th.