A Philippine release for….Atonement (?!?!)

When the film was scheduled to come out last October in the UK,  I got news from PinoyDVD.com that it was slated for a November 2007 release.   It was later then that I heard that this Oscar-nominated film reteaming Keira Knightley with her “Pride and Prejudice” director Joe Wright was pushed forward to February (ostensibly to catch up with the Valentine’s B.O. as well as the Academy Awards telecast.  Come February 20…still no sign of Atonement according to ClickTheCity.com. 

Meanwhile, the selections include BFGF and Blonde Ambition (which bombed big-time in the US but clinched the top of the B.O. in – hold your breath – the Ukraine).  Just today, I looked up ClickTheCity.com to see and still no sign of Atonement.  We have The Kite Runner, Dan in Real Life…hell, even some POS called The Flock (how the hell did A-list stars like Richard Gere & Claire Danes and the Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau get mixed up in this????)   Yeah, let’s not forget My Big Love (n0, nothing to do with the HBO series starring Bill Paxton as a practicing polygamist) but some rip-off of The Nutty Professor (or was it a Korean film whose lead played a fat girl who wins the guy of her dreams) starring Fil-Am Sam Milby in yet another role that requires him to act cute even in a fat suit (where he looks like Paul Bearer, the Undertaker’s manager during the bad ol’ WWF era).

  

Was UIP-Solar afraid of putting up this wondrous period piece in a market willing to swallow saccharine love stories fronted by talentless GI babies whose only claim to fame are their supposed genetic advantage?  As I have posted in a PinoyExchange thread for this film, I brought up theories on why the local distributor kept on moving the scheduled Philippine release date:

1. Filipinos in general cannot comprehend British accents (ever wonder why The Queen – which landed Helen Mirren a Best Actress Oscar last year – has never seen the light of local release?)
2. Filipinos do not appreciate costume dramas – particularly post-Renaissance ones (has anyone – honestly – bothered to check out Pride and Prejudice during its cinematic run over here???)
3. Filipinos don’t even know who Ian McEwan is, let alone the fact he wrote the book where this film was adapted from (but they can give me a roll call of all the mutants in X-Men3!  Hah!!!)
4. Lack of gigantic explosions or gratuitous FX scenes involving supernatural creatures or super-heroic feats

From the same source, I learned that it was also around November or December of last year that Atonement was released in Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan (at least these countries don’t have to contend with stupid “filmfests” that are yet another excuse for commerical protectionism on the part of the local film industry).  I have resigned myself to the possibility that Atonement may be consigned to the pre-Holy Week “graveyard” where films moldering on distributors’ shelves may be dusted off to hopefully hook the few multiplex moviegoers who haven’t yet hit Baguio or the beaches.   Looks like many of those who were anticipating a local release are opting instead for the inevitable bootleg “pirate” DVDs circulated from these countries (there will be… Cantonese subtitles).   

AFAIK, “Atonement” may be headed for B.O. purgatory in this culturally shallow corner of the world where comic-book heroes and star-driven vehicles rule.

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