Sunday 16 June 2013

Movie Review: Dance Of The Steelbars

A story inspired by actual events in a Filipino prison, the struggles that inmates experience and their quest to feel human again. This riveting feature film about redemption follows Frank Parish (Patrick Bergin), a retired US fireman and philanthropist who finds himself wrongly accused of murder and jailed in the Philippines. Stuck in prison, Frank was beginning to lose faith in everything he believed in until he becomes friends with Mando (Dingdong Dantes), a convicted murderer who denies his passion for dancing just to prove his masculinity and Allona (Joey Paras), a transsexual who tries to contribute to prison reforms by teaching his fellow inmates dance exercises. They get involved in a tricky struggle between the positive changes initiated by the new warden (Ricky Davao) and the corrupt system that weighs down the inmates' chance to become better individuals. Frank finds himself caught in an intricate web of lies and must choose between concealing what he knows to keep himself out of danger or to help his fellow inmates by revealing the truth. Will he remain on the sidelines as an observer, or will he dance the dance of the steel bars?

The screenplay is not that good enough for me to hook on the movie.  The material is good but it lacks brilliance on screenplay on how to deliver the life of the main characters in the in the film. It lacks build up for them to reach the goal to shows the life of the dancing inmate and how they able to achieve and motivate theirself to become a performer inside the jail. The good point of the film is the actors who delivers well in the movie like Gabe Mercado and Mon Confiado. I also like the laast part of the film which is the dance presentation of the inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center and that scene alone is worthy of watching this fim.


My Verdict: 2.5/5

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