Still Life (2007 film)


Still Life is a 2007 Filipino film written, directed, and produced by Katski Flores and starring Glaiza de Castro with John Lloyd Cruz in a minor cameo role.

Plot

James Masino is a gifted painter diagnosed with a disease called Gillian Barre Syndrome or GBS. His doctor tells him he will eventually become completely paralyzed. Facing a future where he can no longer paint, James packs up his life in the city and goes into a self imposed exile at a friend's isolated house in a deserted island. His goal is to paint his final masterpiece, and then die.
His plans are thwarted when a girl shows up at the house, named Emma, who claims she too has been given access by the owner to spend a few days there. With no way to make contact with the outside world, James decides to let Emma stay at the house with him. At first he is annoyed by the disruption of his peace in the house. Slowly he is drawn to Emma against his will. One night Emma discovers in his secret room a wall filled with sketches of her. They become friends that evening and confide in each other their stories.
Emma learns of James' plan and tells him he is being a coward. They talk about the philosophy of suicide, why it can't be a legitimate choice. Emma reminds James life is precious. She tells him her story, that she got pregnant by a lover who abandoned her, and she was forced to give the baby up for adoption, to give it a better life.
Somehow the friendship inspires James and finally after spending an afternoon at a nearby town, James finds the inspiration for his final piece. Emma is his mode. But just as he begins to paint, his disease strikes and he collapses in a painful seizure.
He wakes up in a hospital. with his mother crying. She tells him they found him at the house, with his hands bleeding. James remembers he attempted to kill himself on the first night he arrived at the house. But he thought he chickened out. Turns put he didn't and the entire experience including meeting Emma was just a dream. His mother begs him to not to do anything like that again. She reminds him that whatever happens they will make it, as a family. They will help him. There is life after art.
Some time later, James returns to the house and finally finishes the painting.
We see his parents at the tomb of the woman who gave James to them to adopt. They are holding a small framed print of James' final masterpiece—a painting of her. The last scene shows James being interviewed by an actor, and he tells him he doesn't know what happened. Nor can he explain it. He is just happy that he met her in his dream.

Cast

Awards and nomination