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Vital Parts is the story of Inez Roxas (Joyce Jimenez), a pretty night club hostess who has more breast than brain. Ever on the lookout for avenues through which to leave the Philippines and escape the poverty she was born to, Inez practically peddles herself to Ty (Richard Grieco), an American tropical fish exporter doing business in the Philippines with a handful of American and Chinese partners. Too late does he discover that his partners actually smuggle human internal organs into the United States——organs taken from unsuspecting victims who afterwards disappear without a trace.
Although it is tagged as "international," Vital Parts
obviously won't ever be sent as entry to the Cannes Film Festival. But if by any chance it does get sent, woe to the Philippine movie industry! Even by local standards it is technically poor. Scenes are so dark that the viewer itches to use a flashlight to see things better. The acting is enthusiastic but amateurish. The shaky camera-handling would be forgiveable if the movie's title were "Earthquake."The sound is just as bad–gunshots are deafening and spoken lines are sometimes too faint to be understood. Details are also overlooked, like the puzzling one at the doctor's clinic–why is the blanket covering the bloody corpse immaculately white? Do they already make plastic-lined blankets these days or is this one bloodproof? Perhaps the only thing "international" about Vital Parts is the cast, and the location–many shots were done in Hongkong.
With the story by Harold Robbins, Vital Parts could have been a powerful movie, but as it is,
the evil in illicit organ trade is overshadowed by the played-up sex and violence. Indeed, many of such scenes could have been watered down without damage on the story line.
What calls for greater attention here is the subject of greed and materialism. How does greed propel man to commit despicable acts against his fellowmen? How does the desire
for material comforts drive woman to allow men to desecrate her own body? A movie like Vital Parts must be watched with eyes on the screen and ears attuned to the Scriptures.
Then, hopefully, the viewer may realize that the force that moves a person to satiate his body is the same force that also destroys it.
(Date Reviewed: February 9, 2001)
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