‘Alienasyon’ Review: Harsh history lessons

Alienasyon, the sole recipient of the Quezon City Film Development Council’s two million peso production grant, tells the story of a long-retired university professor, played magnificently by Spanky Manikan, on the verge of being evicted by the government from his home of so many decades.

Instead of detailing the prospective struggle of the old man to keep his home, writer-director Arnel Mardoquio smartly retreats to the past, focusing on memories of growing up at the time of progress, falling for a woman who is in love with somebody else, and suffering through a war that has caused him a life’s worth of guilt. 

Far from Mindanao

Alienasyon is Mardoquio’s first attempt to tackle issues that are not grounded to his native Mindanao. Despite that, the film feels like it does not stray far from his interest in depicting an ailing nation from the perspective of characters undergoing personal crises.

Like the crazed widow of Sheika (2010) or the wartime orphan and her new wards of Ang Paglalakbay ng Mga Bituin sa Gabing Madilim (2012), the embattled professor, in remembering the trials of his youth, projects a country that has been rendered both heartless and soulless.

Mardoquio still depicts war with unmatched intensity. He has little interest towards the actual mechanics of warfare. His unwavering focus is on the infliction of physical, emotional and spiritual anguish on people. His camera purposefully lingers on dirtied and bloodied faces, crumpling with the weight of the war-torn world. He mounts tableaus of ravaged bodies in the middle of the jungle, exemplifying how war has seemed to soil the land.

With Alienasyon, Mardoquio again revels at the drastic effects of war. War creeps into the soul, and lingers within the memories of those who have experienced taking part in its forced inhumanity.

Crafting issues 

Alienasyon is most triumphant when it is harshly quiet, allowing only the images to convey the desperation, despair, angst and loneliness of its main character. Jesse Lucas’ score however tends to bleed unnecessarily, especially during moments wherein silence would have proved to be the best complement to Mardoquio’s arresting visuals. 

More unfortunate is how the film’s rich imagery is wasted by uneven grading and a needless fear of the dark. A lot of the scenes set at night have been digitally cured to appear unnecessarily bright, creating an inconsistency to the darkness that the film is attempting to imply as the professor’s plight. 

Moreover, Mardoquio’s shooting style, wherein he relies on ambient light for most of his films, is quite appropriate to the realism he wants to inflict on his audience. Any form of digital curing to what is essentially an artistic decision to shoot in the dark with very scarce illumination will only disrupt. 

Notwithstanding the film’s many crafting issues, it still remains to be quite a powerful piece. It does not pander to the egos of the city that gave the grant for its creation, but instead delivers a scathing reminder of certain duties and virtues the city has to sternly uphold. 

Alienasyon explores history, which ironically has been etched into its guilt-ridden main character’s consciousness, but has conveniently been forgotten by the nation he has so faithfully served. ­– Rappler.com

Francis Joseph Cruz litigates for a living and writes about cinema for fun. The first Filipino movie he saw in the theaters was Carlo J. Caparas’ ‘Tirad Pass.’ Since then, he’s been on a mission to find better memories with Philippine cinema.