Movie reviews: All 5 Sinag Maynila films

The Sinag Maynila film festival is ongoing, and features 5 films from a talented group of directors, each with a different vision and approach. Film reviewer Oggs Cruz takes a look at each one. Check out his reviews below: (READ: The 5 films: Sinag Maynila film festival 2015)

Balut Country Review: Soft-boiled class struggle 

Jun (Rocco Nacino), from the first obvious frames of Paul Sta. Ana’s Balut Country, is a man who is oblivious to the outside world. He is trapped in a life where his going concerns are paramount, and the rest of society, whether or not they are fighting for rights that are more urgent and dire than his, is just none of his business.

He is on his way to Candaba, the hometown he has abandoned years ago, to sell the land he has inherited from his father to finance the beginnings of his planned life as a family man. However, he becomes reacquainted with the family who has been tending the duck egg business that his father left behind, forcing him to rethink his decisions and his place in the world. 

Balut Country tells the story of Jun’s expected change of heart by mapping the geography of Candaba and detailing the business that is the life of the town. It is a sweet and harmless tale, littered with predictable scenarios that limit the emotional potential of the film.

Nevertheless, the film does what it sets out to do, which is to depict a social structure, that of the privileged landowners and their loyal tenants, within a framework that is safe and feckless. Balut Country is a film that celebrates the status quo, the lordship of the bourgeoisie, the idea that in the end, the poor is still subject to the sudden whims and decisions of their fortunate landlords. 

Bambanti Review: Trial by tribulation

Bambanti thrives in irony. It is quite a beautiful film, shot in lovely frames filled with bright colors and that idyllic allure by cinematographer Sol Garcia. It also starts out quaintly, detailing the simple lives of Belyn (Alessandra de Rossi, who aptly switches from restrained to hysterical with astounding grace), a widow, and her children as they struggle to make ends meet. Director Zig Dulay makes it seem that Bambanti is but a charming but static portrait of rural humility. 

And then Dulay subtly steers the narrative towards a direction that is darker and pertinent, interestingly without compromising both his aesthetics and pacing. Popoy (luminously played by Micko Laurente), Belyn’s son, is accused of stealing a gold watch. What happens after is a flurry of events which test the integrity of all the characters who are suddenly involved in a morality play where the definition of justice is at stake.

Bambanti lovingly unfolds even during the moments where it becomes too painful to watch. It consistently keeps the irony it has profoundly established at its heart, using it to milk the emotions out of the plight of a family who is suddenly faced with further tribulations because of an unfounded accusation. The postcard-worthy images transform into absurd paintings, given the fact that beneath the beauty is quite a rotten core.

Dulay layers his seemingly simple tale by setting it in a specific locale that is celebrating its annual fiesta. In a way, Dulay seems to be criticizing how Filipinos hide their faults beneath colorful masks, costumes, smiles, and courteous gestures. When push comes to shove, it is but too easy to point fingers, offer that sacrificial lamb, all for the sake of overrated reputation.

Imbisibol Review: Overwhelming bleakness 

Lawrence Fajardo’s Imbisibol, originally a play that premiered during the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Virgin Lab Fest, tells the intertwining stories of three Filipino workers living in Japan. Fajardo however makes use of the fact that he has been given the opportunity to shoot the entire film in Japan, resulting in a work whose theatrical roots have become so distant to be noticeable.

The first third of Imbisibol centers on Benjie (quietly effective Bernardo Bernardo) as he prepares for the birthday of his partner, Edward (Ricky Davao). The episode lovingly paints a portrait of a romance fostered both by the convenience of existing away from the prying eyes of their fellowmen and by familiarity. Fajardo banks on the details, on the little things that echo the years of companionship we do not see on screen, to push the emotional impact of the episode’s heartbreaking conclusion. 

The second episode has Manuel (Allen Dizon) struggling with the fact that he is a has-been, a once prominent hosto that has now turned into the dreg of most nightclubs. Fajardo fluently communicates how Manuel has turned Japan not into the land of opportunity most overseas workers see it but as an escape that in some way has also betrayed him. 

The final episode features Rodel (JM de Guzman), an undocumented worker who is being hounded by an envious co-worker. An accident would lead to all the three episodes being linked, via Linda (Ces Quesada), the owner of an apartment who provides the hiding place for most undocumented Filipino workers in the city. 

Imbisibol wisely utilizes the bleakness of Fukuoka during winter to create an atmosphere that is apt to all the emotions that Fajardo seeks to explore in the film. The film is deliberately paced, echoing the unbearable length of the snow-laden season which partakes the metaphoric termination of the characters’ tenuous status in that foreign land.

Ninja Party Review: Truth or inconsequence 

Jim Libiran’s Ninja Party is meandering to the point of absurdity. Most of the film features conversations on inane topics that only have importance to post-pubescent girls (played by Annicka Dolonius, Bea Galvez, Julz Savard, and Elora Espano). The supposed climax of the film, the titular ninja party or to the uninitiated, a secret event where kids from upscale schools wearing masks to hide their identities participate in an orgy, is but an insignificant portion of the film, more of a turning point than a prominent feature. 

It is best however to go see Ninja Party not for its shocking revelations but for its fluid perspective. As opposed to Gino Santos’ The Animals (2012) and #Y (2014) which offer an insider view of the wasted and wasteful lives of the Philippines’ privileged children, Ninja Party has an imagined representation of the same wayward youth. The film has characters who resemble stereotyped fantasies, Catholic-schooled pixies who are actually sexual animals beneath their dull uniforms.

Ninja Party is clearly a product of Libiran’s unique imagination, which is responsible for the grim escapades of Tondo rappers in Tribu or the football hopes of young slumdwellers in Happyland. Despite the clear differences in setting, Ninja Party offers a perspective that is charged with social urgency. 

If seen from the perspective of his previous works which depict less fortunate children who are offered fewer choices in life, Ninja Party finds relevance, as a fervent, brash, and often funny reaction to upper class children who live lives of inconsequence, where their faults produce no comeuppance, and where their parents’ money and influence trump traditional morality.

Swap Review: Smoke and mirrors 

Remton Zuasola’s Swap is a triumph in ambition but unfortunately a failure in execution. The film, about a father (Matt Daclan) whose baby was kidnapped and is now tasked by the police to become the bait in an operation to target the goons who are actually gunning for bigger fish, is shot in one long take, within a structure that passes for houses, factories, and other settings from different timelines.

As opposed to Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria (2008), which also features a single long take to capture the long journey of mail-order bride as she is to leave her little town for Germany, Swap jumps from one location and one period to another, without the benefit of editing, relying mostly on the camerawork of Ruel Antipuesto and the production design.

The illusion however is not seamless, due to the fault of a production that readily shows its inadequacies with folds and creases that are too jarring to be ignored. Given that the film’s technique unfolds imperfectly, making the film resemble a filmed theatrical production rather than a visual spectacle, Swap fails to position itself as the distant memory that Zuasola ambitions for the film.

The endeavor however is noteworthy. Moreover, Swap is pregnant with layers. By juxtaposing the very personal struggle of a father which the media ate up for drama and the social malaise of political opponents being killed which the media fails to recognize for various reasons, Zuasola again expounds on the role of media in both the tool for both education and bamboozlement, depending on who utilizes it.

Swap may be flawed but it is important. It is a clear product of a director who has matured beyond storytelling and into the realm of utilizing film and its various techniques to enunciate truths we often avoid. Hopefully, Zuasola will be able to finally craft a film without having to be limited by budgetary and logistical constraints that only hinder him from realizing his potential as a filmmaker. – 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. Profile photo by Fatcat Studios