A disclaimer: I was unable to see the first five or so minutes of Matangtubig, which is the scene that sets up the rest of the story, so take this not as a review, but more of an incomplete observation based on what I saw. So, based on what I saw, the gist is basically this: a fisherman sees two girls being picked up by policemen. The next day, one ends up dead and the other is nowhere to be found.
The whole thing explodes into a media frenzy as people try to find out what the hell happened - and what happened may be far stranger than anything than they could imagine.
Matangtubig mixes the social aspects of such a tragedy, such as the media's tendency to sensationalize, the public-at-large's tendency to concentrate on the town's image, the police's tendency to placate the public, and the government's impotence and tendency to ham it up for the press and the public. It can signify any situation in any small town, even the whole Philippines.
There is also the film's very unique and strange atmosphere. It's a blend of reality and the supernatural - the film makes you question the 'reality' of what is happening, making you wonder which of the scenes in the film are truth. Its atmosphere of strangeness draws you in the moment you step into the town and it never lets you go.
Shadows abound in Matangtubig: even in daylight some characters and scenes are bathed in shadow. Everyone in Matangtubig has a secret to tell, every one has their own darkness within them. It is in exposing these collective shadows that the film manages to shine. It's surreal and I wish I had seen the whole thing. I will probably update this once I manage to catch a screening further down the line.
And I guess we have to save the best for last, because this film is my favorite entry in QCinema this year. Objectively, there are better films in the lineup, but I enjoyed this one the most.
Patintero: Ang Alamat ni Meng Patalo is a childhood fairy tale of sorts, taking place in a world where Patintero is Trial by Combat and where homework, free merienda and territory is put on the line. It's also a coming of age movie and the film has its share of family drama moments as well.
It's the lightest fare in the festival, but it really doesn't need to be heavy. Patintero draws from anime and tokusatsu productions as influences, as seen in the briskly edited patintero scenes and (most notably) in the end credits, whose character designs are all too reminiscent of anime and manga from the seventies and eighties. It's familiar fare to people used to such genres, where the most mundane of sports (like card games, shogi and ping pong) are epic, dramatic and action packed.
In a way, this treatment is very appropriate, as childhood memories tend to be coated with a unique kind of gloss, where things are more wondrous or important than what really happened in the past. Many of us often look back to our childhoods with awe and a desire to return to those days. It's one of the reasons nostalgia works.
It's also easy to dismiss or not notice the background events in Patintero. Meng and her brother Manuel are being raised by their feisty, chain smoking grandmother. Meng's mother works abroad, and the father is not mentioned at all - although his identity (and the reason for Meng's mother splitting up) may be easy to figure out once you connect the dots. Manuel is having problems in school thanks to truancy - problems that are only partially addressed in the film. Some of the dramatic moments may end up giving the movie a slightly uneven feel, but overall the tone of the move works.
Patintero is a movie about friendship, moving past your limits, and the importance of family. It's viewed with a sentimental, nostalgic lens that makes the overall material light, but in the greater scheme of things, that's okay.
Next up, overall impressions and some other things.
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