Now on its second year, ToFarm Film Festival is a film festival about farmers, farming and everything about them. It's a pretty unlikely topic to make films for, but it's a welcome change to learn about the Filipino farmer in a cinematic milieu where they aren't discussed as much. These guys put food on our collective tables, so it's high time we take notice of these unsung heroes.
High Tide, Tara Illenberger's first feature length in 5 years, is about a number of families in a coastal village devastated by a powerful typhoon. They get by with fish farming, collecting clams on the shore and other activities. The story focuses on three kids, Unyok, Dayday and Leila as they live their relatively carefree childhood lives in an environment that is struggling to heal itself.
High Tide operates similarly to Illenberger's first feature length film Brutus, in that it involves children undertaking a journey of self-discovery. In this case it's Unyok, who lost both parents to the typhoon and has subsequently lost the ability to speak due to the trauma. But High Tide also looks at the bigger picture: it looks at the detrimental effects of climate change not only on the environment, but on the people living in that environment. It puts a human face on the toll our negligence has caused. It shows us that more than ever,in the face of climate change, the poorest of us are the ones who suffer the most.
The mangroves in this tale serve as a character of its own; the mangroves nurture and protect the community, and in many parts of the movie replanting them symbolizes a new beginning. It's no coincidence that it's paired with a human endeavor that itself symbolizes starting over and change - marriage.
The movie takes a long time to get off the ground (at 90 minutes, an hour is spent on just building up the characters and story.) But once it does, everything comes together dramatically, although the production gets a bit rough at some points. It's drama worth watching.
You know, there's something about Vic Acedillo's films that are really charming, even though production-wise his films aren't the best. I had the same feeling with his earlier film Lando at Bugoy, which was about a father-son relationship strained to the limit after dad goes back to school. This time, it's about an elderly retiree and his grandson. Lolo Peping has a real green thumb, but this puts him at odds with his neighbors, who regularly swipe his crops. That sets off a chain of events that threatens his simple way of living.
That's the main premise of Kamunggai. It's about the joy of growing stuff in your garden and eating from the fruits of your labor, relevant stuff especially in modern times where everything is instant or fast food.
The grandpa-grandson duo have a rough start together, but they do eventually develop a mutual respect for one another. They branch off into their own storylines, with Peping finding ways to purchase the land that he lives on, while grandson Kenken tries to fit in at his new school and make friends. It's simple stuff, though both characters live with ghosts from their own past and are trying to better themselves in the process.
The film also raises questions about land ownership and issues of sustainability, though it does so in a relatively lighthearted way. The film isn't as refined as some of the other films in this festival - the sound cuts off at odd times, there are some weird comedic moments that don't work, and the edits sometimes feel off as well. But that's all overridden by a strange charm that I can't place that made me smile at some parts. There's obvious heart in the making of Kamunggai, and it shows.
Baklad means fish trap in Tagalog - it's a practice where people fence off areas of a body of water to trap the fish inside, fatten them up, then farm them for profit. In this case, the trap ensnares people within it as well. Ronwaldo Martin is one such person, hired as a "fishpen boy" who ensures that fish don't escape the enclosure. His boss buys Maya (Elora Espano), a deaf-mute girl who is for all intents and purposes his sex slave. They fall in love and sex ensues.
The premise seems workable, but there's a sleaziness to its execution that reminded me of softcore films from the early 2000's. (Personally, I'd have no objection calling this film Horny Fish Boys.) Everyone seems to be perpetually horny, watching porn or engaging in communal jacking off sessions. It's certainly not my cup of tea, but fine, different strokes for different folks (pun intended.) The first 2/3 of the film wasn't as bad as I thought it could be, though the whole product is pretty skeevy. (I'll also hold off on the mayo for a while, thanks.)
Then the film completely falls off a cliff in the last third. Subtitles start disappearing. There's no soundtrack, sound effects are mostly absent and there's no dialogue for minutes on end. Scenes feel unpolished (unpolished being an understatement.) Everyone acts like they were in a hurry to end production, and it really shows. This last act feels very unfinished, as if it were shoehorned in at the last minute. Character arcs and resolutions appear out of the blue, making for a very unsatisfying experience.
The film tries to insert commentary on fishpens and their deleterious effects on the community by making competition unfair, but it all feels shoehorned in. There's even a commentary on EJK that feels jammed into the movie as well. All in all Baklad was disappointing. I didn't care for the first 2/3 and the last third was terrible.
***
ToFarm Film Festival, with the motto "Planting Seeds of Change," screens at multiple movie theaters from July 12-18.
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