In response to the attack in Balangiga that constituted the greatest US Army defeat since Little Bighorn in 1876, General Jacob Smith told his subordinates to turn Samar "into a howling wilderness." More than 100 years later, the actual number of Filipino casualties remains unknown.
In Balangiga: Howling Wilderness, we see the aftermath of that retaliation, a literal hellscape littered with dead bodies and devastation. Young Kulas and his grandfather attempt to escape Smith's order of indiscriminate violence against the population but they meet several obstacles along the way.
Over the years Khavn has continued his exploits as cinematic provocateur. His films have managed to push boundaries in terms of genre and subject matter. Yet Balangiga may be one of his more accessible films; the film itself feels like a whimsical child's coming of age journey, but with a decidedly subversive tint.
The film melds ideas of freedom from oppression and the lingering ghost of imperialism that haunts our country even now. In witnessing his fight for survival, we become Kulas. The desire for freedom is written in our very souls. We as a people yearn to live our lives in peace, free of the concerns of other people. Kulas' life becomes his own, and his journey becomes a journey of self realization towards finding meaning in life. Sometimes though, the journey never really ends.
The film is prone to fits of weirdness, but that's really par for the course for any Khavn film. His frames are saturated in color and high contrast, creating a feeling of un-realism within the stark reality of the war. It's also filled with strange dream imagery and mystic symbolism. Much like his other work, this is a film that is meant to be felt and experienced, and it gives no easy answers.
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