[Paki v. 1. pry, to look with curiosity (generally used in the sense of "to pry into other peoples affairs"): manghimasok (makialam) sa mga gawain ng iba]
Giancarlo Abrahan's Paki (Please Care) shares some similarities with another film, Yoji Yamada's What a Wonderful Family! (2016) in that an impending separation becomes the catalyst for a thorough examination of an extended family in various, sometimes comedic, ways. Of course here the treatment is a little more subtle, and in this case the film's brilliance lies in ideas hidden between the lines.
The film starts with elderly Alejandra (Dexter Doria) coming from the ophthalmologist's clinic, presumably to have her cataracts examined. She's not really too keen on having the operation to remove these cataracts, but eventually she caves in to pressure and we next see her with an eye shield. Despite being the matriarch of the family (regularly a high and exalted position of authority) Alejandra's agency is taken away from her time and again in casual situations. After being fed up with her husband's improprieties for the last time, she decides to separate from him, leading her to try to take refuge with her three daughters and adult grandson in succession.
This little roadtrip within a movie becomes the framework by which Alejandra's family is examined. It's remarkably divergent from the stereotypical notion of the Filipino family; there are single parents, same sex couples and dysfunctional relationships between siblings. But stereotypes seldom reflect truth, and this family situation perhaps more accurately reflects the current state of many Filipino families, as no family is truly run of the mill. (Personally, it hits home for my family in more ways than one.) Abrahan wisely avoids relying on exposition to flesh out the family's situation for the most part, only opting to air out the family's dirty laundry when it feels natural to have it.
The film may be lighter in mood than, say, Abrahan's first feature Dagitab, but there's an undercurrent of melancholy that pervades the film. It's a sense of melancholy built on years of regret and bad decisions. The family is built on a past we only glimpse momentarily, and it can be rather enjoyable trying to piece these fragments together. In many ways, Alejandra's trip is a means to take back control of her life, when such control has been co-opted from her by her family. It's the same kind of melancholy that walks side by side with the overwhelming burden and responsibility of maintaining a family and keeping it cohesive. It is reflected ever so poignantly during a scene where Alejandra is in a bar, with the independence she wanted, yet now utterly alone.
Buoyed by the performance of a stellar ensemble cast, Paki is a relatively lighthearted, tender and gentle examination of the Filipino family. But within that gentle exterior lies powerful emotional heft that is surprisingly affecting.
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