Bor Ocampo's Hitboy is a strange creature. It follows off the heels of his first feature, Dayang Asu, a pitch-black exploration of oppression and impunity. But Hitboy is a far different creature - it tries to emulate the balance of grimness and comedy that was a feature of one of his short films, EJK. This time, however, the balance tips, and the film ends up too wacky for its own good.
The film is about Alex, a young assassin. After a job that goes terribly awry, he has one last chance to redeem himself. At the same time, however, he has to deal with his sick father and the fact that his girlfriend is now pregnant.
The film uses pigeons as a metaphor of sorts: set free, yet destined to return home to its cage through instinct. Alex's life as a killer may not be one made by conscious choice, but that is his nature, and life (death?) finds a way to keep him in the loop. While he loathes the emotional toll the job takes on him, there's a sense that he is (albeit unconsciously) grateful to his handlers for helping him support his family.
That said, the film's tonal dissonance works to its detriment. Most of the criminals and hooligans in the film are bumbling idiots, and their silliness detracts from the otherwise serious issues the film is trying to grapple with. The film can be funny and it is, to its credit, well acted (in particular, Mon Confiado's performance as an exaggerated version of himself is almost worth the price of admission). In losing the balancing act between blackness and comedy, it thus lacks the very thing it desperately needs to work.
After losing his fellow comrades in an ambush, Hardrock (Edgar Allan Guzman) begins to see the ghosts of his fallen friends. They each have one final request for him before they move on to their next lives.
The premise of Rod Marmol's Matatapang reminds me of Ron Underwood's Heart and Souls (1993), which operates off a similar premise. In that film, Robert Downey Jr. helps four souls gain closure over their lives. It was a heartwarming, at times corny film, but it works. Matatapang works at the heartstrings in a similar way, but it then takes the emotional thread in a different direction during its last act. While Matatapang doesn't always hit its emotional notes, when it does, it hits really hard.
The film has a bunch of funny moments, and all throughout there's a nice balance between all the emotional peaks and troughs that these characters go through. Hardrock may be a badass soldier with a cool name, thirsty for death and battle, but his friends teach him that humanity and empathy makes a good soldier into a great one.
The first request is pretty straightforward, and it helps set the emotional tone of the rest of the requests. The second request doesn't hit the target; though I feel it attempts to communicate the fact that in a war, everyone's just fighting for their own causes, there's a reason why some causes (terrorism) aren't worth fighting for. The third request is not unexpected, given how heavily the film hints at it, but its resolution really encapsulates all the good that a soldier can be: selfless and loyal to a fault, taking service towards others over personal interest.
Matatapang isn't a perfect film by any means, but it's a worthwhile watch.
Alpha Habon's Mga Mister ni Rosario operates on an interesting premise: Rosario, a.k.a. Sari (Kate Alejandrino) is the ultimate ascended fangirl, having married the man of her dreams, popular actor Yogi Juan (Joross Gamboa). However, following a horrific accident, Yogi decides to take method acting to extremes by literally becoming the characters he plays, whether it be a priest, a homeless vagrant or a gay man. This premise runs into problems once Sari learns that Yogi's next role is as a serial killer...
Once the cuteness overstays its welcome, it's evident that Mga Mister ni Rosario just doesn't work. The movie is too silly to take seriously, and the premise is crushed under its own weight. Perhaps the film serves as meta-commentary about the boundaries of art and artists, or how the most interesting and complex of relationships can be borne from folie a deux. Perhaps, Sari and Yogi's relationship mirrors how artists externalize their own neuroses and personal shit into the art that they make, even to the detriment of their own being.
However, the narrative pieces don't really fit well together; the film decides instead to meander into one jokey sequence after another, and the ludicrousness of the situations our characters find themselves in don't help either. I'm not sure if the absurdist tone is deliberate or the unfortunate result of a kitchen sink approach to see what sticks, with the fake doll children or the cosplay or the bizarre nature of Yogi and Sari's relationship. It looks good on paper, but the execution leaves much to be desired. It's the cinematic equivalent of watching a pretty sports car drive off a cliff.
Roni Benaid's Poon shows its flaws from the start: devoted Catholic Claudia (Glydel Mercado) buys a statue from a creepy old woman. Moral lesson: DON'T buy weird statues from old ladies who look at you creepily mere moments after you try to buy them. Claudia then takes this statue to her home where she takes care of it. At the same time, however, people at her parish start dying.
The film operates like a slow burn horror-thriller, if a bit forgettable. It comments on relevant issues: it questions the Catholic practice of having statues in the first place, as it veers very closely to idolatry, while at the same time it also teaches the lesson to reject false gods, religious or otherwise.
The moment where Poon really loses me is during its last act, where a "shocking" twist changes everything. It's probably one of the most incomprehensible endings to any film I've seen this year. I had mental images of El Kabong, the guitar bonging horse after watching that last act. It creates a paradox between the supernatural elements and a real world explanation of all the events, and it makes several character actions inconsistent and baffling.
God doesn't always answer prayers, sure. This was once instance of that. I prayed for a good movie and I got 2/3 of a forgettable movie and 1/3 hilarity.
***
Cinefilipino Shorts B Short Shorts Reviews
.raw is pretty straightforward in its message, though I'm not completely sure it communicates the rawness (pardon the pun) of real relationships as well as I'd hoped, as we see more of the glossy edited version in this film instead.
Gabi ng Kababalaghan's aesthetic clearly apes the legendary Magandang Gabi Bayan Halloween specials of ages past, and it does so extremely well. The story itself is pretty light, and things can get really silly, but this one's all about the retro/nostalgic feel.
I was on board with Lasingtunado until the actual fight started and things got a little too silly and corny for my taste. It mostly works.
Amusin Pa's depiction of a childhood crush is really, really sweet, if a bit too light. Elora Espano is lovely and charming as always.
Duyan ng Alon ends with a little twist that made me want to watch the film again, and that's something. It's interesting stuff.
Ate, Kuya, Gusto Kong Kape takes a clever premise into a claustrophobic space and makes it work really well. On the technical side, there were some times when the framerate would dip but I'm not sure if it was a technical problem or something deliberate.
and finally, Siyudad sa Bulawan shines a light on the plight of gold miners in Mt. Diwalwal in Compostela valley. In its short running time, the film explores the complex situation between the miners who only want to feed their families despite the very real danger of death, and the environmental repercussions that such activities can wreak on the environment. And that is something worth noting.
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