A Film a Week - Sisa

 previously published on Asian Movie Pulse

For a movie, to defy the expectations is not always easy. Sometimes the reason for that lays in our own inability to disregard them in order to approach the film in an honest, fair and square way. Reviewers bear some power and responsibility that comes with it, but we’re all humans after all. In that regard, marketing and PR come as powerful, but ultimately a dangerous tool – if used in a wrong way, it backfires and does the damage.

Case in point: Jun Robles Lana’s newest film “Sisa” that has just premiered at the official competition of Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia. Sold as a war movie and a revenge thriller set just after the American takeover of the Philippines from the Spanish, it turns out to be something else entirely, and not in a good way.

That should be clear from the get-go, since the filmmaker opens the film with a series of info-cards that give us a politicized historical lesson on a pretense of providing some context. The theme is the American occupation of the archipelago in 1899 following the war with the Spanish who ruled the islands for the previous three centuries. Americans have established a reign of terror, executing hundreds of thousands of men and putting women and children in concentration camps. While there were still some fighters trying to resist to the new colonial oppressor from the jungle, the fear of revenge was great and the rest of the population suffered. (At this place, one can’t help asking a question whether the previous Spanish or the subsequent Japanese occupation were any better or milder from the Filipino point of view, but let’s not go down that alley.)

Anyhow, a nameless and seemingly aimless traumatized woman (Hilda Koronel) walks into the fenced village going straight to the guard tower without saying a word. The American soldiers are about to shoot her, but the women from the village beg them to spare her life. The woman does not remember her own name, but gets a new one, Sisa, after a crazed character from a popular book. Simmering with anger that could explode to rage and fury, Sisa observes the proceedings in the village: the openly racist attitude from the camp military commander and the condescending one from the teacher (Isabel Lamers), the pedophilia from the soldiers, the different survival tactics adopted by the different women in the village, from open defiance to accepting the role of the concubines in order to make something for themselves, which almost always results in rivalry and conflict among them.

Given that the men coming to the village to trade goods or to pass the message are no less opportunistic and abusive, one might wonder not if, but when will the titular character lead the rebellion against the cruelty world. Alas, that does not happen, so, instead of a genre movie that we are promised, we get two hours of thinly veiled historical historical lesson from a raging anti-colonial and pretend-feminist perspective garnished with a dose of torture porn to make a point. Basically, a pamphlet.

The acting is underwhelming throughout, given that the cast members usually deliver some rigidly written lines in an amateurish way with more or less theatrics, with the noble exceptions from Hilda Koronel whose character rarely speaks, so the actress has to use her facial expressions and posture as tool more often, which she does quite well, and Isabel Lamers who has enough experience and instinct to make something out of her character. The choice of the actors to play the American soldiers is quite questionable, as it seems that it consists of amateurs that never acted for camera before, but it might be a deliberate statement.

From such a modestly budgeted movie, no one could expect some high production values, but the production design is basic rather than minimalist and the costumes seem lifted directly from a local theater troupe. Some saving grace might be found in Carlo Mendoza’s cinematography, but not for the reason of the cinematography itself, but simply coming from the outdoor locations that could pose as the scenery from a western, adventure or a war movie.

“Sisa” is a highly underwhelming experience, but what frustrates the most is that there was the way for it not to be the case, and that way was pretty obvious. Even on a shoestring budget, adopting a genre approach of a war action movie or a period-set revenge thriller flick would result in a better movie and in a vehicle that could deliver the message in a way that is both more elegant and more loud. It had the character, it had the setting, but its filmmaker might have lacked both courage and skill to do so.

A Film a Week - Some Nights I Feel Like Walking

 previously published on Cineuropa

Nights on the streets of busy mega-cities all tend to have similar sounds and vibes: traffic is passing by, people are out walking, vendors are trying to sell their goods, and hustlers of different kinds are attempting to offer their services. There is a constant murmur in the background that almost seems like a drone. Judging by the newest effort by the relatively young, but impressively prolific, Filipino filmmaker Petersen Vargas, Manila is no different. Some Nights I Feel Like Walking has premiered in Tallinn Black Nights’ Official Competition.

First, we meet Uno, a self-assured young man who deftly navigates the busy city streets, night markets and other gathering places – the waiting rooms of bus stations and public toilets, too. This is where he sets eyes on his peer Zion for the first time, giving him a piece of free advice. If there was any suspicion what Uno’s trade is, it will be swept away when his buddies Bay, Rush and Ge appear, making plans for the night and fending off the competition for the attention of “the clients”, as they call them. Their hunting ground is a gay porn theatre hidden in a shopping mall.

This is where Uno and Zion meet again, sharing a client and his payment. Encouraged by Uno’s warm reaction to his presence, he expresses his desires to join the gang, which does not sit well with the jealous, beefy Bay. However, the gang will soon have other matters to deal with, as Ge ends up drugged and left for dead by one of his clients. His dying wish was that his friends take him back home to a suburban town where he is from. This quest challenges the loyalties between the friends and fresh love interests, especially when it becomes clear that Zion does not come from the same place as the rest of the guys.

What ensues is an urban and suburban road trip on foot and by public transport, during which we follow the plot (sort of) about the ever-evolving relationships between the marginalised young men. However, in the background, we get to learn a thing or two about Filipino society, its adhesive forces, its divisions along the lines of class, religion and ideology, and the atmosphere of abuse on the authorities’ side, which puts different kinds of “street fauna” in grave danger. These documentary-like observations are melded well with the fictional plot in Vargas’s deft style of directing aimed at shifting the viewer’s focus.

The level of technical execution is also quite commendable, thanks to Russell Morton’s cinematography that highlights the impact of both warm and cold neon lights piercing the darkness of the night, Alyana Cabral’s pulsating synth music and Daniel Hui’s editing, with fewer unnecessary cuts than expected. The cast combining non-professionals and more seasoned performers also fits the bill.

However, Vargas himself seems a bit timid or even downright lost whenever he stumbles upon anything that could be seen as provocative or confrontational on any level. The depiction is so unadventurous that it actually feels safe, even though the film portrays the milieu of prostitution. The attempt at criticising official governmental policies and the inherent corruption stops at mild allusions. Therefore, even the emotional component of it feels “stock”, rather than actually honest, making Some Nights I Feel Like Walking seem a tad pointless on any level above the strictly superficial.

A Film a Week - Fan Girl

 previously published on Asian Movie Pulse

The fantasy life of teenagers and, once it clashes with the reality, things can get tricky. A teenage girl’s obsession with her favourite TV and movie star is in the focus of Antoinette Jadaone’s “Fan Girl”. After its world premiere at Tokyo International Film Festival, the film had its European premiere at the official competition of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, where we were able to see it.

Jenny (played by the up and coming young actress Charlie Dizon) seems like a regular Filipino high school girl who would rather go to the promotional gig of her favourite film stars Paulo Avelino and Bea Alonso than spend her time at school. She is Paulo’s no. 1 fan and also has a crush on him. When she manages to smuggle in the back of his pick-up truck in the aftermath of the mall performance, she thinks she is the luckiest girl in the world. She has no plan, but she is going to take a look into his life off the screen.

The back of the truck is just the beginning, but what she sees from there would be enough of the warning for a regular girl. Paulo (played by the Filipino film, TV and soap opera star Paulo Avelino himself) is not anything like his TV persona, but rather a nervous and rude dude prone to the fits of rage over minutiae and accustomed to use the people he sees not worthy of his presence. It does not stop Jenny, and when she breaks into his decadent villa, the two spend a night and the following day together. There is banter, arguing and verbal humiliation, but there are also some gentle and sincere moments. Nevertheless, meeting an idol and the object of fantasies proves to be not a good idea.

Although pretty standard regarding its core premise, “Fan Girl” is an emotional, rather unpleasant and sometimes even shocking viewing experience thanks to the filmmaker’s clear vision transformed into the script and directing. Antoinette Jadaone is still a relatively young auteur, but quite a prolific one over the course of the current decade, with more than a dozen titles (features, shorts and TV series) under her belt. Her directing style is along the lines of the contemporary Filipino cinema, with longer takes by a hand-held camera and clean, sometimes even abrupt cuts among them framed into the boxy 4:3 aspect ratio. It serves the purpose here, especially when it comes to dosing the amount of unpleasantness the viewer should take before it becomes exploitative.

Powered by the wonderful performance of Charlie Dizon as Jane, “Fan Girl” remains an intriguing piece of cinematic work even during the passages of the film where the script seems a bit thin and artificially constructed (at times it seems that “Fan Girl” could be a killer short or mid-length film). On the opposite side of this two-hander, we have a more experienced actor whose character might even seem “meatier”, but Avelino seems like he is usually satisfied with repeating the “spoiled movie star” routine mixed with some asshole attitude.

In the end, “Fan Girl” might not be a perfect film, but it is certainly a legitimate and brave look into the fandom, obsession with the screen stars and the disappointment when the idols prove to be quite different than their carefully constructed screen personas. It certainly feels more real than a typical cautionary tale. Kids, observe your idols from safe distance!