Short Film Review: Misteryo ng Hapis

Misteryo ng Hapis (Sorrowful Mystery) by Mark Dela Cruz is set during the pa-siyam (a Filipino traditional ritual of praying for the soul of the dead for nine consecutive nights) of the main character's father. On the last night, the main character Jay (Andoy Ranay), a young and gay stage performer joins his mother in praying for the soul of his dead father for the first time. For every mystery, we are given glimpses of Jay's childhood, his pain emanating from the lashes of his father's verbal assault on his sexual identity. I found his own chant (in Kapampangan) "Why are you crying? Don't weep." as the women prayed the rosary bothering. The strength of this short film is in its atmosphere, softly lit by candles, semi-darkness, theater settings and gesticulations, repeated prayers. The Catholic devotion in full display, to serve a purpose for his father's death no less, was a stark reminder to Jay of his younger years of repressed sexuality to the point that his insides exclaimed, "I cannot breathe. I cannot see. I cannot move." When his mother gave him the mask (at least I think it was a mask) that his father told her to hand over to him, it was evident that he did not come home for years. During those years, his father had learned to accept him, yet Jay's unforgiving heart prevented them to reconcile while he was still alive. The film was too dramatic/artistic for my taste, but it was able to send its message across.

Misteryo ng Hapis was screened during the 2007 (3rd) Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.

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Short Film Review: Putot (Small Fry)

Putot (Carl Taylan), the titular character, is a young boy who takes care of his mentally ill father while struggling to make ends meet by selling shellfish at an informal settlers colony by the sea. He meets a girl, Mayang (Karen Pilapil), a few years shy of womanhood, and forms a friendship with her. Mayang has secrets of her own that she whispers to the sea. It is implied that she is being peddled by her own mother and abused by her father figure. This short film is a simple presentation of poverty, realistic but without gore, as it wasn't necessary to make it effective. 

Putot is a Visayan term for small. Putot represents the small, marginalized sector of our society, pushed further to the "laylayan" (as popularized by the current VP), even by the men hired to demolish their houses. A scene shows that the demolition was necessary to pave the way for a development project of the then president, GMA. In the end, we are not sure what happened to Putot's father, though it is implied that "he chose to be with the sea". There is also uncertainty in the direction Mayang and Putot are taking in their makeshift raft, but there is comfort and solace in their friendship to make up for that uncertainty.

Mayang's parting line was, “Putot, malapit na ba tayo (Putot, are we there yet)?” Are they going towards the place Putot heard was better to live in? Will they ever get there? The line was a brilliant metaphorical question to the modern day Filipino. Will we ever get there?

Putot won Best Director (Emmanuel “Jeck” Cogama)/Short Feature Category in the 2006 (2nd) Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.

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Short Film Review: Labada, No Passport Needed

Just my two cents on these two funny-in-their-own-way short stories:

Labada by Raz dela Torre

Mylene (Skyzx Labastilla), a part-time helper to Dr. De Jesus, a bachelor, joyfully lives out her roles as wife, mother and helper everyday until her tricycle driver-husband Edong started to act like he's nurturing a double life when he decided to do his rounds at night. Influenced by her friend Susie's (Thess Antonio) stories, (seeing Olga the ihaw-ihaw vendor give Edong free isaw; Susie's mother's never-ending wait for her "husband" which we later find out to be lies to save face; Showbiz' two-timing and bisexual nature brought about by need, a nod at the hush-hush, open secret ways of entering/obtaining projects/maintaining status in show business) Mylene plays Nancy Drew to catch her husband in the act.  

Labada is a light-hearted look at infidelity, implied, assumed or realized. While not really gut-bustingly funny and sometimes bordering on silly, the short film proved its point and the heroine at the end decided that this was a battle she chooses not to fight. I was entertained.

Rating: 4 stars

No Passport Needed by Pepe Diokno

Dexter (Bodjie Pascua) is a fugitive. He pays a businessman to sneak him out of the country, "no passport needed". There was a catch that was easy to predict (or maybe easier these days versus 10 years ago), yet still has shock value. In this dark comedy, the businessman wins it all. I'd try to dissect the metaphor, but I shall stop here.

Rating: 3 stars

Both films were screened and competed during the 2nd Cinemalaya Film Festival in 2006.

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Short Film Review: Blood Bank

Blood Bank tells the story of a trio whose realities intertwine, conflicted and lonely as they are, smack dab in the city. Des (Rose de Leon), the central character, suffers from aplastic anemia and requires weekly blood transfusion. Her thoughts, mostly bleak and tired, give the audience a peek at how she had been living her life. She ran away from family and loved ones, preferring to extend her life as long as she could in solitude, hanging onto her jewelry that she pawns for her sustenance. That bit in which she compared herself to garbage moved me:

"Isang taon na ako sa mala-ermitanyo kong buhay. Ewan. Siguro likas na sa akin ang magpaalis ng mga taong malapit sa akin. Talent ko yun eh. Para akong isang tumpok ng basura na umaalingasaw. Lahat ng napapalapit sa akin, napapaalis ko dahil hindi nila makayanan ang amoy. Palagay ko, ang naaamoy nila ay ang nabubulok kong kaluluwa. Siguro nga, dahil katawan ko na lang itong nabubuhay. Wala na akong nararamdaman o hinahangad. Kailan kaya ako mamamatay?"

Emma (Ian Victor/Ian Galliguez), Des' only friend, is a medical technician at a blood bank whose love for her family pushed her to make a choice for (her and) their benefit. Cleto (Marvel Julian), a mugger whose latest victim was Des, visits the clinic to donate his blood (surprise, surprise, they match. Oh fate.) to atone for his sins. Des' recurring dreams of vampires calling out to the trio, persuading them to join the rest of the world, served as symbolic parallel/omen to subsequent events. 

The black and white medium was effective in enabling us to focus on the characters. It also gave the vibe that this was how the trio viewed their lives: colorless, bleak. At least it was for them all, until the second character did what she did, putting finality over one's fate, and uncertainty on another's. This brief snippet of present-day realities demonstrate that we are either/neither sinner or/nor saint and that our lives are a series of the choices that we make, the aftereffects of which we have to live with and take responsibility for.

Pam Miras’ Blood Bank won as Best Screenplay during the 1st Cinemalaya Film Festival in 2005 under the Short Film category and as Best Philippine Short Film at the .MOV Digital Film Festival. It was also screened in Singapore and Italy, competed at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France, and was part of the official selection at the Emirates Film Festival, New York Filipino Film Festival, Indie Halo Halo in Kuala Lumpur and at the Cinemanila International Film Festival in Manila.

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