Cinema One Originals 2013:The Journey, Day 3

My 2nd day of Cinema One Originals was characterized by films in which the lives of the protagonists take both a twisty and twisted turn ("Sitio" and "Bendor"). For my 3rd day in the fest, the films I saw this time around were Jet Leyco's "Bukas Na Lang Sapagkat Gabi Na" and "Angustia" by Kristian Cordero. Let's take a shot at these works: 

"Bukas Na Lang Sapagkat Gabi Na" 

Every now and then, whether in a film festival or in some other film event, there would always be a film that transports us to a unique level of viewing experience, the kind which can be both enriching and riveting, enlightening and devastating. Jet Leyco's film is one such work. Divided into 4 seemingly abstract and unrelated narrative threads (respectively labeled as "Kasalang Pilipino", "Tunggalian", "Amang" and "Simula") and employing a slow-burn avant-garde style that is in more ways than one reminiscent of the kind seen in Carlos Reygadas' "Post Tenebras Lux", the film is, by turns, a haunting and mysterious, eerie and unsettling, humanistic and dreamlike evocation of a troubled historical past that is not remote from our generation - the rule of Martial Law (not directly referred to in the film). Through the narrative bookmarks of a botched wedding, a military liquidation of the rebels' lair, a young boy's sexual gratification and molestation, and an old father's becoming an unwilling accomplice to an atrocity, a visual journey through the collective psyche of a nation living under a dictatorship is remarkably experienced. Much like in "Riddles of My Homecoming", there is no dearth of startling imagery in "Bukas". The best thing is that, in both films, the images do not exist solely for themselves;they allude to an essential, even urgent, sociopolitical concern. The images - and thereby, the film itself - take on a dialectical approach;they become praxis in themselves. Even the film's cinematography which, in key moments, shifts from monochrome to color and vice versa, assists in painting a picture of an unstable psyche. I am always deliberately at an arm's length whenever I see an experimental work of cinema. Probably because majority of them are as "abstract" as they come (or perhaps, I haven't really seen that many experimental works for me to be fully immersed in their world). But with "Bukas", I was constantly engrossed, startled, shocked and, at certain times, even moved. Probably because this one speaks of a soul. 

"Angustia"

Somewhere along the way, ''Angustia'' could have been a truly thought-provoking, sensational or even a great film. With Alvin Yapan serving as its creative consultant, the film could have been of the same caliber as ''Debosyon'', a beautiful work of art that deals with faith, love and passion, set in the myth-filled land of Bicol. Tackling the same themes and having the same province as the setting (spoken as well in the same dialect), one can sense Kristian Cordero's ambition and vigor in crafting a serious work that could pave the way for more discussion and interpretation. But then, to this film junkie's mind, such ambition did not really reach its full peak. One of its main setbacks is how the main character himself was written. The young Catholic friar's (portrayed by an otherwise very good Alex Medina) shift in character, from being a contemplative and well-natured man of faith to being a paranoid and murderous green-eyed monster, seems to have happened in a snap, without any deep psycho-emotional push. Thus, one can't fully situate oneself within the man's predicament. If you have a major setback with your main character, then you know that your film is in trouble. Another problem is that the ''driving'' plot feels to have been ''concluded'' rather prematurely. The film becomes a curious piece when it focuses on the relationship between the friar and the Agta (portrayed by the sensational newcomer Mitch Smith), whom the former took under his care, converted to Catholic faith and developed a passion for. But when their relationship is put to an ''end'' midway through the film, it feels like we have been shortchanged. It is because the interaction between the two could have developed further into a complex probing of the dialectics between the spiritual and the carnal, between deep devotion and unmitigated passion. Just when we are about to reach the plateau, we are suddenly dropped off to the lower ground. Which brings us to another of the film's setbacks. The 2nd half looks like another film altogether, as it appears that the young priest is now grappling with a crisis of faith and conscience ala-''Winter Light''. Here, he gets to interact with another woman, a devotee herself (portrayed by Maria Isabel Lopez). But their relationship seems to be out-of-place with the previous chain of events;in fact, it is muddled to such an extent that we get the feeling that the director is at a loss as to how he will put in order the knots that have been entangled by this uneven 2nd half. Make no mistake, though, as ''Angustia'' still has its fair share of merits. For one, it has a painstaking attention to period details and its cinematography has the quality of a restored painting or photograph. Another - and this is where it got involved in a ''controversy'' with the MTRCB - is that there are scenes, motifs and images that may unsettle one's deeply religious sensibilities. But I honestly believe that such ''irreverence'' will still not put the director in danger of being branded as heretical or of falling out of the Church's grace. This is definitely not a Luis Bunuel provocation. Now, if only the progression of the plot and characters jibed with the visual imagery, we could have had a truly provocative cinematic piece here.

Thus concludes my 3rd day of the festival - a serious brush with history and religion.

Jet Leyco's "Bukas Na Lang Sapagkat Gabi Na":A visual journey through a collective psyche