Should "Dagitab" win?
(Disclaimer:For the New Breed section, I was able to see 7 out of the 10 films;for the Director's Showcase, 4 out of the 5 films.)
While it wouldn't be much of a big deal for me if the award goes to any other film, I would be particularly glad if Giancarlo Abrahan's "Dagitab" (from the New Breed section) would take home the prize. I honestly believe that this is one of the few best Filipino films to grace our screens this year. Abrahan's film is subtle, graceful, perceptive, delightful and ultimately moving. An out-of-the-box filmic experience. In a traditional Pinoy drama, the marital crisis and infidelity here would be depicted with all the requisite shouting, slapping and crying bouts. It all becomes heated and confrontational, with all the unbelievable twists and turns hiding under the guise of plot advancement. Such was the prevalent drama, for example, during the heyday of the komiks material for Pinoy movies back in the 80s. But in "Dagitab", what could've been a noisy and weepy confrontation between the couple (Nonie Buencamino and Eula Valdes, both turning in superlative portrayals) is turned into a provocative and meaningful verbal joust of long-endured (and probably long-hidden) resentment, boredom, dissatisfaction and mistrust over a sparkless and vacuous marriage, and a sparkless and vacuous life in general. Just merely looking at these two characters in such a state and we can already sense that the two have endured all the bumps in their marriage for so long a time that the vivid vocalizations become nothing else but a necessary summation. Taking into account the principles of linguistic philosophy, if words are indeed a reflection of reality, then the spoken words at play in the film are a kind of universe in itself. Words take on a life of their own, essentially connected like an umbilical cord to the character uttering such, rather than being a mere mouthpiece. Such a narrative scheme hints at the arthouse fares of Ingmar Bergman, Woody Allen and the French romantics.
Just as it is in words, so as it is in silence. Intriguingly, yet fittingly, such is no more prominent than when the husband and wife are "kept apart", each in their own separate scenes, whether alone or with other people. Here, we are in the position of merely observing the man and the woman. Barely a word is spoken, but we can sense that layer upon layer of emotions are brewing within. It is through such "separate ways" that the couple's relationship is put to a further test - he, as he becomes deeply involved with his object of research and finally meets the "ghost" of his past;she, as she finds herself having a forbidden affair with a young student, needless to say, her godson. Eventually, the "separation" would pave the way for the realization of some transcendental truths about human nature - albeit painful, yet liberating. Again, moving along the tenets of philosophical linguistcs and ontological perception, if silence or, at least, what is barely expressed can speak volumes, then what accumulates by way of the film's mood and atmosphere is altogether a cosmological reality of its own. In a way, "Dagitab" becomes a disciple of no other than Bergman's "The Silence", a film likewise dealing with alienation and separation, even if on a different familial level.
It is not only through words, or the absence of them, that I found "Dagitab" to be an exemplary film;it is also through the images, the aides visuelles. Abrahan's debut feature owns some of the beautifully-realized images in this year's edition of the fest (no small thanks to the works of cinematographer Rommel Sales and production designers Whammy Alcazaren and Thesa Tang). The couple inside their car, the woman inebriated and the man sober, as we see from the back window a number of vehicles passing by;the wife and her godson lying on the beach, in a manner as if they were floating in space, enveloped with heavenly feelings;the fireworks from afar;the interchange of cigarette smokes by the two students;the husband and wife sitting on the grass, as dusk slowly gives way to nighttime, with fireflies hovering around and the grass dancing to the wind;and some more. These images are not merely existing for their own convenience. Rather, they exist in consonance with the characters' state of being - their emotions and thoughts, their eros and idée. Essentially not different from the way a Michelangelo Antonioni or a Wong Kar-wai film would evoke its surroundings.
What's certain in tonight's ceremonies is that "Dagitab" may or may not win the top prize. If the jury is not in the mood for something arthouse, the kind that, while tackling some universal truths, is not readily sold in the general marketplace of tastes and ideas - like a Socrates in the market - then it's just tough luck for the film. On the other side of the spectrum, the jury may go for something that can easily be adored by a wide range of viewers, the kind that has a clearly-defined market value, so to speak (just like last year's winner, Hannah Espia's immigration drama "Transit"). If so, then Janice O'Hara's "Sundalong Kanin" may just reap the blessings, with its Spielberg-like style of neat storytelling and dramatics, not to mention that it also has children-in-peril as the main characters (a sure bait for the viewers' hearts). Or probably still, if the jury would go for a less challenging, but not necessarily less provocative, arthouse fare, then Nick Olanka's "Ronda" might just be it, with its slow-burn aesthetics, not different from the kind found in a Romanian New Wave staple. Be that as it may, one thing won't change:"Dagitab" has provided a one-of-a-kind and memorable viewing experience.
(Giancarlo Abrahan's "Dagitab":It may or may not be a tough luck for this film in tonight's awards rites.)
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