The Animals:From light to darkness

From the impoverished slums of "Oros", I was then brought to the posh subdivisions of Gino M. Santos' "The Animals", the second film I saw at the 2012 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. Now we have an indie film that takes a look at the lives of the so-called conyo kids, those pampered brats of affluent middle-class families. From the looks of it, the film appears to be a distant cousin of Larry Clark's "Kids". But compared to what the teeners in the American film are doing, the activities of the teeners in Santos' film are still child's play. Nevertheless, "The Animals" is still a provocative film to the extent that it is not for the "tween" of heart.

The filmmaker, who himself is still young at 22, certainly has an eye and ear for the lifestyle of today's youth, a generation defined in no small way by Facebook and Twitter, by Ipad and BB. And he definitely is adept at progressing the mood of his narrative from sweetness and light, to terror and darkness. In this manner, the filmmaker employs a number of imaginative shots and striking photography (there is even a pivotal scene that hints at Gaspar Noe's "Irreversible"). Santos succeeds in his own way in immersing the viewers in a day in the lives of these young people, which starts out as a jovial and sprightly preparation for an all-night party and then gradually becomes a succession of wasteness, assault and abuse, as the party goes deeper into the night. From hindsight, what the teeners, in particular the three lead characters, in the film are going through may appear insipid. But for the young people themselves, this is a matter of life and death, strongly punctuated by the film's final image.

As in "Oros", "The Animals" benefits likewise from the performances of the three young actors - Albie Casiño, Dawn Balagot and Patrick Sugui. Santos is to be commended for bringing out uninhibited portrayals from these guys. Just with the right amount of boldness and sensitivity, they managed to evoke the youthful longing to belong and to conquer.

After this film, I absolutely would not want to see Santos and the three young actors doing sappy and crappy teen flicks for the two giant networks' movie companies!