A Pilgrimage to Cinema

It's rare to see a Filipino film having rap poetry as part of its narrative. Rarer still, is to see a Filipino film using such poetic form to take a sharp look at a system of government-sponsored violence, prevalent then as it is now. Such is the feat of " Respeto ", the first feature film of ad and music video director Albert Monteras II, which won the Best Film award in the recent Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival (aside from a host of other awards). At first glance (that is, if we are to base on the trailer and other promotional materials, prior to watching the film), "Respeto" seems to be just another clichéd and lackadaisical follow-your-dreams story, with some hip-hop rap thrown in to make things appealing to the followers of this sub-culture. But just like some truly great films that prefer to have their identity in low-profile, until you've actually seen them, "Respeto" rather deceives you with its seemingly bland allure, ...

If a director makes his/her first feature film and it's kind of a mixed bag (if not an utter disappointment), you start to wonder if he/she will be able to redeem him/herself in the next film, if ever such a project is still possible. First impression does still last. In this regard, I didn't exactly warm up to Mikhail Red's debut feature " Rekorder ", which was shown at the 2013 edition of Cinemalaya. It's a paranoid footage thriller with an atmosphere that's rather frenzied and a main character (played by Ronnie Quizon) who, for the most part, is actually distant. The film, while technically accomplished, just left me cold. Four years later, the young director (son of Palme d'Or-winner Raymond Red) has a new film called " Birdshot ", an entry in the first-ever Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (Aug. 16-22) in which it won the Critics' Choice award. How does Red's sophomore feature fare? It has a carefully-controlled pace, deliberately...