Director Gino Santos already touched on a lot of what's covered in #Y in his debut film The Animals. It is another if about the young and rich, the millennials that study in exclusive schools and are granted too much freedom. But while The Animals basically reduces their plight to a cautionary tale, #Y turns introspective. It stops short of finding sympathy for these privileged characters, but it does afford an interesting level of perspective.
The film opens with Miles (Elmo Magalona) jumping off the roof of a building. The film then goes back one and a half months to his first suicide attempt, and follows him and his friends as they try to get back to the normal flow of things, which involves going to parties and getting wasted. The film is smart enough that it doesn't really try to explain why Miles wants to kill himself. It just keeps building up the details of the world he lives in, bringing into clear focus the emptiness of a life lived without limits. It doesn't justify the main character's choice, and he never really is acquitted for how selfish he's being. But the film finds a compelling measure of insight into a world that's often simply dismissed as idle juvenilia. The film could probably stand to lose an element or two, some of it feeling a little gimmicky. But in its quietest moments, it offers up an affecting level of human compassion for a too easily dismissed subset of our society.
Joselito Alterejos' Kasal tells the story of Sherwin and Paolo (Arnold Reyes and Oliver Aquino). The film opens with the two of them fighting, Paolo apparently having cheated on his partner. The film zooms ahead a year, and the two have managed to get through that crisis and stay together. But their relationship faces a crossroads as the couple heads to Nasugbu to attend the wedding of Sherwin's younger sister.
The film is overly political, at times too obviously so. The film might be a little too eager to point out the tragic ironies of our country’s approach to marriage and commitment. The film tends to work better when it focuses on the emotional side, with two characters clearly in love but weirdly separated by their own ideas of what their relationship should be. The film finds something truly heartbreaking in its depiction of how out of sync the two are, and through this, it’s able to make a more eloquent argument for its points than in its more obvious moments. This is an often-beautiful film, the occasional sloppiness ultimately forgivable in light for the depth of emotion the movie brings.
Real Florido's 1st Ko Si 3rd is kind of like a senior citizen version of last year's Sana Dati. The movie starts with Cory (Nova Villa) going to her last day of work. She isn't quite ready to settle down into retirement, however, the senior citizen finding herself restless as she spends time in the house with her husband Andong (Dante Rivero). Then one day, she runs into her first love, Third (Freddie Webb). This brings back a flood of memories that makes her ask "what if?"
Like Sana Dati, the film explores the tyranny of a past romance, and makes a case for a far more sober version of love. But this film is rougher around the edges, featuring little of the technical expertise of the previous film. The setup is actually pretty lovely, but the film stalls in the back half as the story reveals its themes through long stretches of confessional conversation. And the film doesn't have the verve to really follow through on the story. It's sweet enough, but it really feels slight in the end.
In Nick Olanka's Ronda, Ai Ai de las Alas plays SPO3 Arroyo. The film follows her over the course of one night's patrol in Manila. She chases down a thief, rounds up some prostitutes, and deals with some of the administrative headaches that come with working in a dysfunctional institution. All the while, she's wondering when her wayward teenage son is coming home.
Ronda ends on the verge of telling a story. The whole film feels like a first act, simply establishing the routine of the main character and defining her place in the world. It's kind of compelling as a mood piece, but the ending suggests a much more interesting story yet to be told. Ai Ai de las Alas is pretty great in the lead role, the actress taking full advantage of the chance to show off a different side. And Albert Banzon's steady eye keeps the visuals lively. But it does feel like there ought to be more to this. Or maybe less. Perhaps if the film had simply stuck to the conceit of following this one cop around on patrol, it wouldn’t feel like a tease for a much bigger story.
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'Cinemalaya X' runs until 10, 2014 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (main venue) and at satellite venues in Greenbelt Makati, Alabang Town Center, TriNoma, and Fairview Terraces. For the complete movie listing, ticket prices, and screening schedules, click here.
For more information, visit www.cinemalaya.org, www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and the cinemalaya facebook page or CCP Film Office at telephone number (63 2) 832-1125 local 1704-1705 and the CCP box office at (63 2) 832-3704.
