Esoterika: Maynila is mainly about Mario (Ronnie Liang), who at the start of the movie is a cook dreaming of writing comic books someday. His ambitions gain him entry into the strange world of the Manila art scene, which introduces him to a variety of weird characters. Among them is Raul (Vince Tañada) a failed opera singer who mainly lives off his much older boyfriend. Mario gets caught up in Raul's schemes, and is forced to push his own personal boundaries.
That synopsis doesn't really cover it, though. This movie doesn't really care much about delivering a cohesive narrative. It is instead a tour through a bizarre, funhouse mirror version of Manila, a city populated exclusively with weirdos and hustlers, all trying their hardest to cope with the absurdity that comes with existing in this absurd place. The movie is shaggy and weird, and doesn't at all conform to anyone's expectations of what a movie ought to be. It's tough to say if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it certainly is unique.
There isn't really any judging of the contents of this movie. Trying to ascribe a value to its contents is a futile endeavor, one's opinions ultimately useless in the face of the barrage surreal visions that the movie delivers. It is likely best to just mention some of the things one will see within. There is a chunk in the start that involves Carlos Celdran and Tesa Martinez playing versions of themselves that enjoy wearing vampire fangs. There are a bunch of party scenes featuring cameos from denizens of the Manila social scene. There is a subplot involving a con. And there is also a kung-fu fight.
And there is much, much more. To say that this movie is unfocused is an understatement. It drifts aimlessly between one thing to the next, tenuously held together with awkward voiceover. It could be said that the film is difficult to follow, except it doesn't ask to be followed. It seems to ask its audience to just hold on, to let go of their narrative inhibitions and embrace the strangeness. The reward for doing so is discovering the individual charms of these vignettes, each of them contributing to the living portrait of the life of an aspiring artist in this absurd city.
This film doesn't have the best production values. It really is rough around the edges, the limitations of the production visible in almost every scene. And yet that is part of the charm. It is like Manila itself: pretty dingy, but bursting with personality. The film still manages to out together striking images that depict a city bursting with life. The acting is all right. Ronnie Liang's voiceover gets pretty tedious, and he isn't the most magnetic actor, but he mostly gets the job done.
Like Otso, Esoterika: Maynila isn't the kind of film that can be easily recommended. It is far too weird, and it demands a kind of openness that may well be beyond even the most avid of local film fans. But should one embrace all of this, the film provides a shaky but exhilarating tour through a face of the city rarely depicted in film. And for all its faults, the never feels anything less than an original, personal vision. Its flaws cannot simply be ignored. This film could really better put together. But it is just as hard to ignore the weird soul that is infused in all of these bizarre vignettes, and the sheer enjoyment that seems to have gone into making them.
My Rating:
