By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter

NOW that the 20th edition of Cinemalaya is entering its closing weekend, BusinessWorld has watched half of the 10 full-length films in competition.

Select Ayala Malls cinemas in Metro Manila — Trinoma, UP Town Center, Greenbelt, Market! Market!, and Ayala Malls Manila Bay — are showcasing some of the best of what the local indie film scene has to offer. Compared to mainstream narratives, these films often tackle pressing issues in society.

Here are the reviews of five films that we were able to watch:

ALIPATO AT MUOG
Directed by JL Burgos

It’s a delightful surprise that what may be the best film of the bunch is a documentary. What’s not delightful are the circumstances behind its existence.

Alipato at Muog (translation: Flying Embers and a Fortress) is equal parts heartbreaking and infuriating. It challenges those of us who are not involved with any desaparecidos, or people who are forced to disappear by the state, to feel the suffering of their families. Through the film, we live through the events alongside his mother, Edita, and his brother, the director himself. It makes us feel as though activist-farmer Jonas Burgos were our own brother, and that we have also been looking for him for nearly two decades.

Seeing the military personnel responsible for the disappearance running free and even moving up in rank while the family chases lead after lead is harrowing to say the least. Animation is used sparingly to communicate the dark thoughts that pervade their minds, of what may have happened to Jonas.

Director JL Burgos, through the film and in the talkback afterward the screening, said that this is all about the pursuit of truth. What will it take for the truth to surface, after the countless reports, articles, court files, and documents that have already come up to resolve the case? This film demands answers; it demands action with a resounding cry.

BALOTA
Directed by Kip Oebanda

Reading the logline of Balota, which follows a poll watcher uncovering the reality of the Philippines’ dirty elections, one would expect a “serious indie film” — and it does hit some of those beats for sure — but this surprisingly has a generally in-your-face satirical tone.

Here, we see Marian Rivera take on the role of a beautiful activist-turned-teacher and poll watcher named Emmy. As a huge star, Rivera is so famous that she doesn’t always convincingly disappear into the role, but she still injects it with a distinct flavor of fierce and quirky. A strong ensemble supports her, including Sue Prado, Joel Saracho, Sassa Gurl, and Royce Cabrera.

While entertaining, a lot of it feels anachronistic, evoking 2020s sensibilities even though the story is set in 2007 and is loosely based on actual tales of violence during the elections that year. Surefire one-liners and exaggerated character traits are a nudge and wink at a well-informed, contemporary audience that already knows Philippine elections are a sham.

It seems director Kip Oebanda set out to make a cathartic adventure where a strong woman is backed by queer activists and an involved, fed-up community that will fight corrupt politicians — however campy, surreal, and fantastical it may be. It’s tonally different from what you’d expect a sociopolitical Cinemalaya film on violent, faulty elections would be like, so perhaps chalk this critical review up to mismanaged expectations. Young adults in the crowd resonated with it, perhaps reflecting a frustration towards the state of our elections that many ache to see onscreen.

GULAY LANG, MANONG
Directed by BC Amparado

For a fun and even riotous viewing experience, this is the film to watch. It’s the perfect mix of entertaining stoner comedy and heartfelt treatise on how medical marijuana is unfairly perceived. It also touches on how farmers are insufficiently appreciated and agriculture is a thankless livelihood.

Controversial for obvious reasons, Gulay Lang, Manong shows just enough of a glimpse into the lives of its colorful characters that the events play out naturally — from Ranzel as the easygoing, weed-selling little person to Perry Dizon as the honest vegetable farmer caring for his stoner grandson. Cedrick Juan plays the narcissistic cop (so frustratingly attractively) well as his character falls to the wayside of a dysfunctional police system.

While the film is an absolute riot and the ideal conversation starter for discussions around the legalization of medical forms of drug use, the portrayal of the struggle of farmers is very subtly done. It’s seen in little tribulations reflecting a larger reality: a competitive market, inconsiderate hagglers, the fragility of produce.

The casting, screenplay, and soundtrack are all brilliant. First-time director BC Amparado and the entire production should be proud of this remarkable film. It manages to de-stigmatize cannabis while also depicting the realities of an unfair world. A true gem in this edition of Cinemalaya.

THE HEARING
Directed by Lawrence Fajardo

The way everything plays out in The Hearing feels crude, disjointed, alienating. First-person point-of-view shots place the audience in the front seat to characters’ various struggles with language barriers, communication breakdowns, and searching for meaning in the faces of others.

This uncomfortable flow of interactions describes the experience of Lucas, a deaf-mute boy who must testify in court that he was raped by the parish priest. The film deftly takes on the sensitive nature of its central conflict by questioning the lack of true, smooth communication in our society in general. Characters with standard hearing plod through unnatural-sounding legalese used in court, and bear with the blatant dismissal of their thoughts by an uncaring husband or a rigidly religious neighbor.

If the bureaucracy of the current system is tedious for the average person, how much more so for a deaf-mute in a country that lacks support for persons with disabilities? This film effectively addresses these issues.

Enzo Osorio as Lucas is devastatingly expressive, his confronting eyes piercing through the tedium of silences. Ina Feleo’s sign language teacher-interpreter character has her own struggles that serve as bookends to this harrowing tale, while Mylene Dizon as the mother is just as achingly raw to watch as she does all she can to support her son. If the flow of this film feels rough, it’s because the characters’ experiences are that way, making this a difficult film to sit through, albeit for good reason.

KONO BASHO
Directed by Jaime Pacena II

Kono Basho is a wholesome Filipino take on Japanese cinema in the style of Hirokazu Koreeda (known for films like Monster and Our Little Sister). It’s the softest, gentlest film of the bunch, dwelling on the beauty of its surroundings while the characters attempt to connect and heal. Notably, it makes use of recordkeeping, with short video montages of crashing waves and rebuilt houses having a calming and almost cathartic nature, evidence of artist and first-time director Jaime Pacena II’s keen eye for still images and art.

Gabby Padilla and Arisa Nakano play half-sisters forced to connect. They shine in their roles as they each reveal and face their inner demons, at first alone and then with each other. One sister has a chip on her shoulder from being abandoned at a young age while the other has mental trauma and co-dependence from a brush with disaster at a young age. (The disaster in question is the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that destroyed Rikuzentakata, the town where the film is set.)

It’s not pretty when the two characters try to connect at first. The former’s unwillingness to listen and the latter’s seemingly manipulative self-hatred don’t mesh well, a dynamic that is understandably not palatable for many viewers. But they power through it.

For the two girls, and the slowly recovering town they are in, grief and remembering are an endless cycle that comes in waves, sometimes large and sweeping, other times rough and frightening. The best parts are when the water finds a quiet calm. Kono Basho is a pleasant film that takes audiences on a journey to find that calm.

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