REVIEW: Cinemalaya 2022 films 'break through the noise' with return to on-site screenings at CCP

Cinemalaya Foundation president Laurice Guillen gave a special tribute to the short filmmakers, saying that they kept the festival alive throughout the last two years, where short films were in competition and the feature film category was put on hold. This gave the short films  the spotlight they had long deserved. While this review covers only the feature films, it is important to note that the short films in competition this year are incredibly strong and are worth seeing as well.

During the opening program, festival director Chris Millado announced that this year’s festival will be the longest-running in its 18-year history. Aside from the CCP, screening venues also include Ayala Cinemas and SM Cinemas across the Philippines, microcinemas, and alternative venues such as school and gyms.

While the final day to catch Cinemalaya at the CCP is on Aug. 14 and at Ayala and SM Cinemas until Aug. 16, screenings are scheduled at different venues nationwide until Oct. 31. Cinemalaya will be having its online run from October 17 to 31, 2022 via the CCP Vimeo account.

Below are brief reviews of the 11 full-length feature films in competition for Cinemalaya 2022. Out of the 11, the three box office films in this year's lineup are Blue Room, Bakit 'Di Mo Sabihin, and Retirada.

12 Weeks

12 Weeks tells the story of Alice, a 40-year old busy with work that often brings her to war-torn refugee camps and who has just ended her toxic relationship with her boyfriend when she finds out she’s pregnant. With everyone around her giving their unsolicited opinions, the most difficult fight is internal as she decides whether to keep the baby or not.

The remarkable cast in the film portrays characters that are all flawed, from the main character who goes back and forth between keeping and aborting the baby; her best friend who is burdened by her past; her mother who is so excited to have a grandchild that she becomes insensitive to her own daughter’s situation.

But each of these characters are somehow sympathetic as well. So much so that you begin to understand the decisions they make as they struggle to navigate life and society as women. The decision to raise a child in today’s world is a personal, political, and painful choice. 12 Weeks confronts the viewer with themes and issues that are uncomfortable, difficult, but necessary.

• Directed by Anna Isabelle Matutina
• Screenplay by Anna Isabelle Matutina
• Cast: Max Eigenmann, Bing Pimentel, Vance Larena, Claudia Enriquez
• Running Time: 90 minutes

Angkas

In Angkas, Leo is a habal-habal driver and deliveryman in a remote village in Compostela Valley. Together with Miguel, he makes his most unusual delivery ever – to retrieve the body of Ditas, their childhood friend, a rebel killed while being pursued by the military.

The story has an interesting premise, especially considering that it was inspired by a documentary by Arbi Barbarona about a real life habal-habal driver who picks up dead bodies in Compostela Valley. However, the actual film does not deliver what could be a potentially exciting, action-packed journey. The story is interspersed with scenes of Ditas alive, and the three friends enjoying a brief reunion, if only in their minds.

• Directed by Rainerio C. Yamson II
• Screenplay by Jaymar Castro
• Cast: Joem Bascon, Benjamin Alves, Meryll Soriano, Jolo Estrada
• Running Time: 90 minutes

Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin?

Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin? follows the story of a deaf couple, Miguel and Nat, and their problems universal to all couples: lack of communication. When they argue, Miguel and Nat’s hands and eyes convey sentiments that scream of their anger and disappointment. Told in a non-linear way, the story is complex, and sometimes confusing. There are several dramatic points in the film, but the ending, which brings us back to how the couple first met, is not as impactful as it could have been.

Following in the footsteps of the likes of CODA, last year’s Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and even Dinig Sana Kita from Cinemalaya 2009, Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin? has big shoes to fill. There is a debate to be had on casting hearing actors in the main roles, however the heartfelt portrayal by Janine Gutierrez and JC De Vera and the effort of the cast and crew to learn sign language is clearly sincere and well-intentioned.

Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin is one of the box office hits of the festival. 

• Directed by Real S. Florido
• Screenplay by Flo Reyes
• Cast: JC De Vera, Janine Gutierrez, Divine Aucina, Sheenly Gener, RJ Agustin, Sunshine Teodoro, Althea Ruedas, Luke Simon Cornel, Dess Verzosa, Disney Aguila, Jamil Carvajal
• Running Time: 90 minutes

The Baseball Player

Seventeen-year-old Amir is haunted by his dead father and is being trained as a Moro child soldier, but all he wants to become is a baseball player. His family takes in Kahlil, a young orphan whose family was killed amid the armed conflict. Slowly, Amir helps Kahlil overcome his trauma, but just when the young boy accepts the aspiring baseball player as his brother, another impending war threatens to tear them apart.

The Baseball Player is not about baseball and maybe that’s the point – the circumstance makes it impossible to be about the sports and the dreams of a teenage boy. Despite the dark setting, the film has moments of levity between the new-found brothers, reminding us that they still are children themselves. This makes the ending even more devastating, but inevitable. 

• Directed by Carlo Obispo
• Screenplay by Carlo Obispo
• Cast: Tommy Alejandrino, JM San Jose, Tess Antonio, Don Melvin Boongaling, Sue Prado, Arnold Reyes
• Running Time: 75 minutes

Batsoy

Brothers Toto and Nonoy are on a quest to buy batsoy (noodle soup). Their journey is interspersed with the children’s fantasy worlds, perhaps driven by an intense craving or hunger. While we get a sense of how the film could be with the glimpses of magical imaginings of the young boys, the uneven color and sound, and the numerous drone shots hinder us from fully entering their world and getting a taste of the fabled soup.

• Directed by Ronaldo Espinosa Batallones
• Screenplay by Ronaldo Espinosa Batallones
• Cast: Sean Ethan Sotto, Markko Cambas, Karen Laurrie Mendoza, Nathan J. Sotto, Jonalie Asdolo, Annalyn Biona Hipolito
• Running Time: 66 minutes

Blue Room

An indie rock band of sheltered, entitled teens gets a rude awakening when they find themselves falling deeper and deeper into the rotten core of drugs, crime, and corruption. Exciting and entertaining, you’ll find yourself rooting for this band of “delinquents” and cheering for unlikely heroes in the supporting cast who steal the scene.

With each bandmate interjecting their thoughts through their social media live streams, the ending may be a bit too sweet, with the now woke teens sharing what they learned from the experience. However, it does make for an uplifting and hopeful counterpoint to the dark, claustrophobic feeling we have when we are all thrown into the blue room. 

• Directed by Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagñalan
• Screenplay by Siege Ledesma, Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagñalan
• Cast: juan karlos, Harvey Bautista, Nourijune, Keoni Jin, Elijah Canlas, Soliman Cruz, Bombi Plata, Jericho Arceo, Bon Lentejas, Richard Cepeda
• Running Time: 107 minutes 

Bula Sa Langit

A cheery town fiesta that soldier Wesley comes home to is far from the horrors of war that he witnessed – and took part in – in Marawi. The war may be over, but the battle for Wesley and other soldiers like him continues. His struggle against PTSD is fought silently and alone. It doesn’t help that his family is oblivious, asking him how many people he has killed as if it’s a badge of honor.

Director Sheenly Gener is an accomplished actor and acting coach (you may spot her in several other Cinemalaya films this year), so the performance of the actors is the strength of the film. Though there are several aspects of the film that can be improved, it is the natural and believable acting that shines through.

• Directed by Sheenly Gener
• Screenplay by Andrian Legaspi
• Cast: Gio Gahol, Kate Alejandrino, AIR, Shamaine Buencamino, Soliman Cruz
• Running Time: 80 minutes 

Ginhawa

With the odds stacked against him, Anton leaves his fishing town to pursue a boxing career in Manila. Despite being a good boxer – maybe even too strong for his own good – Anton soon realizes there is more to surviving the city’s underbelly where the competition is not only in the ring, and not always fair.

Filipino-Canadian director Christian Paolo Lat describes the film as Rocky set in Maynila, sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag. As a sports film, Ginhawa is in winning form. The boxing scenes are well-executed and shown in an exciting way. The life story of Anton is less exciting, not too different from the usual struggle to leave a life of poverty the province and make it in the big city. If the story is paced faster and the fight scenes highlighted even more, Ginhawa could definitely land a TKO.

• Directed by Christian Paolo Lat
• Screenplay by Christian Paolo Lat
• Cast: Andrew Ramsay, Duane Lucas Pascua, Ruby Ruiz, Rolando Inocencio, Dido de la Paz
• Running Time: 105 minutes

Kaluskos

Rebekah is entrenched in a messy custody battle for her bratty daughter Amaya when she starts to see her child’s doppelganger under her bed. The child under the bed convinces her mother that she is the real Amaya to free her from being trapped under the bed, Rebekah must kill the other Amaya.

While the premise is promising, the scares don’t often hit right and the audience laughs at many points that are not meant to be funny. The story and production design are full of symbolism – caged birds, puppets, an all-blue color scheme, and an identifying scar that is never shown to the viewer – but, most do not seem to connect. However, without trying to analyze too much into it, the film can be entertaining whether for a jump scare or a quick chuckle.

• Directed by Roman S. Perez Jr.
• Screenplay by Enrique Villasis
• Cast: Coleen Garcia, Queenzy Calma, Karl Medina, Cara Gonzales, Elora Españo
• Running Time: 100 minutes 

Kargo

With a vendetta against the truck driver that killed her husband and daughter in a hit-and-run incident, Sara takes to the road with a truckful of bamboo to deliver from Iloilo to Guimaras, where she believes the killer lives. Along the way, she takes in a passenger, a little girl, who she comes to treat as her own daughter – and is in danger of being taken away, too.

A different kind of “road trip” film, Kargo is tension-filled and engaging throughout. Max Eigenmann is not an obvious choice for the main character, but she pulls off the role effectively. Unfortunately, the film takes a turn at the end that arrives at a destination that is a bit too convenient after such a well-told story up to that point. Nevertheless, Kargo is worth watching as a harrowing story where everyone has their own load to bear, both real and emotional, that is weighing them down.

• Directed by TM Malones
• Screenplay by Joseph Israel Laban
• Cast: Max Eigenmann, Jess Mendoza, Myles Robles, Ronnie Lazaro
• Running Time: 80 minutes

Retirada

Azon has been a hardworking employee all her life, but she is left suddenly feeling useless when she retires. After winning the jackpot, Azon becomes addicted to playing Bingo, eventually losing her pension. It leaves her penniless when her husband is rushed to the hospital.

Retirada could have been an exciting comedy with the vice of Bingo becoming a high stakes gambling addiction, however the filmmakers decided to stick to daily life which isn’t quite as interesting. Though the story ends happily ever after, one still leaves the theater dreading the thought of growing old.

A highlight of the film is seeing some of the who’s who in veteran stage and indie actors sharing the screen.

• Directed by Milo Alto Paz and Cynthia Cruz-Paz
• Screenplay by Milo Alto Paz and Cynthia Cruz-Paz
• Cast: Peewee O’Hara, Jerry O’Hara, Donna Cariaga, Dexter Doria, Nanding Josef, Lui Manansala
• Running Time: 93 minutes

The Cinemalaya Awards Night will be held on Sunday, August 14, 2022 at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).

(Ed. note: The film reviews reflect the author's personal opinions and not that of the jury.)