In Critique: Ang Nawawala

The Gist

Jamora's Ang Nawawala is a fresh depiction of the hipster subculture, the lives of the young and affluent, largely hindered by an unrelatable lead--making the film feel overlong, bland, and lost.

The Good

• Great performance by Dominic Roco and Anicka Dolonius
• Finally, a Filipino movie not centered around poverty and one that uses everything exclusive to the subculture it derives its story from
• Tender and subtle approach on the topic of isolation and returning home

The Bad

• Takes too much effort to convey its meaning by using a non-speaking lead
• Takes too long to build up to something that ultimately does not climax and not very rewarding
• Feels overlong and lost

*** Spoilers Begin Here ***

Author's note: I wasn't initially intending to write a review for Ang Nawawala but with so many good reviews floating online, I cannot understand what I disliked about the film. Normally, when I don't like a film, I don't make a review about it, but this film is a special case. I want to understand what I disliked about this film, flake every detail that hindered me from feeling the same ooh-ahh in the blogosphere. A friend said that a review is merely stating what you disliked, and what I need to do is a critique: a pointing out of the things I disliked, why I disliked them, and how I would've wanted it done. I felt I need to make one to clarify to myself why I disliked it so much and why I could not share the same sentiment that everyone has felt watching this film. So here, then, is an unabashed critique of Ang Nawawala.

Synopsis

Gibson (Dominic Roco) goes home to his family for the holidays after spending time away from them for years--doing therapy and studying. He is still haunted by his twin brother's death when they were young, placing the blame on himself, thinking that he should have been the one dead, instead, and ever since then, Gibson has remained tight-lipped around everyone, unable to utter a word, save for when he's alone and conjures an imaginary conversation between him and his long-dead brother Jamie (Felix Roco). One day, while attending an art exhibit with his bestfriend Teddy, Gibson meets Enid (Anicka Dolonius), a quirky, pretty lass who Gibson takes a liking to. Exploring the local indie music scene as his young love for Enid blossoms, Gibson struggles to make peace with himself and find his way back home, back to everyone.

Silence is Golden

I will be quick to point out what I disliked in Jamora's Ang Nawawala. There is a lot. But my main gripe with the film is its use of a non-speaking lead character. Don't get me wrong, Dominic Roco was superb in his depiction of Gibson--he's fragile when he needs to be fragile and carefree when the occasion calls for it, it's just that I dislike Gibson as a character. I feel that his inability to speak failed to engage me. His inability to express himself through words alienated me rather than successfully establishing a connection to me--making me go the distance to understand him--which I wouldn't do since I don't find his character interesting enough. In the near-two-hours run time, Gibson was nonchalant, waiting for something to react on, or just going on his business not caring for others--and why again would I care about a character like this. This sort of detached lead did not appeal to me and I feel that he failed in his job in pulling his viewers into the story, into engaging them and holding their attention.

All is Calm, All is Bright

If you've read the gist of this review and the preceding paragraph, you would know that this review would be unfavorable. So I'd go right away to the things I like about the film, because there are plenty to like, too. Dawn Zulueta for instance is a total bitch, and a good one at that. She is the typical affluent woman with fine taste, quick to dispel anything which does not agree with her view of what is right. But she has never lost her femininity--as well as her sensitivity. She's in pain, but she does not want to show it.

As I've noted earlier, Dominic Roco excelled in playing Gibson. He pours every bit of frailty and pain that cannot be translated to words into his character. Anicka Dolonius is also a breath of fresh air, doing her best impersonation of a spoiled upper middle class girl, knowledgeable of things commonly inaccessible to people below her social stratum. Her capability to change the way she looks matches the versatility in her acting. At one moment, Dolonius is outgoing and friendly, and another bitchy and heartless. Still, I felt that something is missing in her. She is likable, but I couldn't relate to her. Something felt out of place amid her good performance. Something made her completely unrelatable. Something I could not precisely point out, but it is perhaps her non-traditional heroine look--in the way that Carrie-Anne Moss was a bad, yet beautiful, thing for Guy Pearce in Memento. Perhaps I had clues that she's no good for Gibson--ending their relationship saying that she valued what they had but means the contrary. I mean if she does value what they had, then she wouldn't have thrown it away, she wouldn't have gone back to Deacon. Perhaps I have a prejudice for this sort of people and Dolonius acted out this sort of people very well that I've grown a distaste for her character.

The key strength perhaps of Jamora's film lies in its imagery and and use of inaccessible music. Its reverence to vinyl and independent music earns my nod of approval, not because I am a fan of the sort of music, but because I salute such goal of bringing this sort of music into mass consciousness--which for most of what I've heard is beautiful music that we don't always get on the radio. Going back to imagery, Ang Nawawala presented pictures of isolation and decay with subtlety and grace: discarded photos, vintage cameras, boxed up toys, untouched childhood bedroom, things that give cues on the idea of isolation and introversion that do not scream in your face--they all blend well with the overall cold feel of the film. The closing shots of the film would register well in your memory.

Now for the things I did not agree with in the film.

First up, the most paltry complaint I have is how Gibson and his family kept dressing as if they are in Baguio--one scene even had Dominic Roco in a trench coat over a coat (I know it's a costume party, but still!). We get it, they are affluent, but affluent people do not dress like that. I've wealthy relatives in Alabang and they don't dress like such. I've wealthy relatives in California and they don't dress as such. I just didn't understand what they were aiming making the cast dress with clothes that aren't Manila-weather-appropriate. It looks silly and reaching--and to some extent uncomfortable. It also made Dominic Roco look chubby amid his rather slim frame.

Perhaps that simple detail increased the alienation of these characters, they felt too cardboard cut-out and unrealistic. My next gripe is that I wasn't able to relate to any of them. In a manner of speaking, we have an Apatow movie in Ang Nawawala. The women are straight arrow perfectionists, strong and knowledgeable of what they want; and the men are defeatists, douches, or losers always taking hints from their female counterparts. Take for instance Gibson's dad (Wes) and mom (Esme). Garovillo's character (Gibson's dad, Wes) is always submissive to Zulueta's character (Gibson's mom, Esme), with Esme always knowing better on how to start a camera or what is best for her children--she's almost always prompt in correcting people around her, it's crazy and annoying. Corey (Gibson's sister) dates a douche of a boyfriend, Michael (Marc Abaya)--an ineffective attempt at introducing humor to the film, I felt Abaya's performance lent more annoyance than humor--a douche with no redeeming qualities such as Michael apparently exists. The pairing between Gibson and Enid (Dolonius), further fortifies the idea that Jamora felt that women are stronger than men. Enid was almost always in control of the relationship, and in the end, she's the one who initiated the breakup amid Gibson finally managing to break his vow of silence. Then there's Teddy, who's another annoying douche. It felt unreal that almost always women have the last say in this film and that men are either defeatists or annoying douches. I found it difficult to relate to defeatists and bitches so to speak, and that made my attention wander, trying to find something or someone delightful in Ang Nawawala's near 2-hour run. Jamora offered no such relief.

Unlikable characters don't usually end up destroying a film--Bwakaw's Rene was unlikable, but it didn't stop Bwakaw from becoming a good film. After all, Ang Nawawala has a valid character development in place, particularly for Gibson's. But the problem was the pacing is so languid. The film tries to savor on its own faults and invites the audience to do the same. There were moments in it that I enjoyed: the dancing on an underground concert venue, the intimate music-sharing scene, the fireworks in the closing shots. But those dispersed moments of brilliance are marred by the slow pacing and drab storytelling--owing perhaps to the non-speaking lead.

Another slight misstep, I feel, was the casting of the young Gibson and Jamie twins. They stick out like a sore thumb beside the other Bonifacio family members and I could not believe one of them would grow up as Gibson or Jamie. First and foremost, no one in the Bonifacio household is as dark as those twins cast as Young Gibson and Jamie. Garovillo and Zulueta are both fair-skinned. So was Corey (played by Jenny Jamora) and Promise (Sabrina Man). Even the yaya who appeared in the flashback was a shade lighter than the twins. Not only were they a tad too dark, they also look a tad too malnourished and lack any believable coming from affluence. Anyone who comes across these kids would mistake them for poor kids. Where then did these two kids come from? I know it's a minor complaint, but their casting distracted me.

If you feel that was a minor complaint (and I agree), here's a major gripe: Gibson, when alone, would imagine his twin brother Jamie alive and cocky (another annoying character in my opinion). I don't know, I find this approach rather too corny and clashing from the realism that the film envisions. This made me think why the Roco twins were cast. This could've been done away and I feel that Gibson would be a deeper character because you will cherish the very few moments he'd speak. But since he actually speaks to himself (in the image of his dead brother), Gibson's return to speech felt devalued. Add the mostly dead dialogue to the mix. I don't remember any lines from the movie that I can end up quoting in my FB status.

Lastly, Jamora attempted to build up to the final scene of Esme waking up in Gibson's lap, and I believe she was doing so for most of the movie, but the final scene was not only expected, it was also a tad bit unrewarding and deeply underwhelming. It would have been more compelling had Jamora cut to black before Gibson managed to say his name. "Ma, it's me..." cut to black. Bam! Mystery! I was actually expecting that Dominic would finally say that he's Jamie just to blow everyone's minds. And I would've been blown away even if I expected it, but he didn't. Perhaps, the simple answer that he's Gibson means that he found his way back home already and a twist would have gotten things more complicated than necessary, but a simple cutting to black before him saying his name would've gotten everyone thinking and curious, adding to the movie's appeal. I believe this is a missed opportunity for Jamora that she chose to send Gibson home instead of teasing her audience before sending them home.

The mixture of the complaints I've listed above made the movie feel bland, underwhelming, and, most of the times, lost. Because I could not like the characters, I could care very little for whatever happens to them, and the drab storytelling further reinforces the movie's lack of appeal. I could not imagine what Jamora was trying to do because other than make a movie about affluent 20-ish kids of Manila, a simple exposition of their lifestyles and choices of furnitures and room decors. It was in a way a hipster movie about the hipster culture riding on the idea of a dead twin to get somewhere, to give stuffing to the hipster turkey.

Perhaps one can argue that I am not the target audience. It was made by someone in the upper middle class, perhaps for her fellow upper middle class (which is a very small audience who don't watch movies in SM and Robinsons' cinemas). Perhaps that is true, but if that is the case, then I should not be able to like every court drama, every science fiction about space travel, every movie about war, every spy movie, every period piece because I was never a part of those field of work, era, or intellect level. I believe it was with the characters that Jamora failed. She did well with the imagery and the atmosphere, but ultimately failed in putting humanity and charm in her characters--you just don't know what's going on in their heads. And the use of a non-speaking lead for me makes Ang Nawawala DOA.

My verdict:

Drab, underwhelming, unrelatable. I cannot recommend this movie. 2 out of 5 stars. Failed.

Ang Nawawala originally screened in Cinemalaya 2012 and ended its commercial run last September 19, 2012. You can catch it on DVD in case it comes out.

In Review: Bwakaw

The Gist

Gripping and socially relevant, Cinemalaya's Bwakaw discusses the delicate business of dying and living, choice and its tragedies--an ultimately rewarding cinematic experience bolstered by Garcia's veteran acting skills paired well with ultra-realistic cinematography.

The Good

• Great performances by Eddie Garcia and Rez Cortez
• Realistic atmosphere
• Great script
• Has enough sense of humor and bitterness to not drown people with pathos

The Bad

• Can prove to be heavy
• The resolution is good but reminds me much of Franzen's The Corrections, and while not exactly derivative, I wanted tragedy or a great sense of hope

Synopsis

Rene has accepted that at his age, there's only one place to go but 6 feet under. Other than a stray dog he adopted and fondly calls "Bwakaw,"  (Filipino for glutton) Rene is basically alone, and more often than not bitter with life. He has already boxed up his belongings for distribution in case Death knocks unexpectedly. His friends, who are much less than his fingers, are quick to remind him that there is life and there is happiness that comes along with it, but having never really fallen in love, and having accepted that he is gay at a very old age, Rene is jaded beyond repair. As he tries to live his numbered days, his life is thrown for a spin after meeting a number events that makes him rethink about life.

*** Spoilers Begin Here ***

God Hates F*gs

The Filipino brand of Christianity, especially the rural and conservative offshoot, believes that God condemns all homosexual men and women to hell, and Rene believes in this bitterly that he tried to keep his identity from himself and from the world until he is 60. By which time, he has gathered enough bitterness and hate towards himself that it is outwardly expelled towards everyone around him everytime he speaks to them. The sort of character treatment for the aged homosexual Rene is unusual for a Filipino film. Filipino filmmakers have a perpetual need of portraying gay men as effeminate and terribly cross-dressed salonistas (in fact, there are two of this kind in the film). Jun Lana's Rene is not the sort, in fact far from it. He is just like any old straight men, save for his choice of flower-printed polo shirts and his often throwing shade at the people around him. The sort of treatment done to Rene's character, and with the subtle changes in him as the movie progresses, makes for an interesting 2 hours.

Everything is Broken

The screenplay and set design is spot-on for the story that Bwakaw wants to tell. The way Rene's boxed up estate looks--dark, musty, and falling apart--depicts old age in a very depressing light. Even the post office he works at is effective at bringing out raw sadness simply by not having enough work to do and not being in top shape. The setting of the movie, I felt, is intergral to the overall effect that Lana wanted to depict: old age and the hopelessness / misery that comes with it and with growing alone. There is no more happiness and all the sort of life has evaporated leaving nothing but remnants of what it was. In this sense of fulfilling its role, the cinematography, set design, and screenplay were all effective and beautiful. The depiction of growing old but not maturing meshed with it beautifully to create one depressing atmosphere that becomes absorptive more so as the dialogues start rolling.

The dialogues are very plain, just like any vernacular language, but are effective in conveying emotion and developing the characters. There are scenes where the dialogues become intense that you feel the words piercing through. The scene where Alicia (Armida Siguion-Reyna) was talking to Rene after she recovered clarity from senescence was particularly powerful enough to summarize how growing old in a foster home is. Garcia's dialogue with the local priest on how he detest his being gay and a coward was particularly strong, too, and basically sums up the conflict in Rene that he carried for years and is continuing to carry.

Pacing was fluid, albeit a little slow, and at times you just don't know where the movie is going anymore until it hits a plot bump and sends the story elsewhere, albeit in as paced as it possibly could. The shifts from misery to humor to drama are done in a very fluid manner that the movie does not drown in its own pathos or loses substance from too much humor. It had the right amount of everything it needed to convey its message of the difficulty of growing old alone, even if with a little exaggeration.

The acting showcase of Eddie Garcia is top-notch. The way he fleshed out Mang Rene, the bitter and miserable gay man at his twilight is something that is both memorable and affecting. Affecting because I couldn't say his is a character I'd love or one I'd find endearing. His was a character that wouldn't evoke your sympathy, but still shares you the delight or the hope in his personal redemption. The roles of Soxie Topacio as Zaldy the salonista with mismatching pink hair and his sidekick Tracy played by Joey Paras were the much needed comic relief of the film. Rez Cortez who played Sol, a local tricycle driver with an appetite, was detestable and lovable in equal amounts. I say he did his part justice, but not enough to outshine Eddie Garcia or the rest of the supporting cast. He was, like most of everyone, another plot device for Rene, and in that way he worked well.

The titular animal, Bwakaw, is a Golden Retriever pup and worked just like how the neighbor's dog worked for Melvin Udall in As Good As it Gets. Bwakaw is the humanizer, the one that made sure the audience sees Rene's human and endearing side, one that affirms Rene's ability to love even if everything he does seem toward people seem contradictory. Bwakaw, played by Princess, a puppy Golden Retriever, was good in disguising herself as a typical stray dog that does not do its job, but eats food anyway. In a sense, Bwakaw was the only light in the dreary world that Rene lives in, and as such ends up as a plot device to move the story forward to the resolution.

Lastly, and most regrettably, the movie closes rather too openly when Sol's speeding tricycle passed Rene without any hint of noticing him, as if in disgust, and Rene just walks along anyway towards the highway. This happens after he unboxes every single item he was to give away when he dies--a possibility he has accepted, prepared for, and grew miserable over. But the unwrapping was symbolic. It stood for the truth that it is ourselves that keep us from our happiness, the way that he did with boxing up his belongings. But the fact that he still pines for Sol sort of negates this self-empowerment, in a sense. Though it does affirm another moral lesson, that it is impossible to be human and not love, and such is never too late. While the message is sent and can be easily received, I feel that for the pain it took the movie to develop its characters, I would have wanted a more tragic ending, or one that is glowing with hope to enforce the idea--something that does not only show a subtle change in Rene, but a full on transformation, an acceptance of his own fate of dying alone and still managing to find what is joyful in life, and I feel that Lana missed this opportunity for such showcase. Had he done, I'd say I've seen the best movie of the year, but as it stands, he merely wanted to deliver a message, and it's up to the audience to enforce it in themselves.

My verdict:

A dreary depiction of rural life and of growing old alone and miserable that slowly gains color, bolstered by  the top-notch performance of Eddie Garcia is something that I'd give a passing and recommended mark of 4.25/5 stars. Must watch. 

Bwakaw ended its commercial run last September 12, 2012. You can catch it on DVD in case it comes out.