Point to the Ass

Oh pleazzz, don't shoot me. Oh pleazzz.

Tutok is the worst film I have seen so far. Joven Tan tackles media exploitation and rebellion in general. However, his rendition is too frail to be convincing. The rebels have neither clear objectives nor demands. Tantrums could be more descriptive of their grisly behavior. We as an audience would like to know even a gist of what they are fighting for. Sentiments are not sufficient for us to understand their cause. Another truism the film tackles is media sensationalism. I am sure that Tutok is a waste of money. But if you have lots of money, then go waste it.

The story is very simple which I think was inspired by the abduction of Ces Drilon months ago by the Abu Sayyaf. Although the film has no intention of showing humanity as it lingers more on the dark aspect, it could be classified as a noir film since all the characters are pessimistic and the subject matter itself is obnoxious. Roman (Emilio Garcia) is a paranoid news reporter who believes that he is always bypassed by his colleagues. He gets to view a video tape from rebels asking to be noticed through the killing of an innocent man. Although his superior has no belief in the material, Roman still goes to the jungle together with his faithful friend and cameraman Zaldy (Allen Dizon). He believes it is his chance to become famous with this death-defying act.

I could not be deceived with the films encroachment with sensitive topics and proclaim its artistry and significance. Tutok has nothing to offer since it even stays behind on the core of their ideas. Even the rebels are just too few for us to believe the significance of their ideologies. Ten rebels are alarming to our national security? Even the fickle-minded Roman would not even dare touch the topic. This is a part wherein noir elements in films must still have proper logic for the story to be credible enough. (But Tutok just rides on the bandwagon of noir without actually achieving it. It’s more of a faux noir.) The characters do not simply want a dream to take place. They could have at least added more extras as rebels just for film integrity. Anyway, they still lack the necessary thought for the rebels as a whole, they should have conceived more about their aims, motivations, drives and visions. Humanity is shown in the film by showing a rebel having oral sex with a fellow rebel, which could arouse the curiosities of their sexual desire.

It’s disappointing to watch a film that has big aims in covering thought-provoking issues but does not incite any hint of interest to its entirety. Even the acting is not synthesized well because the characters have no souls. They appear as caricatures of intriguing personalities, forgetting that these people also have hearts. The film itself should be shut-off as they don’t offer any value that could be worthy for your time and more so your hard earned money.

Charlie Koon's Rating:

Loose Ends

Awe-some...

From the title alone, one might know what one should expect from the film. It has a lot of loopholes within the story and it could have been a deception on a higher level of understanding with what they have done with the story transition. Butas has three points of view. It tries to create a moralistic or perceptive dilemma in the minds of the audience. Each point of view represents one argument which is in grave contrast to the others. Anyway, this style is used to push the viewer to choose the one that is the closest to reality. I think in that sense it might be adequate. But in Butas, it is rather a machination on how they would keep up the twist of the story and a bit careless with its usage. I am not contented with how it turned out.

Butas (Loophole) is a film by Alejandro Ramos that tackles a forbidden affair of a married sluttish girl named Maya (Gwen Garci) and an equally promiscuous police officer named Virgo (Marco Morales). They meet in an abandoned house not far from the city and undertake the forbidden act of sexual congress. Little did they know that Maya’s husband Jake (Allen Dizon) is nearby waiting for an opportunity to kill the lover of his wife.

The first part of the story is tolerable as it conveys the point of view of Jake. He clinches at the ceiling of the house looking at all the lascivious doings of the two. The second point of view takes place from a video taken of the act. It shows much of the flaws in the film as this could have tricked the audience in so many ways. I don’t want to elaborate on this matter as this could easily give away the twists of the story. Anyway, the twist is nothing compelling or even groundbreaking. It lacks the basic necessity in weaving sequences where it must appear cohesively even in having different points of view. Not unless the director himself did that on purpose, hence altering the characterizations of the characters is part of the twist.

I am not also convinced on how everything has taken place in the climax of the film. Maya’s character was drugged by Virgo and could have easily loosened up. But she did at one point have the physical stamina to stand up and deliver all those stupid lines and commit something awful. It is very tacky in so many ways. And also, there are lots of jump cuts and blur sequences in the movie. Did the MTRCB have something to do with this?

The acting of the three main characters is passable. Both Garci and Morales (Walang Kawala) have already been undressed in their previous films that I saw. It is also apparent that Garci and Dizon could be the sexy loveteam indie films as they too are the couple in the erotic film Room 213. Butas could have been made for easy bucks. The various points of view Ramos has explored in the film are not ideal. Once it is woven in the film, you will see a lot of holes in it.

There are lots of excuses nowadays in film making. It is really confusing. But I am sure that once a film makes money, they could make another film. Hopefully they make a well made film, not necessarily circumventing the bareness or even the sexual activities. I understand that these are the facts of life.

Charlie Koon's Rating:

Wilted Passion

Whip Me Harder

We can’t argue that Room 213 is to some extent, a well photographed film. The visual structure is striking; the color milieu is gleaming and the backdrop of Old Manila is as well gorgeous. How I wish visual style and aesthetics is the only thing perceived in films to make it the leading light. On the other hand, the story structure is unremarkable. Although the film resorted to use some noir elements, justifying the nonlinearity and scene recurrences. But it’s more of concealment of a frail narrative.

The Architect (Allen Dizon) has grown cold and has been overtly suspicious of his wife, The Photographer (Gwen Garci). It is a result of an adulterous act the wife committed. On their first decade as a married couple, a recent project was assigned to The Architect in an abandoned building in Manila. The Architect is engrossed with the confinements of the building and has formed a plan. The recurring events made its way to acquaint us to two more characters: The Devotee (Maricar dela Fuente) a necrophiliac and The Accomplice (Tyron Perez) a seemingly ordinary guy.

The erotic part is on the film’s manipulation of the characters, pairing them off with each other. The Architect and The Photographer engaged themselves in sadomasochism. Despite being a couple, it still brings about some voyeuristic tinges and dream fantasies. Glamour Photography is one passion of The Photographer. The Devotee as her subject, the secret liaison at first leads to a lesbian intimacy. The Accomplice is also entangled in a simulated threesome act between the two women. The eroticism is primarily signified by the abandoned building. The old building heightened the palpable dormancy in passion.

The exploration of the theme is a flourishing subject matter. I do commend the film for not appearing comical with all those ropes tied around, hanging upside down and characters leaping into cross gender role-play. But does it mean that all couples are subjected to this kind of activity when passion is growing cold? Or is the film literal? The answer might be plausible in the context of eroticism and film. Eroticism in Room 213 has dissolved the rational world but it’s ephemeral; thus transcending of pain is subjective. On the contrary, a film has a logical amalgamation of eroticism and film writing. Or probably the film is adequate to show more of its artistic qualities visually. Obviously, Sicat love to astonish and bemuse the audience with obscure sexual adventurism, regardless of whether real people actually do it or not. It has become an aesthetic all its own.

The narrative, especially the use of dialogue might be indicted of mere rhetorical frippery. One good case is the voice-over narration. Aren’t The Photographer’s actions exactly those which she is narrating? Some scenes are stylish, but they lack urgency. At times, it looks like it just fills up the cracks. The repetitive schemes must have a purported purpose. But I have to say that its premise and closure have strong points. In the end it becomes a reflection of our repressed sensibilities. Freedom from sex is I think true liberation.

Room 213 has promising technical expertise to show off (except for the uneven film ratio). It is not surprising to know that the director Keith Sicat is also a painter and a photographer for profession. There are lots of details that I admire in the film. I have noticed that the actors wear bizarre outfits and it is alluring. The walls are painted with eye-catching illustrations and I bet it is the work of Sicat. The musical scoring purported to use kundiman, ethnic/tribal accompaniments, and the western style of music is exquisite. But I have doubts with its narrative. It seems that at one point, the story is lacking and needs more expansion. It must also level with how technically proficient the film is. But if you will ask me, is the film erotic? My answer is, not quite. Or let’s say is the depiction of eroticism thought provoking? Yes, given that the building was there.

Charlie Koon's Rating: