It is hard to believe that Apocalypse Child is just Mario Cornejo’s third film. Aside from the fact that it is a ridiculously accomplished, fully realized film, it’s just hard to believe that our industry hasn’t made room for such a phenomenal directorial talent. It’s been nine years since First Day High, the last feature to credit Cornejo as a director. We’ve been missing out on nine years of this amazing talent.
Apocalypse Child mostly tells the story of Ford (Sid Lucero), a surfing instructor in Baler. The film opens with lines describing some of the myths that surround the place, which the movie claims are just mostly true. Ford himself has a legend. The story is that his mother Chona (Ana Abad Santos) was fourteen when Apocalypse Now was being shot in Baler, and that his father is Francis Ford Coppola. But that’s not exactly what this movie is about, though it plays a part in what is eventually built. This is mainly a story about Ford’s relationship to his best friend Rich (RK Bagatsing), the newly elected congressman of the district. The two share a tumultuous past, which plays into their relationships with their girlfriends Fiona (Annicka Dolonius) and Serena (Gwen Zamora).
The past is a tsunami in this film. It is a looming, gigantic wave that destroys everything in its path. These characters are surfers, of course, and they have a more complicated relationship with waves. To some extent, they want to seek out the largest waves, to see where the tide will take them, knowing full well that they could die because of it. This is a story that poetically explores a relationship to the past, to the myths that are built to take the place of painful truths. And it’s put together in this incredible technical package. This film won a special citation for the editing, and it is one of the most deserved acknowledgments of great work that I can think. This film never shows its seams, every moment contributing to the greater feeling of quiet, unseen sadness that lurks beneath the myth.
Cesar Hernando is one of the most well regarded production designers in our cinema. He makes his feature film debut with Gayuma, which is about Mike (Benjamin Alves), a young artist who becomes obsessed with a woman (Phoebe Walker) who may or may not be real, or might be something else entirely. It’s a pretty thin story that’s most padded out with sequences that play out as inside jokes for people in UP Fine Arts. There are good long chunks of this film taken up by lectures in classrooms about various art things. And it’s just not very interesting on that level.
But there are bursts of inspired technique in this movie that indicate that Hernando certainly has more up his sleeve. There is a hallway shot in this movie that I contend is the single best shot in the entire festival. Hernando uses old school techniques that produce incredible visual flourishes. Combined with the strong production design elements, the film occasionally puts together images that made me yearn for another Hernando feature. Maybe now that he’s gotten his film first out of the way, we’re in for a late renaissance.
Jet Leyco’s Matangtubig is about a horrible crime that takes place in the titular town in Batangas. A girl is found dead, and another is still missing. The film mostly follows a fisherman played by Amante Pulido who knows a little something about the crime, but isn’t eager to tell people what he knows. As word gets around the murder, the media descends on the town, uncovering all sorts of things in the process.
The film sits awkwardly in a position between standard crime procedural and something far weirder. And by “weirder,” I mean the kind of thing that one would expect if one has already seen Leyco’s previous film Bukas na Lang Sapagkat Gabi Na, which uses sci-fi elements as a means of abstracting the violence in the story. The film is actually pretty effective with both impulses, but the combination of the two doesn’t quite work out. It feels like the film could be weirder, or it could have committed harder to being a straight procedural. But even with those concerns, there’s no denying that this film indicates great talent. Leyco is one to watch, and it’s going to be interesting where he goes from here.
Chuck Gutierrez’s Iisa is about a group of rebels in Mindanao following a typhoon that devastates the area. With everything in ruins, and the land covered in mud, the cause takes a backseat to rebuilding and helping feed the hungry. The film mainly focuses on the story of Ross, who had been accused to stealing some funds from the movement. The storm has put off her punishment, but the crime continues to hang over her in the eyes of some, which causes tension in this time of calamity.
The movie is quite visually striking. Shots are elegantly composed, producing indelible images of struggle amidst this incredibly striking setting. The film does tend to overdo it a bit, though. The combination of the dramatic imagery and the soaring musical score overshadows the narrative, which might have needed a lighter touch. In its quiet moments, Iisa reveals its sensitivity, its appreciation of the quiet dignity of these people trying to survive following a catastrophe. But it does get loud, and the story and these characters get a little lost in the shuffle.
Here is the list of winners from this year’s competition:
- Audience Choice Award: Patintero: Ang Alamat ni Meng Patalo
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Gender Sensitivity Award: Patintero: Ang Alamat ni Meng Patalo
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Best Supporting Actress: Annicka Dolonius, Apocalypse Child
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Best Supporting Actor: Lou Veloso, Water Lemon
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Best Screenplay: Lilit Reyes, Water Lemon
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Best Artistic Achievement: Lawrence Ang for Editing, Apocalypse Child
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Best Director: Mario Cornejo, Apocalypse Child
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Best Actor: Dominic Rocco, Sleepless
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Best Actress: Tessie Tomas, Water Lemon
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Netpac Prize for Best Documentary: Crescent Rising
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Netpac Jury Prize for Best Picture: Sleepless
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Circle Competition Best Picture: Apocalypse Child
