The Act of Killing: An Interesting Watch.

Is it a sin to kill?

This is the recurring thought that I had whilst I kept watching this film. And by the end, that question never got answered. Instead, I was left with more questions, desperate for answers.

The Act of Killing is a film directed by Joshua Oppenheimer which covers the events of the genocide of the communists in Indonesia during the late 60’s in a… let’s say, different way. In this film we follow Anwar Congo and his fellows as they reenact their killings on camera as they try to depict what they did to the communists in the country back in the day. It’s a documentary that’s not like any other documentary, and sprinkles in a bit of surrealism in it as well. It really is such a unique cinematic experience that leaves one in awe.

It’s ambiguity is it’s best trait for me, along with the ridiculousness of just the idea of these people retelling their crimes on camera. Also, I really like how we were given the point of view of these people as opposed to the usual point of view which is the victim side. I feel like this was an interesting approach in how this film documented these events.

Another interesting point in this film is how they emphasized gangsters as being or meaning “free men” as opposed to being or meaning thugs like how one would normally describe them. It made me think, yeah, actually gangsters are like that because they want to be free in what they do, even if it isn’t necessarily right.

This piece is just interesting in its entirety and is a different approach to documentary filmmaking. One should check it out with their own eyes and draw their own conclusions, but as for me, I found this watch very… unique.

SAAN NAROON ANG BATAS?

Manila, the land of dreamers.

It has often been implied that if you want an escape from the mundane life, Manila is the place to go.

Manila is the capital of the Philippines, filled with opportunities, entertainment and luxuries. It is often portrayed as the city of hope for those residing in rural areas. “If you go to Manila, you’ll get rich!” is a narrative that gets pushed so much in Philippine media, and for a young impressionable me living outside Manila, I used to believe in that as well. Obviously things have changed now as I have grown and learned more, but for a time I did believe that working and living in Manila was the dream.

I did not grow up watching a lot of Philippine cinema. However, I do have a vague memory catching Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag (directed by Lino Brocka) on television. I am not sure if this is even the right film, but I do remember seeing the scene where the singing construction guy fell from the site somewhere in my early childhood. It was a scene that left quite an impact on me, and it still sits in the archive of my memories to this very day. But other than that, I had no clue as to what I was getting into as I started this film.

Overall, I would describe this as a film as slow. Not that being slow is a bad thing, but it really is just so slow. Right from the beginning up until the part before the third act, it was slow, taking it’s time to fully introduce our main character, Julio, a naïve country boy who ventured out to the streets of Manila in search of his missing lover. It took it’s time fleshing out his peers as well, giving the audience small glimpses of their lives in Manila. And it was not as pretty as one would expect.

Manila is the capital of the Philippines, yes. It is filled with opportunities, entertainment, and luxuries, yes. Manila is the city of hope, yes. But it is also the city of despair for many. It is introduced early on in the movie that life in Manila is going to be tough if you fit into the category of the penniless. And our characters? Well unfortunately, they meet that criterion. Julio’s peers are humble construction workers like him, earning barely enough money to support themselves, let alone their families. A hard day’s work means nothing when they earn so little, and that little sum is also being chipped away at by taxes. It was hard to survive in that world, but despite that fact, Julio was determined.

As the film progresses, we begin to learn the ways of Manila through the eyes of Julio. We learn how easy it is to get laid off work for saying the wrong thing, we learn how a death in the site is seen as a small scale event, even to the extent of it being a bother as hospitals are charging a sum of money that these workers do not have, we learn that it is not so easy to navigate the dark streets of Manila alone at night for there could be something or someone waiting in the shadows, ready to pounce on you. Julio’s character arc takes us through all the wrong corners of Manila, ranging from a poverty stricken population to the prostutition and sexual exploitation business that thrives in the late night. These all happen while he constantly pushes on his search for Ligaya.

Who is Ligaya? Well, Ligaya Paraiso is Julio’s lover. We are teased with her character from the very beginning, and are fed more information about her as the film goes on. She is a young, beautiful girl who was plucked out from her province and brought to Manila in promise of work and education. She is Julio’s main motivation for staying in Manila and entering all kinds of jobs just to survive as he searches for her.

There was a point in the film where I felt more uncomfortable that I would have liked, but I just thought about the quote “art is meant to disturb the comfortable” and moved along. It was when Julio dipped his toes into the world of male prostitution. We get introduced to what the business looks like, how some of these men aren’t even homosexual, but they still do it because it pays big bucks. They define it as part of their job, not part of their being. This made me think a lot about our sex workers. These people aren’t in that industry because they necessarily enjoy it, but they are in that industry because it is an industry that pays them the money that they need to live normal lives. I don’t think it’s right to demonize these people because just like you and me, they are just people who are doing a job because a, the money and b, for the people who consume their work. No one has the right to point fingers and say what they’re doing is bad because at the end of the day a moral compass does not save them from hunger and poverty. (Plus there are people who point fingers at these workers but then turn around and consume the same work that they are shaming, so who really is in the wrong here?)

This sexual exploitation theme is sprinkled throughout the whole film, from the small bits of offers from the men advertising their females, to Julio having an experience as a male prostitute for money, to Ligaya herself, which was whisked off to Manila only to become a prostitute herself. There were also several recurring themes such as poverty, shown through Julio’s peers, and even in Julio himself. There was also a social injustice theme, which was again shown through Julio’s peers and through Ligaya. This weirdly encompasses life during the Martial Law, the period that this film was made in. People were being ruled over by an iron fist, and the abuse of power is so prevalent in this film. The common folk were no folk, they were just stories waiting to fill up the tabloids. One wrong move and it could mean their life.

This social injustice is heavily included towards the end, as an implied murdered Ligaya just ended up to become news in the papers. This drove Julio to his breaking point, as he sought out justice for himself. Arguably, he did not take the right path. But that was the final straw, the final button pushed, and now he was off the edge. It was an action driven with pure rage, pure madness that I could almost forgive it. But alas, Julio had made the wrong choice as he was chased out and beaten, the people doing the deed even shouting out “Pumatay siya ng Intsik!”. This just goes to show that no matter how justified his action may seem to him and to us viewers, the people will always side with the powerful.

(Also, there is a small detail that I have noticed in this film. The name Ligaya Paraiso literally means Joyful Paradise. Interpret this as you will, but for me, her death is quite significant to the whole message of this film. A young, naïve country boy coming to Manila, the city of dreams, in search of his paradise. What does he find instead? That that paradise that he is so desperately looking for might not even be paradise at all. But I digress.) 

This film is just so dense with meaning and message that I cannot even wrap my head around everything that this piece wishes to say. But I do know that it is a masterpiece within Philippine cinema, portraying a very raw, very wrong side of Manila that needs to be so rightfully shed light on.

Lilia Cuntapay, a familiar face in Philippine cinema.

Literally.

Ask a random person if they know Lilia Cuntapay, chances are they might say her name is familiar, or they might say that they do not know who that is. But pull up a picture of her, with her long white hair and ghastly aged face, I bet they will at least exclaim with an “Ahh!”.

Lilia Cuntapay is a figure in the Philippine film industry who is widely known to be that old lady in horror movies. Personally, I recognize her in her Shake, Rattle & Roll movies, but I have not seen much of her work. All I know is that she is dubbed as the “Queen of Philippine Horror Movies”, and for good reason. Her signature look was a key factor to her being instantly recognizable, coupled with her great acting skills. Just one look at her face was enough to make young me scream and run out of the room.

Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay is probably the first non-horror film that I have seen Lilia Cuntapay star in. It is quite a nice and heartwarming break from the typical screaming as we are shown a very raw version of Lilia Cuntapay. This mockumentary directed by Antoinette Jadaone focuses on her, Lilia Cuntapay, and her experience in the film industry. It’s portrayed as very real, very raw and true to life that I as the viewer was questioning whether or not this was actually her true life story.

The film starts off by doing what I mentioned earlier, which was asking people “Do you know Lilia Cuntapay?”. From there we see a cast of characters ranging from ordinary people to people in the actual film industry such as the actors and actresses. Then it cuts to Peque Gallaga, a well known director, being interviewed as to when he first saw Lilia Cuntapay. He points out that her look stood out to him and even called her a witch (in a positive light). This interview set up the rawness that you get in documentaries, which is why I expected it to be her true to life story. Then we cut to what I like to call “Lilia Cuntapay’s Dreamscape” scene where there is a set that is set up as Lilia Cuntapay’s imagination of herself as she wins Best Supporting Actress. This element is used quite often in between raw feeling scenes and throws the documentary-esque scenes off its rhythm and reminds the audience that this is actually not a documentary but rather a mockumentary. Then it is almost always followed by Lilia Cuntapay’s antics as she goes about her day. It is a clever transition that shows Lilia Cuntapay’s character, wanting to rewrite her speech over and over again, wanting to include everyone who has helped her even in small ways and reimagining how she should deliver said speech while also contributing to the emotional investment of the audience for the final scene, which is the awards show.

This film likes to play with the audience’s emotions, dare I say so myself. It likes to include moments that make you think that this certain thing is going to happen, only for it not to happen and the disappointment that comes to us is just stellar. It’s done so well too, and there is no remedy right after. Like when she was made to wait so long for her to shoot an extra with a speaking role, and they said that “plakado na siya sa horror movies” so they can’t use her and then just downgraded her to a passerby. Even if there are a huge number of light-hearted scenes, the ones that are supposed to hit you, hit you hard. But the thing is, it’s supposed to be like that because even though this isn’t her true to life story, it might be someone else’s story. A struggling actor who just wants to break into the film industry but is always met with lackluster roles or unexpected turns of events. Because this industry is such a saturated place, it is very hard to actually make a name for yourself. It takes time, effort, patience and even luck, and sometimes, even that is not enough. It is such a tough industry to take part in, and I believe that Lilia Cuntapay has struggled with the same setbacks. Just look at her, about thirty years in this business and still some people have no clue on who she is. Despite this, I believe that she kept acting and being in this industry because that is what she loves, and I think that is enough reason to continue.

A big part of this film is the awards show. An ecstatic Lilia Cuntapay in the opening scene is shown as she reveals that she is nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 16th AFTAP Silver Screen Awards. She points to her name at the newspaper, excited and even teary eyed because this is the first time that she has been recognized for her work after almost thirty years in the industry. Even the chairman and her fellow village people at her district agree that she should have been nominated ages ago. That immediately builds to the emotional stakes here because if she doesn’t win at the end, then uh-oh. But then that sort of expectation is shattered when the film cuts to Peque Gallaga’s interview in which he mentions that awards don’t really matter. He calls awards a report card of sorts, and I have to agree. I think a man is defined not by his awards but by his work. That plants the idea in the audience’s head that it is okay if she does not win because we know that Lilia Cuntapay in of herself is iconic and is an actress worthy of respect. This award will not define her, her filmography shall speak for itself.

This mockumentary is brilliant at building up expectations and then breaking them. Like I mentioned earlier, the awards show. The expectation that it has built up in the audience for so long, the long-awaited speech, taken away. Not once, but twice. (Her not winning the award was one thing, but the shot of her crumpling the paper with her speech in right after was so heartbreaking.) There were many instances where this took place but those were nothing compared to this final one because this is what the film has been building up to for its entirety and for it to just snatch that moment away, it just feels very anticlimactic. Even if she was called to the front to finally deliver her speech, she was not able to utter a word. Even if the film ends on a high note, it still left a hole in my heart that it refused to fill even till the very end.

After minutes of just basking in the afterglow of my voided being, my mind started to wander. And so did my fingers. I searched up some reviews on the film, just to gauge the general consensus. Then one comment caught my eye. A user by the name of Marvin Ridulfa said this:

It perfectly encapsulates the feeling that I had while watching this film. A sense of belongingness, a sense of identity. A constant search for that identity. How we may equate awards, roles, recognition, just something that will mark our place in this world.

As a human myself, I do recognize the feeling of wanting to be seen, to be perceived in a positive light. To be known. It’s a feeling I recognize that constantly surges through my veins as I venture out into social situations, may it be face to face interactions or even in social media. I recognize wanting to be known as someone, someone that has existed in this lifetime. I recognize the feeling of not wanting to be forgotten.

This mockumentary has made me feel like I am a Lilia Cuntapay, wanting to make a mark in this small world, no matter how small that mark is. Because that mark solidifies our sense of identity. This practice has been ingrained in us humans, from early cavemen marking their territory with drawings to us now, just wanting to present ourselves to the world as someone that is real and that has lived. This mockumentary was made to feel real because it is real. And I commend everyone who has worked on Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay for successfully pulling this project off.