Kisapmata

This is a movie that is so deserving of a five star rating, I’d give it without any hesitation. No comments or criticisms, just awe. You are immediately thrust into the film’s oppressive atmosphere in the opening scene. It doesn’t waste time at all. Each subsequent scene is perfect; there is no fat that needs to be trimmed. Every scene, every camera pan, and every line thrown had a purpose.  Vic Silayan is terrifying in how real and lived-in his character of Tatang is. Everyone knows a Tatang, or at least someone who you can just feel is one last straw away from bursting into a fit of unbridled rage. His authoritarian voice gave me the shudders, his mere presence was so heavy. I actually squealed in a scene wherein the camera pans to his character standing on the stairs. The other actors, particularly Charito Solis, are terrific in portraying how they are affected by Tatang. It could be frustrating, the way the women are passive, but Solis and Charo Santos sell their characters well. They are believable. I believe this is the first Mike de Leon film I’ve ever seen. And my god, what a great director. I feel so fortunate to have been born in a world with his films. I haven’t watched his other films yet, but if this is any indicator, I am confident they’re great.  With de Leon at the chair, the camera gains a life of its own. The camera pans, the zooms. The distress and the anxiety are increased, and further amplified by the score.  The screenplay is so brilliant as well. This looks like an easy film to write, given the lack of plot, but the nuance of each scene and the characterization of its characters catapult it to being one of the country’s best films. And that ending was appropriate. Fitting. The only way it could have ended.