Babae at baril

This thriller from the Philippines ("Babae At Baril"), stars Janine Gutierrez in a mesmerizing central performance. If there is one small complaint, it is that the film veers away from her character at the halfway mark... just when we reach a climactic point. If we had stayed with her from start to finish, this would have been a masterpiece.

The story, settings and people are believable. Characters may not act like you would expect but no one acts in an unrealistic manner.

The settings are shot with great lighting that doesn't take away the grittiness of the city's underbelly.

Although I think the flashback sequence feels jarring and unnecessary, you can chalk it up to artistic license. Still very watchable though.

Only one thing irks me and it's a pivotal plot point... REVOLVERS DON'T HAVE SAFETY SWITCHES!

They did get the number of bullets right though.

I didn't really enjoy the movie. I'm a fan of crime, mystery and thriller movies but this one didn't satisfy me. I'm sorry. It was stupid how ALL the lights were flickering in the locker room. It was jarring and unnecessarily annoying. The editing failed to weave a coherent story cadence which made me lose interest to watch throughout. Music is repetitious, inauthentic and could use real musical instruments. (The trumpets were obviously fake). Every other aspect of the movie was okay at best.

I don't normally write many reviews, but this one grabbed me. The end of the movie snuck up on me, which is rare. For the duration of the film, I was completely engrossed with the story. The soundtrack was basic, yet suited what was going on, lots of drums.

The atmosphere is well crafted and gritty. Instead of an overblown Hollywood gunshot sound effect, the sound used was sharp and ugly, more like an actual gunshot.

It's pretty far from a Hollywood film as one might imagine, and that's what I liked about it the most.

This Filipino film is centred on a young woman who works at a department store. The staff are somewhat put-upon, with her boss constantly criticising her apparel. Away from work she lives in a small flat with another woman and is struggling to pay the rent. One night she hears a gunshot and goes outside; she finds a revolver abandoned in an alley. Shortly afterwards she is attacked at work... she realises the gun gives her the power to go after her assailant. As the finally catches up with him the action flashes back some time; we then follow the gun from the time it is refurbished in a backstreet workshop and passes through various hands before finally our protagonist has it.

I must say this wasn't the film I expected it to be. Instead of a cliché revenge thriller we get more of a social commentary. This was not a problem as I found the story interesting as while it clearly had things to say about certain issues it wasn't heavy handed about it. The cast was solid; particularly Janine Gutierrez who impressed as the titular Girl with the Gun. The locations used may not have a big budget feel but they give a sense of realism that the subjected needed. Overall I thought this was well worth watching.

These comments are based on watching the film in Filipino with English subtitles.