Kinatay

The film identifies us with a young man who is "intiated" into a world of corruption and murder - by a bunch of unscrupulous policemen under the command of a heinous father figure that I found unforgettable. The young man is not "forced" to do anything, he may withdraw (and tries to do so) but finally cannot resist. I found the story almost unbearably testing my morals, asking the not at all theoretical question what I would have done in a similar situation. The director, for me, is one of the moralists in filmmaking (similar to his fellow countryman Brocka). The intense challenge of this film to the viewers integrity makes it impossible to watch for an averagely conceited human being. But hark, there're films out there that can show you who you really are, what you will certainly do as long as you're not aware. This is one of them. - It's beyond be how anyone here can criticize "camera" and "sound" and so on. They all contribute to and express the messy state of humanity in it's passionate & horrible grandeur. The "shower scene" at the end, for me, is one of the defining moments in movie history.

A couple years back, an independent film from the Philippines named Kinatay shocked and awed festival film-goers the world over. The film by Brilliante Mendoza was regarded as one of the most controversial films of the year, and was even coined a horror movie by some. I'm here to tell you - two years later - that all the overly enthusiastic critiques appeared to be just that.

The film is about a young newlywed who takes a friend's job offer to earn some extra cash for his wife and baby. The gig, which he discovers a bit too late, involves kidnapping and accessory to murder.

The film initially starts off in almost documentary style fashion with the camera capturing real-life tidbits while gradually introducing us to the amicable protagonist. Over an hour later, when the meat and potatoes have begun to be served, it switches to a more conventional style with close-ups and bits of stylish direction - it's this melding of creative approaches that impressed me most about Kinatay. Along-side a cast of talented actors and urban Philippino settings, the movie feels fresh and consistently realistic.

Besides the film's tedious opening hour, what ultimately hurts Kinatay the most is/was the hype that initially surrounded it. Hype can be good, sometimes, but in cases like Kinatay, where the buzz mainly circulated around the exploitative aspects of the film, said film can and will implode. This film isn't very controversial and nor difficult to process – it's actually rather straight-forward and only a bit graphic. Maybe it was some type of marketing ploy, who knows. Nevertheless, it remained an intimate look at how a person feels and acts when confronted with unsuspecting horrors.

Lastly, please take note that this is not an exploitation or horror flick. It's an art-house drama that does a pretty good job putting you in the shoes of someone doing something they don't want to. Ever hang out with people you didn't want to, but you stuck around because you knew you'd possibly reap a benefit or two? This is like that, but on a nightmare scale.

Kinatay is a slow moving movie, it even makes you question what you are watching, the movie literally introduces you to the streets of the Philippines and shows the terrible nature of the Philippines, you witness the state of consent brought by social life and the movie seemed to me to have a realistic atmosphere, but we watched the character who was in inertia. That's how life is. The continuation and the dinner scene were quite scary, it was like a nihilistic production that reminds you of life between extinction and creation. Kinatay officially pushes the ethical boundaries, the movie can make you angry in this regard, but I think it is the best among the movies that can anger you. Actors They acted realistically and a different event emerged with the atmosphere of the Philippines, but I think the movie could have worked better and could have been opened to the public. I felt the atmosphere was missing while watching the movie, but despite that, Kinatay is a production that I found interesting with its wild nature. That's why I wasn't harsh when giving a score.

In Kinatay we go from everyday chaotic, but joyful everyday life and take a trip deep into its mafia controlled cynical underbelly. It is disgusting and sobering, but realistically depicted and therefore has a potential to shock people into disgust. The hope then is that this disgust can inspire a change in attitudes and ultimately fight this mafia instead of feeding it. That's far-fetched though.

The movie in itself makes you feel like part of the action with hand-held cameras instead of cinematic abstractions. This is its strong point as well as what takes away some of the tension too. Some sections are just too long and dwelling. Supposedly the actions, reactions and (lack of them) can this way play around in our mind so that we build tension inside ourselves, but I ended up getting bored at times.

I registered in IMDb only to express how blatantly stupid, boring and overall waste of time is this movie. Cannot recall ever seeing something so bad. As it was pointed out by some other reviewers many scenes are useless and unusually long. For example 4-5 men taking a leak together - 1 minute. What an expressionism.