Kinatay - Massacro

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.

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.

This movie was shown almost simultaneously at two film festivals in my country, and advertised as a horror flick. I must say that I saw it more as a thriller/drama, but I admit that I was, at times, nervous, jumpy, and even disgusted (I'm a bit perplexed by my reaction, considering that I didn't find anything too disturbing about "Antichrist", for example). I almost wish it could pass off as a horror film, because it sends a powerful message: when it all boils down, there's nothing scarier than the reality we live in, and the terrible things humans can do to each other.

It's story is told in a very realistic manner. The plot slowly progresses from everyday Manila life, where we see the brightly colored face of the city, with young and old in the streets, going about their business, to the ominous night and the twisted reality it brings. The director uses the darkness as the ultimate mood-setter, and the dragged-out sequences gradually warn us of things to come. As the first reviewer of "Kinatay" noted, the sound plays a major role in the film.

Without giving away anything, I can say that there are no big plot twists (if any), and the outcome of the movie is sobering in it's brutal realism. This might be a negative point for some, because they will probably not get what they expected; not only because of the absence of a "happy end", but also because of the lack of diverse content trough out a major portion of the movie. My own pet peeve is that, even though Coco Martin has played his role as good as he could have, the "shocked rookie in way over his head" character is a bit of a cliché, and in retrospect, it feels a bit overused, but again, not as much as in many other movies.

Ultimately, this is a good piece of cinematography. It makes it's goal clear, and it's presentation is flawless, for the most part. It definitely does not deserve all the bad reviews it's been getting. A man who gives "Avatar" a rave review (I'm looking at you, Ebert), should think twice before calling something "the worst movie at Cannes".

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.

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.