#Y

#Y begins when Miles (Elmo Magalona) is about to jump off the roof of a building in Makati. He then recalls a month and a half ago when he first decided that he wanted to die. Miles is carefree, fun loving, and faithful, yet he can also be solitary, introspective and suspicious. He reviews his understanding of death, and how adventurous and heroic it might be. The film follows him in his nightly parties with his friends, and the drugs that make him a part of their group.

I myself was surprised to have enjoyed #Y (2014). Though its thesis covers a generation that I now see only from afar, its presentation of a world of the rich and the young is captured effectively through Director Gino Santos' lens. It explores a much ignored issue of teenage suicides and creates an argument that even in their boundless lives, they are chained in their own social limits. Santos does not explain why Miles wants to kill himself. Though some may say that this is a major miss, I say otherwise. #Y ventures into the lives of our young, as it tries to explain that even in their most stupid of decisions there is still depth in their impassive existence.

#Y ought to criticize the errors of the new generation, how our youth today are getting even more oppressed and self-absorbed. It is meant for one to lose their faith to humanity and its future. The main character is one of those who are sober enough to see this tragedy, which probably lead him attempting to commit suicide. The movie shows all of the worst of these privileged kids, potentially being the truthful image of the generation. As many opinions the movie expressed towards these people, it still lacks some stronger elements to make it completely work. But no one should ignore what it has achieved. There is some impressive filmmaking styles worth looking at, but coming-of-age stories tend to offer beyond that.

Though it doesn't mention what exactly makes Miles wanting to kill himself, we can sense the obvious that it has something to do with the environment he's living in. Typically, this would have been mainly about getting the girl, but the movie concerns more on their foolish behavior and shallow ambitions. The main character keeps referring their lifestyle as meaningless. The movie makes a great point to that, it brings a vast cynicism to the attitude of these rich kids, but the teenagers are almost one-noted, in spite of their separated narration. We are basically just exploring around their lurid world until it goes to the already known fate of the main character. The story does still find some warmth and realer humanity, mostly the scenes when Miles is trying to keep a hold of himself by talking to a suicide hotline operator. Those parts are the most engaging overall.

The movie does a good job depicting the atmosphere of their situations. The cinematography and stylish editing give some trippy insanity within those wild parties. But even outside those pretty lights, the film continues to show some cleverly constructed scenes and impressive camera shots that we don't often see in local films. The performances are fine, though the weakest is the lead actor, Elmo Magalona, who sounds forced at delivering his lines, feeling like he could hardly relate to the bleakness and angst of his character.

#Y is a cool achievement, but it does feel a little lacking. There are some moments that can be called engaging, but what takes over here are some cynicism that has too little to resolve, no matter how much it takes time fleshing them out. It still succeeds at bringing some technical flavor, which has more of the priority than the better potentials of this story. But it's still one interesting experience wandering around the new culture of teens. It's often too cynical, but why not? This can be an essential thing, if only it leads to something much compelling.