Movie review: Cinemalaya entry ‘Asintado’: Off-target, but not entirely a miss

"Asintado" (Between The Eyes) is set in the small town of Bibiclat, a far-flung community of farmers in Nueva Ecija which would have been unremarkable if not for its annual Taong Putik festival. In the heart of this Luisito Ignacio-directed film is a family about to be torn apart by circumstance, if not foolishness.

At the center of the film is Julia (Aiko Melendez) and her sons Tonio (Jake Vargas) and Etok (Miggs Cuaderno). Meanwhile, Carias (Gabby Eigenmann), the new village chief, is young and arrogant, and has illegal drug dealings on the side. Under his leadership, the once-spiritual Taong Putik festival, meant to honor St. John the Baptist, becomes a farce, with pageants and talent shows being covered by local media outfits.

Throughout the course of the film, Carias pulls in the unwitting Tonio into his schemes. And when the boy botches a drug deal, Julia has to find a way to save her elder son, at the behest of her younger.

While Vargas’ acting well exceeded expectations, it is really Cuaderno who shines as the younger son Etok, who has autism. He makes the character believable, while stopping short of making Etok, who is an excellent marksman, pitiable.

Admittedly, there’s something that feels inherently phony about some parts of the film, including their names and put-upon accents. But in its core, "Asintado" tries to tell a simple story—that of a mother forced to make a difficult, morally ambiguous decision to save her son.

Perhaps where "Asintado" stumbles is that it doesn’t give its viewers enough material or backstory to really care for the characters. We are told Tonio is bright, and is at the top of his class. Yet through most of the film, it seems he is ruled more by his libido rather than his brain.

In fact, it is that same libido that pushes him to take the dangerous drug courier job in the first place. One is hard-pressed to believe that the town valedictorian would be so naive as to leave drugs with his (literal) stone-obsessed autistic younger brother while he sneaks around to do the hanky-panky with his girlfriend. But that’s exactly what he does, and, predictably, the drugs go missing and all hell breaks loose.

The story has immense potential, but the way the characters were painted leaves no room for grey areas—ironically what the movie wants to explore in the first place. In the end, Julia's choice requires a lot from her mentally-challenged son to save the hide of the other. While Tonio looks sufficiently chastised by the turn of events, it feels like a very neat ending.

Still, the movie has its good points, including the beautiful imagery that really allows the Taong Putik festival to shine without making it look like a farce. The sound design, too, is spot on, allowing viewers to empathize with Tonio and his mother, with the use of a Gloc-9 song to end the film a nice touch.



Overall, "Asintado" succeeds in telling the story it wants to tell. But it ends there, missing the mark for a potentially larger narrative that could have explored distinctly Filipino familial relationships amid personal tragedies. — BM, GMA News

"Asintado" is one of the entries in this year's Cinemalaya. Click here for screening schedules.