Movie review: The not-so-magical realism of ‘Bambanti’

Contemporary interpretation theory is partly founded on the idea that interpretation starts from where one has been. When viewing a movie like "Bambanti" (2015), a film directed and written by Zig Dulay, I had a sneaking suspicion that I would be taken on a bit of a trip through memory lane with this one. In the last few minutes, I saw the familiar grounds of the Isabela Sports Complex and heard the Bambanti Festival official theme music that was endlessly played one fine January evening. It was all too familiar.

The film is set in one of those towns, Luna, and it is a rural drama that would warm the hearts of fans of the work of F. Sionil Jose. Dulay eases us into the world of a community where everyone, in some way, is related, but where underlying social and class tensions are not far from the surface.

These tensions become apparent when the son of a poor farming family is accused of theft during an incident where he and his mother, played by Alessandra de Rossi, are in their wealthier in-laws’ house in the center of town. (The in-laws are played, among others, by real-life mother and daughter Shamaine and Delphine Buencamino.)

It is clear that no one is pure, but it is even clearer, as the story unfolds, how social status determines even the way justice is seen to be done.

What I appreciated here was the way everything seemed to work together, from the acting to the camera work. While done in a sympathetic vein with the struggles of the poorer family, the film often made it a point to challenge the viewer’s sympathies, especially in the third act where it almost seemed that things would truly fall apart for the single mother and her children. These moments were, for me, the times of unease. I actually felt like stepping out, and yet I could not contain my curiosity on how it would end. It ended on a note of surprise.

The ending can be read as one of the most difficult parts of the film. Yet I felt that Dulay really wanted us to pay attention to everything. Lines of dialogue, and one key minor action, pointed us in a certain direction where, as the ending unfolded, we could look back and say that it could have happened. At the same time, I believe that there was some room for leaving a few more crumbs on the trail, so to speak, and that would have made for a stronger sense of hindsight.

This is the first film I watched for the ongoing Sinag Maynila festival. I found it to be a very strong start. If there were any memories of the Magical Bambanti Festival that were evoked in the process, it was icing on the cake of a film that is compelling and definitely worth seeing. The film festival continues till Tuesday. — BM, GMA News

Sinag Maynila screens at select SM Cinemas in Metro Manila until March 24.

Ren Aguila covered the 2013 Magical Bambanti Festival for GMA News Online.