DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

Call it whatever you want- a hybrid of visual narrative and documentary, or an extended punk rock music video. Khavn's SQUATTERPUNK, one of the precursors to his later feature MONDOMANILA, is an undeniable artistic experimentation.  The electric guitar protrudes onto the screen, highlighting informal settlers' lust for life amidst a backdrop of decay and depravity. Khavn's camera follows youngsters as they play makeshift soccer, sniff rugby, and act all punk. One of the characters even sports a Travis Bickle haircut, and like what the other characters would feel, the audience anticipates the result when such character sits for that said haircut. This is one of the film's plus: it makes the audience a part of the immersion.  If you're not into genres where dialogue is substituted with visuals, especially where tracking shots are overabundant, then this is not for you. The characters need not say anything. Khavn's camera speaks some unspeakable truths about urb...

MONDOMANILA is sure to shock unprepared viewers. Those who are so polluted with Pinoy mainstream romcoms may find themselves walking out of the theatre. Even die hard fans of that relentless Regal horror franchise will curl up and die, just die. Raw, uninhibited, and unforgiving, Khavn's 28th feature is a fitting tribute to those films which have tackled urban catharsis (Brocka's for example) serving as well as an artistic adaptation of Norman Wilwayco's triple Palanca-winning short story, novel, and screenplay. As Khavn stated, MONDOMANILA is not about realist cinema nor a faithful adaptation of the novel. From my point of view, what it is instead is an absurd and surreal interpretation of present-day Manila that never loses its angst or its sense of credibility. Believe it or not, MONDOMANILA depicts our modern society better than recent films claiming to do so. What it does is to make a social commentary underneath all that cussing, graphic sex and violence, and see...