Neill Dela Llana and Ian Gamazon's film Cavite opens and closes with the same shot, and that's part of the film's problem. The circular structuring makes sense from a plotting standpoint, as well as serving as a subtle reinforcement of the run-around the film's protagonist gets. Ending on that particular image, though, sends some strange mixed messages. I'd like to think that Cavite isn't saying what I think it's saying, but I remain unsure.
This thematic dissonance is a shame, too, because in terms of technical matters, Cavite is an impressive display of no-budget ingenuity. Dela Llana and Gamazon clearly didn't have a lot of money with which to work, so they compensated by crafting a bare-bones scenario requiring nothing more than a handheld video camera, a cellular phone and a plane ticket to the Philippines.
In what was probably a further attempt at cost-cutting, Gamazon also plays Adam, the holder of that plane ticket. He goes to the Philippines for reasons which, at the outset, are unspecified. When he lands, his cell phone rings. On the other end is an unfriendly voice telling him that his wife and sister have been kidnapped and if Adam wants no harm to come to them, he'd better start following orders right fucking now.
It's a well-worn premise (more than one review has compared this film to Joel Schumacher's Phone Booth); what is striking about the directors' approach is the aggressive minimalism of the craftsmanship. Save for one sequence (which I'll touch upon later), Adam is in every shot. The camera follows him around like it's attached to him. It's 80 minutes of Adam hustling from place to place, performing tasks and getting berated by the mystery caller, and that's about all it is. Thrillers don't get more pared down than this: There's a guy whose family is in danger, and he's trying to do whatever he can to save them, and that is all we see. There are no subplots, digressions or interruptions.
This narrative austerity means there's nothing to rupture the immediacy of the situation. Dela Llana and Gamazon pump this immediacy for all it's worth - Cavite has a grimy, sweaty tension that gets sustained through the increasingly frantic performance of Gamazon (very good as a guy caught up in something he doesn't understand) and the violent intimacy of the videography. I'm not generally a fan of DV photography, but it can be effective under certain circumstances. This film benefits from one of those circumstances; the approach to the story demands the use of handheld photography for artistic reasons, not just financial ones.
Article comments
1 - joe
hmmm. when one commits an evil act - what does one do? one prays. prays for his soul. there are two sides to the muslim religion portrayed in the film. the extreme and the moderate. adam, i believe, was a non-practicing muslim who tried to commit suicide because of his fucked up life in the beginning of the film. the irony is that he faces the same situation later on in the film. but the question remains. what does one do when an evil act is committed. one prays. prays for his soul. as an extremist? or as a moderate? hmmm.
2 - dangrace
I think the movie was threading on dangerous waters... it is movies like this that portrays the Philippines as "hell on earth" kind of nation that drives tourists and the like away. We Filipinos living overseas already have a tough time convincing foreigners that Philippines is a beautiful country despite common 3rd world issues like poverty, crimes etc.... I was very disappointed as to how horrible my home country was portrayed. It is disheartening and discouraging especially when comments that children would sell themselves (innocence and all)to Americans or foreigners and this is "reality" in the Philippines is sending dangerous messages that child predators overseas can find safe havens in the Philippines and be free to do as they please without having to fear consequences since taking advantage of children is considered "reality". I think that now more than ever moviemakers must think many times on the types of messages they are sending the world. Sadly, I did not see any balance in the movie, I am unsure what the producers and director's intentions were for making it as such but after watching it, one can only wonder once again, will there ever be a positive portrayal of Filipinos where foreigners can actually see us for the good people that we are and not the impoverished, illiterate and ignorant beings who will sell their souls for anything, movies like CAVITE portray? What kins of impacts do the moviemakers hope to accomplish? If it is shock, fear of going to the Philippines, disgust and other negativity, they have succeeded.