Movie Review: "Sa Aking Pagkakagising Mula sa Kamulatan" (2005)

During the Ayala parade of the Makati Day festivities, I was stranded in my office since I could not get a jeep to ride home because parade closed the entire stretch of Ayala. Lucky for me I had the best sleep I had in days in the office (I sleep in the morning and wake up at around 1pm) and decided to go see a movie. Upon reaching the main lobby of G1, which is usually covered with posters and streamers for both local and international cinema mostly cheesy, but there are a few good ones. I was greeted by this huge but humble poster of a Tagalog digital movie called Sa Aking Pagkakagising Mula sa Kamulatan (My Awakening from Consciousness)by newbie director Ato M. Bautista. Being a novice critic of digital cinema and a rabid supporter of local independent film, I decided to go watch this movie instead of that Ridley Scott crusade movie. I shell out my P75 with no prior knowledge 3 minutes ago that the movie existed.

The story is about a shy teenage boy named Rey who lives in the more familiar parts of Manila (although not exactly specified, you can tell from the uban decay on the wood finished houses and the LRT) and a gang of deadbeats and stambays who gang up on him and beat him to a pulp. Much of the movie deals with what led to the events said above. The unsatisfied girlfriend, the jealous "siga" the lustful gay hairdresser, all of these and more related stories meld into a character study of the urban Filipino teen in a dark gritty, realistic manner. The fact that this movie was recorded with a digital camera adds to the realness and rawness of the streets and its inhabitants. Ketchup Eusebio as Pogi is both funny and irritating at times. I'm not really used to seeing Ketchup cuss like an inmate. Expect a lot of expletives and rude sexual dialogue not to mention a few scenes that are difficult to watch, so be warned. Also, look out for performances form very familiar faces like Lito Pimentel, Archie Alemania and a surprisingly serious Empoy Marquez as the snatcher with a heart. Carlo Aquino's toned down performance as Rey is at times bland but gets redemption as the movie coasts along. Urban life is depicted quite nicely and it runs kind of like a miniature City of God.

What I didn't like about this movie was that, since it was done in digital format, was the pixellation and the editing snags (which kills the movie's continuity). It was kind of distracting. But hey, I'm a greenie when it comes to digital, guess we have to deal with that.

Overall, it is a satisfying watch. I actually had to see it twice to see if I really liked it. Catch it while it's stil in G1.

If you want a second opinion, check out this article.

Rocketboy's Rating: *** (3 out of 5)