Walang Kawala literally means "no way out" but it may
as well be "no way in," judging from the jampacked premiere at the UP Cine
Adarna last November 6.
For weeks, blogs and media releases had been building
hype about the onscreen gay romance between Polo Ravales and Joseph Bitangcol.
Movie stills and trailers showed steamy shots of the lead actors in passionate
kisses and intimate love scenes.
While Polo Ravales is no stranger to gay
roles, his role in Walang Kawala goes beyond the comfort zone and
promises proof that he is an actor in every right. Joseph Bitangcol, on the
other hand, sheds his teeny-bopper image and immerses himself in
the most challenging role of his life. And with Joel Lamangan as the director, Walang
Kawala is a movie with great expectations. Does the film live up to all the
publicity?
Walang Kawala is set in a quiet provincial village where Joaquin (Polo Ravales) makes a living as a fisherman. Waldo (Joseph Bitangcol) is his neighbor and they both find themselves falling in love despite the fact that Joaquin is married.
Against the backdrop of a quiet lake with gray sandy shores, this love story
unfolds with conflicts and obstacles. Waldo is repulsed by Joaquin's
unwillingness to take their relationship further and decides to go to Manila.
The departure of his lover forces Joaquin to confront the truth about his
feelings for Waldo and he finally resolves to search for him.
In Manila,
Joaquin traces Waldo's path through the underground world of gay bars and finds
him a prisoner of Rufo (Emilio Garcia), a vicious policeman who indulges his
captives in various sexual abuses and sells them into slavery. Joaquin himself is
also kept as a captive and once he is reunited with Waldo, Rufo's submissive
wife, Beng (Jean Garcia) helps them to escape.
STELLAR ACTING. The powerhouse cast provides stellar performances under the direction of Joel Lamangan. I like Polo's portrayal of Joaquin. He successfully plays a gentle provincial boy suddenly forced to handle the harsh and horrible urban realities of Manila. Polo should also be commended for being able to play a difficult role that involves a lot of homosexual scenes. For a straight actor, this is no easy feat. He delivers all the scenes convincingly and even quite passionately.
Another great performance belongs to Emilio
Garcia. Emilio is very much at home with sadist and villainous roles and the
character of Rufo would not have come alive if not for him. Rufo scared
me but he also made me laugh. His surprising sarcasm and jokes were a welcome
breather that lightened up the film's heavy material.
Walang Kawala incorporates a full frontal shot of actor Marco Morales during a scene in a gay bar. All the buzz prior to the film about this nude shot was well-warranted and I daresay that viewers will not be disappointed. They must note, however, that the U.P. screening may have shown the uncut version so the regular screening in cinemas might feature a tamer version.
SCRIPT AND DIRECTION. I felt that Joseph Bitangcol's performance could be further improved. Don't get me wrong. I commend him for a good performance given the film's difficult material and that it was his first (if not, most important) leading role. I just felt that Joseph's lines were over delivered. Did he have to sound angry all the time? His dialogue was mostly delivered through shouts. Maybe the director could have tempered this a little bit and helped Joseph show his character's emotions through other methods.
I also thought that Jean Garcia, who portrays Rufo's simple wife, was misplaced in the film. It seems a waste of her talent to cast her in such a simplistic role. Was
Jean was included in the film just for added star value? The scriptwriter is commendable, however, for the surprise twist done by Jean Garcia's character
near the end of the film.
As for the technicalities of the film, I found the beginning
of the movie too rushed and abrupt. It looked like the scenes of Polo and
Joseph in the province were done cut-to-cut without any finesse or flow. Choice
scenes with longer sequences could have been done instead. The beginning of the
film is also a stark opposite to the middle of the film set mostly in Manila.
The pace of the movie becomes dragging with many unnecessary scenes.
I could not help but cringe upon hearing some of the lines in the
movie. I felt that Joaquin and Waldo's exchange of I-love-you's in the film was
too corny and unrealistic. Did we need to hear it all verbalized? Could it have
been said in a different way? The scriptwriter should have explored
other ways to communicate the feelings of the two main characters.
And lastly, does every gay film have to end in tragedy? The ending of the film was quite predictable. It would have been nice to see a different outcome for a change.
BUT WORTH THE HYPE. All in all, Walang Kawala is a movie that is well
worth the price of admission since you will get to see great cast members
performing material shunned by most mainstream actors today. For its
commendable performances, Walang Kawala lives up to all the hype.
Walang Kawala opens this Wednesday, November 12,in the following theaters: Robinsons Galleria, Robinsons Ermita, Gateway Mall, Cinerama Isetann, and New Cinema Theater (Cebu City).