PEP REVIEW: "Magkaibigan" tells of friendship all the way

Taking inspiration from the untimely death of Rudy Fernandez, Magkaibigan chronicles the last days of Atoy (Christopher De Leon) as he battles cancer and how he eventually succumbs. This Metro Manila Film Festival entry is a story of friendship, family, and loss. Despite the despondent condition of Atoy, his family and closest friends stand beside him to give him hope and shower him with faith.

Atoy and Ben (Jinggoy Estrada) are the best of friends. Although the film does not bother to trace the beginnings of their one-of-a-kind friendship, its present-day manifestation is clearly illustrated in the way Atoy's family is accepted into Ben's and vice versa. Their families are closer to each other than to their own relatives. Atoy and Ben do not only talk about trivial matters over bottles of beer, they share personal problems and family conflicts like they were real brothers.

They also understand each other's character to the letter. When Ben resigns and can't land a job where he isn't over-qualified or over-aged, Atoy comes to his rescue. But Ben is not the type who would be thankful for such generosity. In fact, he would even take it against Atoy for trampling his ego. Knowing that his friend's pride could get in the way, Atoy helps Ben without letting the latter knowing about the good deed.

The screenplay of Magkaibigan borrows dialogues from real life and uses them as its own. It is as if you were watching yourself or someone you know throwing these familiar lines. However, this slice-of-life treatment in the first act is undermined as the second act spirals down into theatrical affectation.

The subtlety I admired in the beginning of the film is replaced by soap opera-inspired sappiness. There are dramatic sequences that feel artificially staged, like when piano music heralds a scene for the characters to break into tears. We've seen this style countless times in cinemas and on the boob tube.


Although great effort is exerted on character development—which is extremely important in drama for the audience to empathize with the characters' ordeal—the script violates the "show, don't tell" basic rule in story-telling, specially in film. Instead of evoking the characters' emotions through their actions, Magkaibigan takes the most convenient route in getting its point across through an omniscient voice-over. It's the narrator who tells us that Atoy is hesitant to share his grave problem with others.

Isn't it better if the film just shows the scenes where Atoy finds out about his sickness but doesn't tell anyone about it, instead of having the narrator do all the work? Drama doesn't need to go full blast on the emotions all the time, a little restraint could certainly go a long way.