The way they are

Film review: Walwal

MANILA, Philippines — Direk Joey Javier Reyes’s Walwal has an assorted slice of the millennial’s life as it is lived by an aspiring filmmaker (Donny Pangilinan), a lawyer wannabe (Elmo Magalona), an athlete-scholar (Jerome Ponce) and the sensuality-prone schoolmate (Kiko Estrada).

From the beginning, they are seen from the camera of the obsessed filmmaker (Pangilinan) who documents the peer group’s day-to-day life.

And as the film’s narrative reaches its peak, you see the class origins of each of them, how they are treated by parents whose lives contrast very well with their sons and daughters.

For instance, the father (Rolly de Leon) of the aspiring filmmaker (Pangilinan) cannot make sense of his son’s desire to pursue a dream as a filmmaker and he makes sure his son sees his discomfort for his chosen path. But the son (Pangilinan) is unfazed by outright rejection and is determined to become another Brillante Mendoza.

The case of the athlete-scholar (Ponce) is another addition to the profile of this group. He is raised by a single mother (portrayed brilliantly by Angeli Bayani) with sons from different fathers. There is polite acceptance for this kind of family life even as the matriarch (a movie has-been) takes pride in raising her sons alone. There is a load of poignancy captured in the meeting of father and son (Ponce and Richard Cepeda) which contrasts very well with the characters of De Leon and Pangilinan. The promising basketball player (Ponce) is warned by his professor (played with stern, unflinching terms by Madeleine Nicolas) that the school will not tolerate a scholar who lags in academic requirements.

On the whole, the film written by a 19-year-old Mark Gerald Foliente captures the spirit and drive of this generation.

The case of Marco (Kiko Estrada) provides a smooth, coming-of-age tale of an unwed father gradually coming to terms with his responsibility. Like it or not, there is a clear hint of the good actor in his portrayal.

 Pangilinan registers very well as Bobby and his character’s firm resolve to become a filmmaker is finely delineated you can see a young actor with so much promise ahead of him. His exchange with his girlfriend (Kisses Delavin) saw him pinpointing characters from landmark films from Federico Fellini to Pier Paolo Pasolini. There is so much freshness and spontaneity in Delavin’s portrayal she is the perfect foil to Pangilinan’s Bobby.

One must say that Walwal is a good and insightful introduction for the previous generations trying to understand the young adults as they live their cyberage life now.

What came out is a natural, if highly motivated ensemble so glued to each other while leading different lives. It is a film to watch from both sides of the young and not-so-old generation.

An insight from Reyes gives us a good platform on which to view the millennials in this well-made film.

The director is convinced that today’s millennials are so different from the world of baby boomers. “They have it so easy and yet they have it so hard. Technology facilitates but it also burdens, generates pressure and cuts deep into the mindsets of the young. They are endless looking at their reflections through computer monitors and laptops and tablets and not through human interaction.

“That is what makes them different: The Baby Boomers like me worked hard to change the world. Millennials do not have that purpose. They work hard because there is a sale at Zara. They know they want something but because of the range of choices available, they do not know what it is to focus on.

“Centennials are more focused than millennials, but they are vulnerable to social pressure which I believe the movie illustrated. They are emotionally dependent on peers because they believe no one can understand them except themselves.”

Walwal is now showing in cinemas.