Cinemalaya 2020 goes virtual this year because of Covid-19, and the focus is “removed” from full length feature films to give “chance” to short films (which are in the main competition).
For those wanting to see these short films in competition, sign up for a Vimeo account at https://vimeo.com/ondemand. You may JOIN VIMEO with your email address, Google, or by using the ‘LOGIN WITH FACEBOOK’ option.
If you already have an account, log in to Vimeo and search for Cinemalaya ’16 or go directly via this link https://vimeo.com/ondemand/cinemalaya2020standard.
“Fatigued” – by James Robin M. Mayo – is a short flick that uses… shall we say, the approach of shoot-to-kill POV games for its self-help narrative.
Whether this works or not is dependent on your taste.
ISSUES WORTH HIGHLIGHTING
This first-person approach to filmmaking isn’t exactly new, so this isn’t an untrodden territory. Think “Hardcore Henry”, Lara Croft iterations, Resident Evil flicks, and even footage-found horror flicks we’re all familiar with (like the “Blair With Project”).
So when this… very short novelty wears off, you see the… flaws.
For instance:
- Storytellers are often told to “show, don’t tell”; let the audience draw their own WHATEVER from the story. Having said that, this film often “dictates”.
For instance: It tells you that “In this fast-paced world, life is a race” even if you don’t really get that sense of being in a race (unless you consider people walking in a busy intersection as being in a race). It tells you we’re “deprived by the government of social security and victim of labor malpractices”, though we’re only really presented with a shot of the back of a person seated while waiting for his transpo.
And
- Delivery is… forced – e.g. “Mag-isip ka ng magagandang alaala.” This is how AIs would sound like if, in the future, humans continue not giving it human emotions.
WHAT’S GOOD
I remember watching Ani in Cinemalaya 2019, and thinking: How did this film pass Cinemalaya at all?
This film isn’t horrid at all, the way ANi was; in fact, it has good things about it.
- It’s an “interactive film”; so kudos for wanting to try something different…
And
- Using gaming POV/first-person approach in pushing what narrative there is may not be new, but for a Filipino to do this, I suppose this counts…
IN THE END…
Right at the very start of this short film, I already thought: This is what you’d be forced to watch if you’re in a self-help session.
After finishing the film, that’s still what I think.
It works for some; but for others… not so much. So it’s your call if you wanna check out out or not.
