So I watched the 2011 Cinemalaya Film "Isda (Fable of the Fish)" in Ayala Greenbelt last July and well, do you see that picture up there? That was my expression after seeing the film. Before I entered the cinema my expression was "Mildly Angry". So I suppose that pic of me with a "Loathing Self-pity" expression is somewhat of an improvement.
Anyway, here's my summary of the film (Didn't remember the names of the characters, wanted to forget them anyway. I could search the net, but I want to keep this review as honest as possible):
In a poor shanty town located near a huge dump site: A Young Man escorts his Female Cousin and her Bald Husband towards their new home. They encounter a father holding his son hostage with a knife, the police subdue him. They reach their new home and discuss the rent with the Landlady.
The Bald Husband gets a job at as an "Shaved Ice Dispensing Machine Operator". He finds a Stray Cat on his way home and keeps it as a pet. He makes some friends and drinks with them. The father who held his son hostage was released and is also his friend. The father taunts the Bald Husband that he might be incapable of making his wife pregnant, causing the Bald Husband to lose his temper.
The Female Cousin tidies up their home, goes around town and makes friends, plays bingo with her new friends (through their conversation and facial expressions, this is where we learn that she really wants to have a child), then goes home and cooks some fish soup for herself and her Bald Husband. She also likes inviting someone else's child over for lunch (implying that she really wants a kid). She finds out that the Landlady is pregnant and a hint of jealousy is seen.
The Bald Husband gets sick, misses work, and gets fired. His Wife has to salvage things in the dump site and sell them to barely pay for their rent. They really lack money because they bought an electric fan. The Landlady and the Wife's Cousin lend them money for the Bald Husband's medicine.
The Bald Husband gets well and seemingly cannot find another job so both of them are forced to find things in the dump site which are good enough to sell.
The Wife suddenly gets pregnant.
During a strong typhoon the wife gives birth to a male Fish. (This is where the cinema crowd laughed and I gagged)
The Bald Husband gets angry and stops speaking to his Wife. The Wife and Fish become a phenomena in the town. A TV newswoman visits the town to interview the Wife. The Bald Husband Threatens them with a machete. They get the interview anyway.
The Husband starts drinking more often. The Wife stops cooking Fish soup. She catches her Bald Husband eating fried fish with his friends and scolds him about showing respect to their "son". He scolds her back saying that if he ate pork all the time he'd get hypertension. The wife gets angry and turns over the table of the Bald Husband.
The pet cat attacks the Fish, but the Wife arrives in time and rushes the Fish to the Hospital begging the staff to treat her "son" (This is again, where the cinema crowd laughed and I gagged). The Wife then rushes the Fish to a vet and the vet stitches the Fish. When the Wife gets home she beats the cat and throws it out of the house.
The Wife invites the vet, the newswoman, Landlady, and some other people over for the Fish's baptism but the priest would not allow it (this part made me think though, aren't you supposed to get the approval for a baptism before inviting people over?). The Bald Husband does not want his wife to feel too much shame so he puts some holy water in a bottle and gives it to his Wife. That night, the Wife, the vet, the newswoman, and some other people hold their own baptism for the Fish in the Wife and Bald Husband s home.
One day while the Bald Husband is scavenging in the dump site, he finds a dead body. He gets the body's shoes. The Wife comes along and tells the Bald Husband to tell the police, but the Bald Husband says not yet because he is still searching the dead guy for valuable things. They find a bag full of money nearby.
The couple become a bit wealthier; they have better clothes, the Bald Husband gets a nice watch, they open a meat shop, they get a better house. Their new house has a nursery with a big aquarium for the Fish.
The vet inspects the Fish and says it needs to get out of the house more. The Wife and Landlady then take the Fish, put it in an aquarium in a stroller and give it a tour around Rizal Park. (again the cinema crowd laughs but I just give a sigh or resignation)
The Husband still does not accept the Fish as his child. He still drinks a lot. One day he gets the Fish in a plastic bag and is about to throw it in a river but has a change of heart. He goes home and the Wife grabs the Fish from him and returns it in the aquarium.
It is early morning, the Wife leaves early to prepare for the Fish's birthday party. The Bald Husband is asleep. A fire starts in the house. The Bald Husband wakes up and runs into the heart of the burning inferno of their home to save the Fish.
The wife gets back to her burned down home and finds both the Bald Husband and Fish dead.
The End.
No. I did not like the film. Not my type. Honestly, I have never wanted to use the words "WTF" before, but I had to struggle to stop myself from yelling it the whole time after the show. "WTF" was practically dangling from my tongue, prodding my gullet with hot irons, and demanding that I allow it to leap out of my mouth whenever I tried to speak that night.
The film reminded me of a comment an old friend of mine jokingly told me some time ago, "Brokeback Mountain is a great film, a touching love story, just imagine one of the gay dudes is a girl and you'll see how good the movie is."
--Ugh. I didn't see Brokeback Mountain by the way, and hopefully never will.--Unless it's assigned as homework well then, yippee....*gunshot*
So, following that formula, even if I replaced the Fish in "Isda" with a child with some sort of defect that makes him unacceptable in society and the rest of the story is about his struggles, I still would not like it. Maybe it's because I don't like films about people giving birth to animals. Or maybe it's because I never really enjoyed local films, especially local films about the problems of less-fortunate people. Although, I do like international films about the struggles of less-fortunate people like Hotel Rwanda and City of God. Hmm, so...yeah, Isda's absurdity and local shanty scene just put me off.
...
To give some positive notes, I'm going to have to look at "Isda" fom the point of view of someone who doesn't mind studying poetry, hanging out at art museums, and watching metaphorical art films, oh right, and someone who needs to relate video production lessons with it.
Okay, so it wasn't a bad film. It had a setting that fit, alright characters, the plot and theme fitted in alright with the rest, and the cinematography was good.
The characters fit their roles. They acted well and looked the part.
The Wife was serious that the Fish was her son the whole time. Even though the cinema crowd laughed, the film was dead serious, no intentional comedic moments. I suppose the Wife brought the Fish to the hospital because she didn't know about vets yet.
The film's message is about being happy with what you have and accepting yourself and others.
Set design was good, but sometimes, parts of the shanty looked too clean.
Cinematography was good; scenes were established well, you always knew where and when something was happening. The 180 degree rule was followed, a normal viewer would not get lost visually.
Numerous times though, an indoor dark scene would quickly transition into an overly bright outdoor scene and vice-versa; this would daze my eyes and cause me to squint until my eyes adjusted to the lighting.
All in all, a good art film.
It won an award, right? Good for it.
...
*Gag, choke, choke.
