‘A’ for effort

A current entry of this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), Resiklo is this year’s testament to the advances the local film industry has made in harnessing Computer Generated Images (CGIs) and integrating them as seamlessly as possible into the live action that propels the film. While other local productions have lagged in the technical aspect vis-a-vis the films from the US, Resiklo makes strategic and expansive use of the technology available (I presume this comes at a cost). Director Mark Reyes takes full advantage of the telefantaserye experience he has gained through the years and utilizes what has worked on the boob tube to stagggering effect on the big screen. Kudos to him for making this happen as effectively as he does in Resiklo, when he’s working on a production budget that is miniscule compared to the big budget Hollywood summer releases.

As for the film’s plotline, we may have seen it countless times, and there are obvious nods to films like Transformers, The Terminator, Mad Max series, Alien series, X-Men series (here turned into X-Kids), and even Independence Day and Armageddon; but one can’t fault Mark and the producers for turning to a winning formula and transposing it to a Filipino context. The year is 2021, and in a world where most energy sources have been depleted, a small community of like-minded survivors subsists by recycling with a passion, and building an enclave known as Paraiso. Bong Revilla (Crisval) is the hero with conviction and a seeming disregard for social convention and regulation. On hand as able sidekicks are Dingdong Dantes and Paolo Contis, with Paolo providing much of the humor and funny asides. On the other side of the coin, we have main villain Roi Vinzon, with his own set of cohorts in Bobby Andrews and Benjie Paras, with Mylene Dizon as female villainess. Mirroring the humor that Paolo Contis’ character spouts out non-stop, we have Benjie Paras and his deadpan delivery. Conflict ensues when Crisval kills the son of the main villain in an encounter, and the evil forces are amassed to swoop down on Paraiso. There are loyalties tested, betrayals consumed and regretted, there are challenges made and contested, and throughout all the action, there’s the world of the future that Mark has painstakingly created.

And here lies the real magic of the film (and in all likelihood, why the film was given an A rating). The effects pretty much set a new standard for local cinema. While the Third World budget does rear its’ head every now and then, and the contrast between the scenes shot against a green screen and those of true live action can often seem glaring, one appreciates the effort Mark has put into making a film that can demonstrate how despite comparatively little moolah, he can challenge the production values of films from abroad. Plus we can only imagine what Mark could achieve if he had the budgets of Hollywood.

One particular effective segment of the film is the double narrative that ensues as he cross-edits between Crisval in the lair of the evil forces’ starship, while on the ground a raging battle goes on between the forces of Paraiso and the invaders, with recycled automatrons fighting the alien-like machines of the mutants.

Sound is also an important element of Mark’s attention to detail. As in the case of films from abroad, the airships whip over our heads as they enter the screen and we are transported to the midst of the action via the sound. It’s consideration of this kind that shows just how much a master Mark is to the technological possibilities of cinema as a full experience.

There may be no acting awards in store for the cast, no winning screenplay, but these technical aspects of Resiklo certainly put the film on a singular footing, and provide sheer enjoyment for the audience. While some may scoff and call the film derivative of a genre we’ve often seen coming from Hollywood, my point would be that precisely we see it often enough coming from Hollywood, but we’ve not seen it done as seamlessly or effectively in a local production. Resiklo takes that challenge head-on.