Mondomanila: A Masquerading Society

Khavn dela Cruz’s film “Mondomanila: or How I fixed my hair after a long journey” is a portrayal of some parts in our country where society pretends to be a society. It strives to present the reality which the community’s people, Manila in particular, would, perhaps, choose to be blind on.

Mondomanila introduces the Paranoid Squad, homosexual Naty and his cop-frustrated father Sgt. Pepper, the loanshark Lovely 5-6 (Whitney Tyson), Shoeshine Pablo the Arsonist (Palito), the dirty old white man, the talented persons with disabilities, Mother Maria “the other way around” (Marife Necesito) and her sons: the caring but mysterious Dino and the main character, Tony D (Timothy Mabalot). 

If we would observe, majority of the casts are not “big” people in the film industry. Nevertheless, what I found good here was the natural way of expressing themselves on the same way that their characters would probably do. I do not know if all of these people already experienced extreme poverty but they released their emotions and lines well and their projection on the camera was fantastic too, taking in account that this is an independent film. Furthermore, I understand, of course, the deficiency of the lights and picture’s quality, but I think, the phasing of the scenes, the camera angling, and the editing did not work well. Yet, apart from these, the venue, the sound effects, the story, and the casting were at its best for an indie film.

This film truly implies that our government cannot really reach out its people and what is even more striking is the reality that it is in Manila, the place where centralization lies, where the government resides. Considering this film, it is not anymore a question for us why many young people fail to receive the education they deserve, why many of them resort to being atheists, and why many seek money by contradicting the rules of the society because, aside from the authority does not care, their families are also incapable of establishing a better home for them. All these stem from the fact that they all fall short to achieve what the society is supposed to offer- education, job, security, better house, and even justice. 

Indeed, Mondomanila shows what is actually beyond the consciousness of the well-off people especially those who do not often go out. I, honestly, found it very horrific and terrible that I can directly rate it as X and a triple rated PG for it is not good for ordinary screening. However, I also cannot deny that Mondomanila just presents the sad truth. I think it would be better if our government officials watch this because, I believe, this would kneel them down for shame. 

As mentioned, though the casts are not famous personalities, the story itself proves that Filipino films are of great quality and can go beyond the tradition. Also, Mondomanila Filmfest MotherFuckers is, apparently, the antithesis of Metro Manila Film Festival, but I guess, they should not be compared for, at some points, our country has still good things to offer like what MMFF does.

All in all, Khavn, together with the staff, deserves a big round of applause for a liberal, realistic and fantastic way of presenting the worst and stinking portions of our nation. Mondomanila was truly influenced by the trends of the society, but in its guts, it can also be a powerful means of changing it.