(Movie Review:
Taklub/Trap)
by Jonathan Catunao
“If the misery of our
poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our
sin.” – Charles Darwin.
When informed that
famine is breaking out and the peasants have no bread to eat, legend has it
that the much-reviled Queen Mary Antoinette of England responded by saying,
“Let them eat cake.”
National issues
brag-time in a middle-class tennis club in Alabang. A tennis pal declared,
“Kapag pinanganak kang mahirap at namatay kang mahirap, ikaw na ang may
kasalanan.”
Apparently, when the
elite is not mocking the poor, the middle class is giving them a simple way
out: “Work Hard”.
The way our society
treats those who have absolutely nothing is the theme of Brillante Mendoza’s
‘Taklub’, where he takes as a year after the deluge in a tent community housing
survivors from poor families.
The NBI is offering
free DNA testing to identify missing loved ones among mass graves. After blood
samples were taken from her, Bebeth (Nora Aunor) asks, “Kailan ko po malalaman
ang resulta?” The lab technician replied, “Mga after one year po, more or
less.”
Erwin (Aaron Rivera)
complains to the city hall processor because his financial assistance documents
are being tossed around. The officer shrugs, “Kasi naman ang tagal mo bumalik”.
He explains, “Naghahanap pa po ako ng pamasahe.”
Gas lamps are used for
lighting due to absence of electricity. A fire broke out in a tent causing an
entire family to perish. A local woman being interviewed by a journalist
lamented , “Sana kahit Coleman mabigyan kami.”
Movies about disasters
and tragedies often end with a tribute to the human spirit. ‘Schindler’s List’
is about a German who saved Jews from Holocaust. In the movie ‘Twister’, Helen
Hunt and team risked their lives to get as close as possible near the eye of a
tornado to help save lives. And how many times have Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and
Ben Affleck saved the planet with their bravery? Tragedy + Heroism = Great
Disaster Movie.
That’s mainstream.
Brillante Mendoza is not. And in true independent fashion, his rendition of the
strongest typhoon to ever visit planet Earth is not a CGI showcase of cities
vanishing under water, humanity scampering to the highest ground and a handsome
hero leading them to a new world as the sun rises behind the mountain clouds.
From the gripping opening scene of an entire family burning to a woman lighting
candles at the wrong graves, Taklub doesn’t shed light. Taklub doesn’t give
hope. Taklub, instead, shatters all pretentions and brings us to the ugly
truth.
Bebeth, Erwin and
Larry are Yolanda survivors. Throughout the film their individual sufferings
are revealed in intertwining gaps.
Larry, in a virtuoso
performance by Julio Diaz, is a tricycle driver whose deep religious beliefs
will be toyed many times throughout his cross-carrying ordeal. In another fatal
blow after another typhoon hit their already ravaged town, will his faith still
see him through?
Newcomer Aaron Rivera
plays Erwin, a fisherman who must keep his siblings intact amidst the deaths of
their parents. He is defying orders to leave the shoreline and insists on
rebuilding their homes in no-build zones. Can he hold fast?
When other cast
members like Rivera, Diaz and the magnificent Lou Veloso are delivering
probably the performances of their lives in the roles of their careers, it will
take a Nora Aunor to play a passive lead character and still outshine them all.
As Bebeth, Nora Aunor plays a witness to the struggles of her fellow survivors.
She passes around collection bottle for Renato. She shelters Larry and family
during a storm panic. She checks if Erwin’s wounds are healing. She even adopts
a dog. Bebeth, like many survivors, have lost loved ones. A testament to why
she is one of the world’s greatest actresses, Nora Aunor portrays Bebeth
subdued in emotions yet entrenched in torment. With her walls collapsing, will
a wail of agony finally break the silence of the stormy night?
As the credits roll, a
friend beside me was astonished, “Kuya Athan, umiiyak ka?”. Later at the
theater exit, another friend recounted, “Umiyak ako sa tatlong eksena”. For a
film that was originally commissioned as a small environmental campaign,
‘Taklub’ is now an epic account of devastation that has left a sea of humanity
weeping.
For Larry. For Erwin.
For Bebeth. For every Yolanda survivor that has lost so much and will never
find hope.
For every Filipino
living in the direst conditions that will never have a chance to get out,
doomed to perdition, to their fatal end trapped.
