Filipino Films just left the middle ages as we came up with a movie that is not idealistic, not romanticized, and most of all, not the usual Metro Manila Film Festival entry. Honor Thy Father is not just a usual series of moving pictures that we have in a big screen, but an art – something films are supposed to be. This masterpiece began with the scene that made me remember a verse in Genesis when God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden:
From that scene, I knew that the story will not be favorable for humanity since it began with the time men lost God’s favor. This biblical allusion sets the theme and the mood of the movie as Edgar (John Lloyd Cruz) was presented in his everyday chores. And then another foreshadowing of what awaits his life came. Just like the sandwich that Edgar threw to the stray dog, his life was going to the dogs as the idiom says it – a direct metaphor on how his life would turn out. I knew then that the conflict will be given right away, and it would be a matter of seconds. And I was not mistaken. It didn't take much time before his entire life meets its ruins and strips him down to his primal drive – survival.
Edgar’s character was established as he consistently kept mum on things happening around him: when the principal reprimands his child Angel (Krystal Brimner), when he quietly kissed his wife Kaye (Meryll Soriano) in the middle of a noisy crowd of clients, when he didn’t tell Kaye what happened to Angel in school, when he sat at the background as Kaye presides a meeting with potential investors, when he didn’t demand for his child to be given a chicken when all the children had taken all the pieces, when he quietly ends the night with his wife though deep thoughts are spoken by his eyes, when he silenced his doubts on the faith that his wife embraced which clearly shows how unconvinced he is during a prayer service, when he remained composed after seeing his father-in-law dead, and when he calmly spoke with irate investors who came to their gates, when stepped aside as Kaye faced them. He had been a quiet man, controlled and would let things, even unjust ones, to just slip. God knows what other things he had been mum about, but Edgar lived a life not fighting back, silenced by his choice of a peaceful and ideal living with his family. Not until the investors broke into their house and rummaged into their properties and started taking things for themselves in front of Edgar. When he shouted the first curse word, it was when he lost all his control. Struggling to stop all the people robbing them in broad daylight, Edgar was taken down by these people and continuously pounced on though he could no longer fight back. He was so helpless with all these people stepping on him, while his curses echo until the scene fades. That pretty much sums up the movie. It was the metaphor of the entire film. Edgar had been struggling to defend what is rightfully his, to protect his family, yet it was like the world had gone against him, taken him down in all ways: disgraced him, degraded him, and pounced on him continuously even when his back had already laid flat on the ground. And his curse sums up his repeated response to life.
What makes this film a commendable masterpiece is its obvious employment of a literary theory which firmly grips on the entirety of the film's theme. The way everything is presented is a calculated step-by-step development of an art. This "scientific" approach of artistry in literature is rooted on Naturalism, an outgrowth of Realism which aims to portray the common life as realistic as possible. Literary Naturalism had been evident in written and theatrical works in the early 20th century and possesses certain characteristics that made it a shift from the Romantic era, where Filipinos have been stuck, before Naturalism was adopted. Here are its characteristics and how they are employed in the film:
1. Pessimism:
The movie zeroed in on humanity’s capacity for evil rather than our belief of our inherent goodness. On the contention that we are told to love one another, proves that loving other people requires effort and action; it is not innate. If we won’t be told, or we won’t follow, our primal core brings out the violence which is our adaptive reaction to survival. Thus the title, Honor Thy Father. It was not just a title. It’s a Biblical allusion. It’s a divine command. As we are told to love one another, we are told to honor our God – something that requires action and not integral to humanity.
2. Objectivity:
The treatment of the movie was objective that no one had to deliver explicit lines for the audience to absorb abstract concepts; rather, they are felt and read by the audience through actions. They are implied in lines that would not directly tell you what you’re supposed to feel. The audience is treated as a part of the happenings by providing very little backstory on every character and their relationship with one another, just as how we know people in real life – no one tells us about them unless we study their words and actions. They achieved objectivity by addressing the audience as a part of the interpretation of the film, as the viewers were given the responsibility to make inferences and draw the conclusions.
Example:
You were not told that Edgar was not convinced of the faith that Kaye chose. It shows in his actions, in Edgar's eyes. He never spoke ill of the religion, rather he spoke what the religion could not provide, thus the irony of the words "Yeshwa will provide" that reverberates throughout the film.
No, you’re not told that Kaye does not like Edgar’s family. She only told Edgar not to bring Angel with him. Maybe it was not safe. Maybe it was too far for the kid to bear the travel. You can assume a lot of things, but the conflict between Kaye and Edgar’s family became clear when Edgar had to ask help from his family. The words of his elder brother (Dan Fernandez) were subtly rude when he speaks of Kaye. These rude remarks went on for quite some time to the point that Edgar engaged in a fist fight just so his brothers would not talk ill of Kaye anymore. You were not told that there was conflict, nor why there was such. And then you realize that the conflict was because of the kind of "work" the family engages in. It was all indirect and the audience had to figure it out, which made it more engaging and felt because in real life, we aren’t always told. We often need to read between the lines.
3. Realistic representation of the common life:
Literature, in this case a film, ought to represent life. To mirror life is an ultimate standard that every literary piece should meet. Bearing the characteristics of realistic touch of Naturalism, the movie effortlessly hit this criteria, but coming up with a movie that could be as realistic as this is definitely not effortless. In fact, this involves a series and cycle of “scientific approach” that Naturalism requires. This cycle includes observation of, analysis of and even immersion with the subject. This is not a film that could be done to meet a deadline. This is made for the very reason of upholding excellence in the art of film making. It is notable how the movie shows the existence of organized crimes, fraudulent marketing strategies, black market, syndicates and a perceived social status among criminals of this society. How this movie presented the ill realities of the present times is like creating a criticism of the time and at the same time making fun of the things ridiculously happening nowadays. Yes, it is a satire. A satire that mocks us how religious Filipinos could be, yet we could be the same animals that this movie portrayed.
This movie ridicules the hypocrisy of this society as it was embodied by the characters of Bishop Tony (Tirzo Cruz III), Jessica (Yayo Aguila) and all the people who are self-righteous. It was that moment Bishop Tony speaks in front of the people on how Yeshwa would provide, yet declines to help Edgar and Kaye when they asked for help. It was that moment Jessica was seated beside Angel, hair shaved off, speaking calmly the words that contradict what they did to the child, the gun of her husband and the threat her husband gave. She even said sorry before they left. The hypocrisy of it all annoys the audience, and mocks them at the same time.
Also, this movie taunts the naivety of people and our tendency to cling onto faith if everything has gone wrong instead of working our way out of the mess. This can be seen on the people of the church of Yeshwa, clearly on Kaye and the character of Pastor Obet (William Martinez). The optimism and unchallenged belief of Pastor Obet is almost bothersome, as much as Edgar pointed it out on Kaye after Bishop Tony didn’t help them. Hypocrisy, and naivety are just some of our devils that we need to dodge in real life. This movie can only cover so much of life’s complexities and what it has to teach us.
4. Surprising Twist:
Whenever the audience feels the slight hope for relief, here comes another problem. That is how twists in this movie affect the audience. Here they are:
• When issues with investors were settled, Angel was kidnapped and her hair shaved.
• When Edgar finally convinces his family to ‘help’ him, Kaye was held captive.
• When they were almost done with the tunnel, it rained, making them lose time before the deadline.
• When Edgar and his brothers got to rob the church, they lost the money as rain flooded the tunnel they made.
• When Edgar retrieves Kaye, she died.
All these twists build the next characteristic of Naturalism which is determinism.
5. Determinism:
As the song Ama Namin plays in the background, it serves not only as a fervent prayer, but more of pleading out of desperation when Edgar decided to give up all that has been holding him back and resort to the “ways” of his family. Determinism is the concept of a “pre-determined fate and the indifference of nature on the struggle of humanity.” The storyline justified this concept as Edgar continuously struggled until the end, yet there was neither “divine intervention” nor “luck” that helped him move out of the hole where he was trapped. Instead, everything buries him even deeper. In the end, Kaye died, but the film didn’t stop there. Edgar has to go on driving, no matter how grief-stricken he is, no matter how much blood he is losing, no matter how futile are his efforts to move on with his life; life goes on, and that’s how indifferent life is. It will go on even in your demise, even after you die. Despite everything, you can’t pause, you can’t tell life that you’re tired and you can never quit. No, you don’t have that choice.
Honor Thy Father is the story of Filipinos. We are helpless. We’ve gotten accustomed with the hypocrisy of the circus we called society. We’ve made our naivety our comfort zone. We've been escaping the daily struggles that rip us off the dignity of labor. We've settled with the illusion that there really is a rainbow after the rain. We are like damsels in distress waiting for a prince charming to come and rescue us from the topmost tower of our ignorance and indifference, even if the tower has always had a staircase. This is how ridiculously romantic Filipinos are. And this is what this movie is trying to shake off. When will we struggle to stand and fight for a life we deserve? This movie is not made for the people to feel good, but to slap everyone to wake up and do something.
If you haven't watched the film, I'm sorry if I spoiled it. But I hope this article would help you appreciate the movie more. Good day! Thanks for dropping by.
"Therefore the Lord God sent him (Adam) forth from the garden of Eden,
to till the ground from whence he was taken."
- Genesis 3:23
Edgar’s character was established as he consistently kept mum on things happening around him: when the principal reprimands his child Angel (Krystal Brimner), when he quietly kissed his wife Kaye (Meryll Soriano) in the middle of a noisy crowd of clients, when he didn’t tell Kaye what happened to Angel in school, when he sat at the background as Kaye presides a meeting with potential investors, when he didn’t demand for his child to be given a chicken when all the children had taken all the pieces, when he quietly ends the night with his wife though deep thoughts are spoken by his eyes, when he silenced his doubts on the faith that his wife embraced which clearly shows how unconvinced he is during a prayer service, when he remained composed after seeing his father-in-law dead, and when he calmly spoke with irate investors who came to their gates, when stepped aside as Kaye faced them. He had been a quiet man, controlled and would let things, even unjust ones, to just slip. God knows what other things he had been mum about, but Edgar lived a life not fighting back, silenced by his choice of a peaceful and ideal living with his family. Not until the investors broke into their house and rummaged into their properties and started taking things for themselves in front of Edgar. When he shouted the first curse word, it was when he lost all his control. Struggling to stop all the people robbing them in broad daylight, Edgar was taken down by these people and continuously pounced on though he could no longer fight back. He was so helpless with all these people stepping on him, while his curses echo until the scene fades. That pretty much sums up the movie. It was the metaphor of the entire film. Edgar had been struggling to defend what is rightfully his, to protect his family, yet it was like the world had gone against him, taken him down in all ways: disgraced him, degraded him, and pounced on him continuously even when his back had already laid flat on the ground. And his curse sums up his repeated response to life.
What makes this film a commendable masterpiece is its obvious employment of a literary theory which firmly grips on the entirety of the film's theme. The way everything is presented is a calculated step-by-step development of an art. This "scientific" approach of artistry in literature is rooted on Naturalism, an outgrowth of Realism which aims to portray the common life as realistic as possible. Literary Naturalism had been evident in written and theatrical works in the early 20th century and possesses certain characteristics that made it a shift from the Romantic era, where Filipinos have been stuck, before Naturalism was adopted. Here are its characteristics and how they are employed in the film:
1. Pessimism:
The movie zeroed in on humanity’s capacity for evil rather than our belief of our inherent goodness. On the contention that we are told to love one another, proves that loving other people requires effort and action; it is not innate. If we won’t be told, or we won’t follow, our primal core brings out the violence which is our adaptive reaction to survival. Thus the title, Honor Thy Father. It was not just a title. It’s a Biblical allusion. It’s a divine command. As we are told to love one another, we are told to honor our God – something that requires action and not integral to humanity.
2. Objectivity:
The treatment of the movie was objective that no one had to deliver explicit lines for the audience to absorb abstract concepts; rather, they are felt and read by the audience through actions. They are implied in lines that would not directly tell you what you’re supposed to feel. The audience is treated as a part of the happenings by providing very little backstory on every character and their relationship with one another, just as how we know people in real life – no one tells us about them unless we study their words and actions. They achieved objectivity by addressing the audience as a part of the interpretation of the film, as the viewers were given the responsibility to make inferences and draw the conclusions.
Example:
You were not told that Edgar was not convinced of the faith that Kaye chose. It shows in his actions, in Edgar's eyes. He never spoke ill of the religion, rather he spoke what the religion could not provide, thus the irony of the words "Yeshwa will provide" that reverberates throughout the film.
No, you’re not told that Kaye does not like Edgar’s family. She only told Edgar not to bring Angel with him. Maybe it was not safe. Maybe it was too far for the kid to bear the travel. You can assume a lot of things, but the conflict between Kaye and Edgar’s family became clear when Edgar had to ask help from his family. The words of his elder brother (Dan Fernandez) were subtly rude when he speaks of Kaye. These rude remarks went on for quite some time to the point that Edgar engaged in a fist fight just so his brothers would not talk ill of Kaye anymore. You were not told that there was conflict, nor why there was such. And then you realize that the conflict was because of the kind of "work" the family engages in. It was all indirect and the audience had to figure it out, which made it more engaging and felt because in real life, we aren’t always told. We often need to read between the lines.
3. Realistic representation of the common life:
Literature, in this case a film, ought to represent life. To mirror life is an ultimate standard that every literary piece should meet. Bearing the characteristics of realistic touch of Naturalism, the movie effortlessly hit this criteria, but coming up with a movie that could be as realistic as this is definitely not effortless. In fact, this involves a series and cycle of “scientific approach” that Naturalism requires. This cycle includes observation of, analysis of and even immersion with the subject. This is not a film that could be done to meet a deadline. This is made for the very reason of upholding excellence in the art of film making. It is notable how the movie shows the existence of organized crimes, fraudulent marketing strategies, black market, syndicates and a perceived social status among criminals of this society. How this movie presented the ill realities of the present times is like creating a criticism of the time and at the same time making fun of the things ridiculously happening nowadays. Yes, it is a satire. A satire that mocks us how religious Filipinos could be, yet we could be the same animals that this movie portrayed.
This movie ridicules the hypocrisy of this society as it was embodied by the characters of Bishop Tony (Tirzo Cruz III), Jessica (Yayo Aguila) and all the people who are self-righteous. It was that moment Bishop Tony speaks in front of the people on how Yeshwa would provide, yet declines to help Edgar and Kaye when they asked for help. It was that moment Jessica was seated beside Angel, hair shaved off, speaking calmly the words that contradict what they did to the child, the gun of her husband and the threat her husband gave. She even said sorry before they left. The hypocrisy of it all annoys the audience, and mocks them at the same time.
Also, this movie taunts the naivety of people and our tendency to cling onto faith if everything has gone wrong instead of working our way out of the mess. This can be seen on the people of the church of Yeshwa, clearly on Kaye and the character of Pastor Obet (William Martinez). The optimism and unchallenged belief of Pastor Obet is almost bothersome, as much as Edgar pointed it out on Kaye after Bishop Tony didn’t help them. Hypocrisy, and naivety are just some of our devils that we need to dodge in real life. This movie can only cover so much of life’s complexities and what it has to teach us.
4. Surprising Twist:
Whenever the audience feels the slight hope for relief, here comes another problem. That is how twists in this movie affect the audience. Here they are:
• When issues with investors were settled, Angel was kidnapped and her hair shaved.
• When Edgar finally convinces his family to ‘help’ him, Kaye was held captive.
• When they were almost done with the tunnel, it rained, making them lose time before the deadline.
• When Edgar and his brothers got to rob the church, they lost the money as rain flooded the tunnel they made.
• When Edgar retrieves Kaye, she died.
All these twists build the next characteristic of Naturalism which is determinism.
5. Determinism:
As the song Ama Namin plays in the background, it serves not only as a fervent prayer, but more of pleading out of desperation when Edgar decided to give up all that has been holding him back and resort to the “ways” of his family. Determinism is the concept of a “pre-determined fate and the indifference of nature on the struggle of humanity.” The storyline justified this concept as Edgar continuously struggled until the end, yet there was neither “divine intervention” nor “luck” that helped him move out of the hole where he was trapped. Instead, everything buries him even deeper. In the end, Kaye died, but the film didn’t stop there. Edgar has to go on driving, no matter how grief-stricken he is, no matter how much blood he is losing, no matter how futile are his efforts to move on with his life; life goes on, and that’s how indifferent life is. It will go on even in your demise, even after you die. Despite everything, you can’t pause, you can’t tell life that you’re tired and you can never quit. No, you don’t have that choice.
Honor Thy Father is the story of Filipinos. We are helpless. We’ve gotten accustomed with the hypocrisy of the circus we called society. We’ve made our naivety our comfort zone. We've been escaping the daily struggles that rip us off the dignity of labor. We've settled with the illusion that there really is a rainbow after the rain. We are like damsels in distress waiting for a prince charming to come and rescue us from the topmost tower of our ignorance and indifference, even if the tower has always had a staircase. This is how ridiculously romantic Filipinos are. And this is what this movie is trying to shake off. When will we struggle to stand and fight for a life we deserve? This movie is not made for the people to feel good, but to slap everyone to wake up and do something.
If you haven't watched the film, I'm sorry if I spoiled it. But I hope this article would help you appreciate the movie more. Good day! Thanks for dropping by.
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