TV & Film
The turning point is marked with a gunshot and a man stumbling to the ground in the rain, dead.
That moment, coming at around a third into the film, is the line that delineates the identity crisis that serves as the fundamental flaw in Kabisera, Real Florido’s true-to-life depiction of a family victimized by extra-judicial killings. The film could have been one of two things: A study on how loss affects a family, or a document of the injustices committed under the current Philippine social climate. Instead, it attempts to be both and ultimately ends up as not quite either.
There’s a lot to like in Kabisera, especially in its first act. It introduces a galaxy of characters in the seven-member De Dios family, led by authoritative but caring father Tunying (Ricky Davao), who is also the captain of his small provincial barangay. Each member is immediately given the beginnings of a distinctive character, from Tunying’s sensible wife Mercy to his children, who are various levels of rebellious. The chemistry is enjoyable, and the cast is uniformly talented.
And then the gunshot, and a turn for the worse.
Of course, Nora Aunor always packs a punch, and her turn as the embattled matriarch of the De Dios clan serves as the quietly resilient center of the film’s system of elements. It is worth a watch for her performance alone, even if much of the film’s other aspects prove to be ill-fitting. Many of the characters that were so promising earlier are either used only to further the plot or simply thrown to the wayside, and odd shots—like a needless drone shot or a draggy search scene—serve only to dull the film’s impact further.
Many of the film’s themes and even set pieces bear more than a passing resemblance to The Godfather, and perhaps if the film had been afforded that kind of runtime, it might have rounded out its story more. As it stands now, Kabisera has too many loose ends, vague ambiguities, and wasted plot lines to ignore.
Ultimately, the film is undone simply because it tries to do too much. It is a family drama that doesn’t flesh out the family enough for its audience to truly care about them. It is social commentary without the cohesion and precision to treat its subject with anything more than kid gloves, and a study on grief that doesn’t quite put the pain it observes under the microscope.
Kabisera is an undeniably relevant watch, but it is not a readily coherent one. It is a statement film that doesn’t say much of anything: Social commentary without a ready thesis. It delves into both the tragedy and the politics of extra-judicial killings, but doesn’t make enough headway on either front make a meaningful impact. It is a film that could have been so much more, if it had tried to do less.
Rating: 2.5/5
