TV & Film
Provincial politics in the Philippines is usually depicted only on late-night news programs, but in Oro, Alvin Yapan takes a political massacre and turns it into a beautiful, striking film. Oro makes use of a thrilling plot based on this real-life tragedy to shed light on the political drama happening around the nation.
The plot revolves around a small mining island, where the community thrives on their high-quality gold mine and quarry. It starts off simple enough: Elmer (Joem Bascon) haggles with a gold buyer to raise money to propose to his pregnant girlfriend, Linda (Mercedes Cabral). Another townsperson, Leticia Razon (Arrian Labios), is caught for buying gold at a low price and is reprimanded by the local kapitana (Irma Adlawan). Numerous armed men who are part of Patrol Kalikasan come and tell the town that they cannot mine without a permit, and then the political drama ensues.
The plot is a good grasp on the political struggles of real mining towns in the Philippines. It also helps that the town in the film is the actual town from the Gata 4 Massacre in Camarines Sur two years ago, making it all the more authentic. Despite the events taking place over a long period of time, Yapan perfectly paces the film, not letting a dull moment enter. Breaks to showcase life in the small town and the romantic subplot of Elmer and Linda were placed strategically, giving the audience time to gauge the situation in the island. Razon, who tries to get the upper hand at making a living, is an interesting character, preventing the whole film from becoming a good-versus-evil dichotomy that could have killed the reality of the whole plot.
The cinematography is a stroke of genius, presenting the natural environment with precisely placed camera angles that showcase its beauty elegantly. The natural light used in most of the shots gave us the feeling of a quaint town in the province. The color scheme in the film followed the nature of the story, focusing on the environment, and most of the film depicted shades of brown, green, and of course, gold. Yapan showcased gold as a beautiful object, even inserting scenes of the intricate process of gold panning and jewelry making, but also showcased that gold is the cause of the tension in the whole film.
What really drove the point of the film home were the performances of the actors. Adlawan is a revelation as the kapitana. She showed power and strength defending her townspeople, but also showed restraint and vulnerability in empathizing with those who relied on mining as their livelihood through a brilliant performance in a role that felt like it was made for her. Bascon and Cabral gave sweet and intimate performances as lovers, their subplot giving a necessary break from the drama, with Cabral delivering strong, emotional scenes that sway the entire audience. Cedrick Juan, a newcomer to the scene, stole the show as the least forgiving of the Patrol Kalikasan. At certain points, he was almost too evil to be believable, almost cartoon-like and evil for evil’s sake, but he pulls back right on time. The casting of the entire film was perfect, and a few extras from the actual families of the real massacre victims were included. The score of the film accompanied these strong performances exquisitely, amplifying the emotions that dominated the scene.
Being political is something Alvin Yapan wanted to avoid, but we should thank him for taking on a film that depicted the controversial massacre. What he created was an absolutely breathtaking masterpiece of tension and an abundance of great performances.
Rating: 5/5
