Endo - a review (sort of)
Just when I thought Filipino films can’t get any better, Jade Castro
comes along and proves me wrong with his movie Endo. It’s a story of
how a young man, Leo (Jason Abalos), hops from one job to another;
until he meets a girl, Tanya (Ina Feleo), who shows him that a life of
stability is possible. Endo is a slang term used by contractual
workers, usually in the service business like restaurants, hotels and
factrories, to denote the last day of their contract, the "end of
contract" day. The movie is essentially a love story, minus all the
melodrama and cheesiness, but it can’t be denied that the film itself
is replete with socio-political undertones.
One thing that I
loved about this movie is its realism. No flashy effects, or wordy
dialogues; it just keeps its feet firmly placed in the ground.
Dialogues sound like everyday conversations ("ang pangit pangit ng
buhay"), even when they curse it doesn’t sound unnatural ("putangina
mo!"). Even the quirky visual feel serves its purpose; we feel like
onlookers trying to catch a glimpse of a scene in their lives. Even the
use of slangs and terms is effective ("ma’am pa-void po" — when a
customer changes his order and the cashier has already punched it in
the cash register, usually only the manager can cancel–or void, thus
the slang–the previous order) in providing the movie a realistic feel.
I
guess the fact that I was once a contractual worker (I worked in Burger
King for six months) provides me with some level of insight into the
working experience of the characters. From the printing of resumes, to
lining up during application, and eventually the customary drinking
session on a workmate’s endo. I experienced all of them, and watching
the movie’s characters gave me a sort of nostalgic feeling.
The
beauty of Endo is that it remains enjoyable without the viewer having
to be overly analytical. It does not force its message to its audience.
You don’t have to see through the myriad of allusions the movie
provides just to enjoy the movie.
(By the way before I forget, the following might be considered as spoilers, so consider yourself warned.)
Endo
is a love story, but Leo and Tanya’s story can also be viewed as a
microcosm of sort of the present Philippine society. I’m no film critic
though, and I wrote something about a movie was back in college when I
was required to do an analysis of the movie Castaway, so I can’t say I
can make a very in depth analysis of Endo.
Leo’s many
relationships (actually I think this is implied, only three are
actually mentioned) are all fleeting and devoid of any real commitment,
just like most contractual workers jobs, short and without security.
But when he finally comes across someone whom he can be with (Tanya)
and even possibly marry, he finds himself ill-equipt to handle the
responsibilities of maintaining a stable relationship. This might stem
from the fact that Leo comes from a broken family–his mother left him
and his brother with their father when they were just little boys–and
thus deprives him of experiencing basic familial love.
Like many
workers who hop from one job to another, most of them do not have the
necessary qualifications to be accepted in a stable and, some cases,
better paying jobs. Just like Leo, they find themselves confused and
unsure when faced with the possibility of such a life, they want it but
they can’t handle it. The educational institution in this country
(Leo’s home) is woefully inadequate in providing them the necessary
skills that would help them in securing a stable job. Could it be
because when our country’s "mother" left us, like when Leo’s mother ran
away with the "kristo ng sabungan," our country was left in shambles?
Just before you crucify me, hear me out. I guess it can be said that
when the United States left us after conniving with Spain–"kristo ng
sabungan," they not only brought Christianity but also cockfighting and
many other vices (an amusing allusion, I guess), we were left with
crooks who steal our hard earned money for their own pleasure (Leo’s
brother, who asks for money to enroll in school but doesn’t) and social
parasites who are still able work, but don’t (Leo’s father, although he
is also mentioned as diabetic so I’m curious as to what other possible
interpretations could be derived from that).
—
to be continued… (and edited hehehe)
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