“BuyBust” and the drug war
If you want to take a peek into the murky underground of this administration’s drug war and are looking for a good Filipino film to watch this week, watch Erik Matti’s “BuyBust” which opened in cinemas last Wednesday.
I must warn you though, the movie is not for the faint of heart. It is action-packed from start to end. Not only are the action sequences in the dank and dark alleys of Tondo’s slums meticulously executed, they are a graphic smorgasbord of visually-stunning violence. The key and relevant point of such carnage, however, is skillfully seamed up at the end.
One would think that the bloodbath has been pushed to the point of dreariness, but then Max Surban’s “Toragsoy” is played in the background as the audience starts to see the satire, the dark and sarcastic humor underlying the film’s straightforward narrative – a Matti trademark.
At first I was hesitant to watch the movie simply because it stars rom-com matinee idol Anne Curtis. But Matti has never disappointed me in past films (Seklusyon, Honor Thy Father), so I overcame my judgmental tendency on the ability of Philippine matinee idols or pretty and sexy stars like Curtis to give justice to a serious film. I came out of the cinema utterly stunned by Curtis’ top-notch performance. My wife later told me Curtis underwent rigorous martial arts and knife training for her role as a PDEA agent in this film.
Before this column becomes a movie review, I would like to reiterate a quote that captures the point I would like to make: “A war can only be just if it is fought with a reasonable chance of success.” A pile of dead bodies incurred in an unending crusade is not morally justifiable, more so if it is waged outside the boundaries of institutional authority no matter how “right” the intentions are.
Of course director Erik Matti is critical of President Rodrigo Duterte, to say the least. He once shouted expletives on Twitter aimed at Duterte’s voters. So any pro-Duterte pundit could easily find flaws in Matti’s “BuyBust” even to a point of calling him an inferior version of Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction).
Whatever critics say about Matti’s messaging in this film, two years have already passed since Duterte promised a quick and violent end to the drug menace. People are now becoming more receptive to the other side.
These are people who are affected by record-high prices of basic commodities, persistent traffic jams and MRT woes, and the incessant corruption in government (different folks, same old perks). These are people who are beginning to ponder Duterte’s violent methods for these were supposed to improve their lives.
Instead, the nation is now in a slide toward moral degradation. A leader who once rose to power at the heels of people’s discontent of the hypocrisy of the traditional elite, now finds himself in a compromising position with the latter.
Duterte really has no choice, does he? Old age is catching up with him, and if the House of Representatives coup is any indication about his control or lack thereof over his allies, then a political calibration is in order.
In fact, the rise of Sara Duterte as a young, fresh face in the nation’s politics ensures that Duterte will finish his term as his administration enters the period when people begin to see its flaws. But the daughter is not her father, so it will be interesting to observe what happens next.
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