Movie No. 145. Cinemalaya 2013: TRANSIT

Transit (2013)
Director: Hannah Espia
Cast: Irma Adlawan, Ping Medina, Marc Justine Jimenez, Mercedes Cabral, Jasmine Curtis-Smith
In Tagalog and Hebrew, with English subtitles

Synopsis: The film begins and ends in an airport during a father and son's transit from Tel Aviv to Manila.

This film is easily one of the crowd favorites in this year's Cinemalaya independent film festival. I like it, too, despite (some of) its flaws and a few failed ambitions. In this film we see (representative) overseas Filipino workers in Tel Aviv hurdling between their jobs as caregivers or house-helps and hiding their undocumented (so-called invisible) children from police authorities. Israel has just passed a law to deport children of foreign workers below five years old. 

The best thing about the movie: all actors are competent, particularly Irma Adlawan and Ping Medina. Mercedes Cabral has a short role (an unnecessary character) but she delivers. Marc Justine Jimenez is a scene stealer. Jasmine Curtis-Smith is a revelation despite her almost "non-acting" type of acting, if there's such a thing. Then there's the technically excellent cinematography. Finally, the editing. The presentation of vignettes or telling the story in chapters is well-edited. This technique is not new but, when used appropriately, can enhance the story telling.

One minor issue: there's no plot. Maybe, if there is, I didn't notice it. A movie without a plot doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad movie. In this movie, in my opinion, plot is needed. But it doesn't matter. The movie has been presented in a way that will connect to the audience. I still like it. In fact, it's one of the best films in this year's batch.

Rating: 4.0/4.0

Date seen: August 1, 2013