Movie No. 57 (2014). Cinemalaya X: BWAYA

Bwaya (2014)
Director: Francis Xavier Pasion
Cast: Angeli Bayani, RS Francisco, Karl Medina

The Cinemalaya X jury must have liked this movie very much to make it win Best Film. Well, I didn't, and I still don't understand. While there's is a desperate attempt for this movie to show (or flaunt) achievement in its narrative style, it simply doesn't work for me. Infusing real interview footage with real people from which some characters in the film are based is so contrived. The voice over telling a folkloric tale is irritating. The most irritating is when an obviously plastic crocodile is shown (in near close-up) - in a supposedly important scene. The ending is so trite and cliche - and contrived, too. 

Angeli Bayani is almost always good in whatever role assigned to her. But as the mother of the missing girl that was attacked by a crocodile, in this movie, she is good when she's not hysterical. In all her hysterical scenes, she's like a caricature.

Rating: 1.50/4.0

Date seen: August 5, 2014