Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino : "Triptiko" (2017) movie review

Triptiko, a black comedy thriller anthology.

Minsan ang buhay, medyo weird (Sometimes, life is weird) says the tagline of Miguel Franco Michelena's anthology Triptiko (2017). According to writer and director Michelena, the film is a Filipino pop culture version of triptych, which is a set of three associated artistic, literary, or musical pieces intended to be appreciated together.” In this movie, he assembles three separate stories with different genres to form a one of a kind anthology. Being a fan of anthology movies, I was definitely excited to see this one. The first story of the film follows a young man (Albie Casino) who thinks he just got "lucky" suddenly experiences one unfortunate circumstance after another. Next is a male model (Joseph Marco) on the rise is plagued by a mysterious ailment that turns his career upside down. And a love-struck folk singer (Kean Cipriano) discovers that the object of his affection (Kylie Padilla) is not who he thinks she is. The film is produced by Michelena Brothers Production in association with Barrio's Pictures and features an ensemble cast, led by Albie Casiño, Jerald Napoles, Joseph Marco, Art Acuña, Kylie Padilla, Kean Cipriano, Max Eigenmann, Jay Gonzaga and Pinky Amador. It has been Graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board and is an official entry to the 2017 Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino.

Screenshots from the trailer

The first segment entitled "Suwerte" stars Albie Casino as Jake, a young man who thought that he just got lucky with a girl he had a one-night stand with. But after witnessing a murder happening right before his eyes, he becomes the target of the murderer. The story attempts to redefine our perspective of luck. For me, this segment maybe the most bad-ass story among the three. More akin to a chase movie, it mixes shock and thrills while we follow the plight of Jake as he falls into one bad luck to another. To his credit, Albie Casino did a pretty decent job as the main character. He was believable as a young man in peril and was able to portray the role convincingly. Jerald Napoles was really fun to watch and did a great job in his role.

In "Hinog", the second segment of the film, we are introduced to Jason (played by Joseph Marco). He's an up-and-rising product endorser and ramp male model. But the problem is that his body is being plagued by boils that eventually affects his career. Determined to be cured of his ailment, he ends up consulting a shaman to help him find out the true nature of his sickness. This segment seems like an attempt of the body horror genre (horror fiction in which the horror is principally derived from the graphic degeneration or destruction of the physical body. Such works may deal with decay, disease, parasitism, mutation or mutilation) in the tradition of  David Cronenberg and Brian Yuzna. And to be honest, this was my most favorite segment in this anthology.

Joseph Marco was really good in his portrayal of the sick Jason. One can really see and feel his character's desperation through his acting. Art Acuña was also fun to watch as the trippy shaman from whom Jason asks for help regarding his ailment. Aside from these characters, what made me enjoy this segment even more was the unrelenting portrayal of the ailment, from the unapologetic close-up shots of the infection that will make you puke. These gross-out moments came in fast and unexpected and really caught me off-guard. To be honest, this is the first time I felt like I was about to throw up while watching a movie. I was biting my hand the whole time while watching Jason and the shamando their own extraction. This is the probably the most disgusting and repelling story I've seen in a local film, yet I enjoyed it so much that I am so attracted to it. Plus, the ironic ending was the perfect way to conclude the segment, though I kinda felt bad for one of the characters. To me, this segment was the most memorable one.

The third and final segment was a bit different from the first two segments. This story, entitled "Musikerong John" is about John (played by Kean Cipriano) a folk song musician as he relives the memories of his last relationship. The girl, named Ann (played by Kylie Padilla) was the girl of his dreams. The one that he thought he would be spending his whole life with. But then, one day, she starts acting weirdly. Little did he know that she was already turning into something he'd never imagined. I loved all the songs that Kean Cipriano performed in this segment (they were written by Ralph Lorenzo Tan under the pseudonym "I"). He also did a good job in his portrayal of the heartbroken musician. He shares great chemistry with his co-star, Kylie Padilla who also surprised me with her outstanding performance. Of all the three stories, this segment probably has better storytelling and editing. The story shifts from the present back to the past smoothly. The pacing started to slow down in this segment for us to focus on the tension brought by these changes to the relationship of the two characters.

As a whole, Triptiko works because each segment offers a unique emotional experience to the viewers as we jump from one story to another. It's like our very own local version of 
 George A. Romero and Stephen King's Creepshow (1982). Each of the stories, weird and trippy. I actually loved how they open each segment with a quote that is related to the story. The film boasts a well-written screenplay, mixed with some great acting and direction. Though there were a lot of moments that were a too darkly lit which was a bit hard to watch. The film looked good during it's outdoor scenes, but a lot of the indoor moments were very dim and I had a hard time adjusting my eyes to see the character's expressions. Despite that, I enjoyed this movie a lot more than what I have expected. It maybe too extreme for some of the average moviegoers and a lot of people might be repelled by it's content but it's actually a great movie once you get past that.


I am so glad that I took the time to see this film despite my conflicting work schedule. It was definitely worth the time. Definitely bonkers at every point, Miguel Franco Michelena's Triptiko is an out of this world movie experience. It's a psychedelic mind trip: it's mad, freaky, and totally messed up. I've never seen quite anything like it in local cinema for the past years. For me, this movie is already running as one of the best Filipino films of the year.

Triptiko promises something weird, then gives you something more.


Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰ of 5
Triptiko (2017)
Directed Miguel Franco Michelena,
starring Albie Casino, Joseph Marco, Kean Cipriano and Kylie Padilla

***

The "Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino" is a nationwide week-long celebration where all movie theaters will exclusively screen Filipino films in line with the Buwan ng Wika. This festive event is organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines in partnership with theaters nationwide and will run from August 16-22, 2017.