IF YOU have never heard of Mikhail Red then it’’s about time to get updated.
He is an independent Filipino filmmaker who has made many fresh and unique films.
Two films of his that I find really powerful are “Birdshot” and “Dead Kids”. Though the two movies have different plots, I feel like they share a similar ending message – the lowly Filipino citizen is at the mercy of the Philippine Mafia.
Let’s take a look at the endings of both movies. In “Birdshot”, Domingo who used to be a principled police officer gets worn over by corruption.
Maya’s father is subjected to police brutality and the missing farmers who are going to appear in a hearing against a rich haciendero are all found dead. Their bodies are dumped in a mass grave at the haribon sanctuary, right under everyone’s noses.
Now for “Dead Kids”, Charles kills Chuck’s father out of spite. They get the money but later on the police track the group of boys down for the crimes of kidnapping and murder.
The police storm the school where the boys are and arrest them. Mark Sta. Maria, the most reluctant of them all, is shot and killed for “resisting arrest”.
Pao and Uy are sent to court while Charles, the mastermind, is brought into hiding. Why? Because his father is a high-ranking police officer.
When you watch the endings you say to yourself, “What? That’s not fair!” You feel that justice was denied to the protagonists.
Well, news flash! That’s just how it is in the Philippines! Anybody who gets in trouble with the law can expect the worst unless they have connections in “higher places”.
Police brutality is rampant and people turn a blind eye out of fear. This is why I say that it seems like the Philippines is being run by the Mafia. Enforcers of the law are bought into submission by rich “Godfathers” and their families. Anyone who steps on their toes loses their life. Before you know it thousands are murdered in the guise of “resisting arrest”.
If these heinous crimes are caught by some miracle, justice is either extremely delayed or denied completely to the victims.
That’s why I think it’s important for movies like those of Red to gain popularity, especially among the youth. There is no happy ending to blind them about what is happening in the country. What movies like these show are cold, hard facts.
Hopefully, watching them will push every Filipino to long for and work for a safer society./PN
