Provocative. The adjective gets thrown around all the time, but it looks like Kinatay really does it. For the second year in a row, Brillante Mendoza shocks festivalgoers at Cannes with graphic depictions of Philippine slummery. This time, with a much talked about scene depicting the dismemberment of a woman’s body, the results are even more polarized. 

Some loved it, many hated it, and very few opinions lay between the two extremes. It’s true, his films–nearly plotless, ultra-graphic and filmed/edited sloppily/”realistic,” depending on your tastes–are not for everybody. Truer than that, his films are livening up the discussion of where Philippine cinema stands in this crazy world, inevitably leading to the discussion of where Philippine society itself stands. I’ll take that over no discussion at all. Plus, I can’t wait to watch this film.

Roger Ebert says: “It is Mendoza’s conceit that his idea will make a statement, or evoke a sensation, or demonstrate something—only if he makes the rest of the film (apparently, Ebert found the first half passable) as unpleasant to the eyes, ears, the mind and the story itself as possible. This he succeeds in doing beyond his wildest dreams.”

Daniel Kasman (theauteurs.com): “rich vision of so much gloom … a beautiful thing … [its] immersion into nightfall stands strong, splendidly, as an independent force.”