THE FILMSOC REVIEWS: TRANSIT (Hannah Espia, 2013)

Directed by: Hannah Espia

Written by: Giancarlo Abrahan and Hannah Espia

93 mins.

Reviewed by: MACKY MACARAYAN

Rating: 5 OUT OF 5 FILM REELS

The subject of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) on film hits directly home because one way or another, we have at least one immediate or distant relative working in a foreign country. We remember Vilma Santos coming home from abroad only to find her daughter, played by Claudine Barretto wasting away in ANAK, or Sharon Cuneta's teacher going overseas to work in a retirement home in CAREGIVER, heck even the superstar Nora Aunor as she faces her grim fate in THE FLOR CONTEMPLACION STORY, a film culled straight from the headlines. In summation, we understand the complex issues of working overseas because we are very much oriented with it- it has become part of our culture. 

TRANSIT, the debut full-length feature of Hannah Espia takes a controversial issue as a jumpoff point and expands there. In 2010, non-resident children in Israel faced the threat of deportation unless they met the residency criteria, which includes having lived there at least five years, be able to speak Hebrew, and enrollment in an Israeli school. To us, this is new information and probably majority of those who saw TRANSIT only learned of this issue after seeing the film. Espia's heart is in the right place, and while watching TRANSIT one can feel her passion to discuss this subject through the humanity of its victims. 

The film revolves around the welfare of four year-old Joshua (Marc Justine Alavarez), who is evidently a target of said Israeli law. Despite all the precaution, Joshua is still at a tender age. He does not fully understand the circumstances, that at any time he and his father Moises (Ping Medina) may be set apart. His innocence is heartbreaking.

Segmented into various perspectives that give emphasis on its main characters, we view the story from multiple angles- that of Moises and his ordeal to safeguard his son, of Janet (Irma Adlawan) who takes care of Joshua while Moises is away on work, of Yael (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) the misunderstood teenage daughter of Janet, and of Tina (Mercedes Cabral), the optimistic newbie who also learn the harsh reality of policy changes in Israel. 

Most exciting is when we get to the POV of the kid, Joshua as he unwittingly becomes the cause for an ordeal that he neither expected nor wanted. Through breathtaking cinematography, crisp editing and a narrative that is always compelling at every junction, TRANSIT holds our empathy and corners us as if it were ourselves risking everything for our family. 

A lot of viewers commented that Cabral's character was unnecessary to the story. I think it is Espia's prerogative to inject a character, a newbie for more dynamism, so we can have someone whose optimism will eventually backfire, shedding light therefore on the true face of the greener pasture. In all respect, this is Mercedes Cabral's finest role, a role which suits her and does not exploit her as a sex symbol or as another stereotype. Cabral was lovely in THY WOMB, but it's her Tina in TRANSIT that I shall remember her for.

Ping Medina is always reliable especially in a complicated character role, which demands for complex emotions. Having inherited his father's skill and charm, Ping Medina takes these talents and modifies them resulting in performances with utter conviction. See him in this movie as he defends custody of his kid to an immigration officer. 

Irma Adlawan makes even the crappiest material look like genius, so here in a noteworthy material she steals the scene every time she appears. One glimpse of her here and I knew the race for the Best Actress in the New Breed category at Cinemalaya Year 9 is over. You've seen Irma get angry before (TUKSO, SANTA NINA, SA NORTH DIVERSION ROAD) but I bet you've never seen her get angry...in Hebrew!

TRANSIT, I think has earned the attention of moviegoers and critics and the panel of jurors because of its social relevance, and the neatness of the material. We can be proud that a film this gorgeous and yet so tenderly poignant at the same time, and was shot in a foreign country is possible for a Filipino independent production, and for an emerging filmmaker at that. So this is the bar right now. If TRANSIT was made possible, what's your excuse now? (As a shoutout to local films shot  abroad for the sole purpose of having shot there.)