Film 131 Assignment: Biyaheng Lupa

This is not a review of the film as a whole, but rather an assignment on the aspects of the film's cinematography and the use of the sound. It is quite technical, but you can still catch information about what the film is all about every now and then. Spoilers ahead, though.

Legends:
Long shot - a wide view of the scenery
Long take - a lengthy shot of a particular scene that continues before the next transition
Medium shot - a framing that shows a character from the chest up
Extreme close-up - a large framing that focuses on one part of an object or body
Diegetic sound - any sound coming from a source within the film's world
External diegetic sound - sound represented as coming from a physical source within the story that we assume characters also hear
Internal diegetic sound - sound that comes from the mind of the character within the story space
Nondiegetic sound - any sound coming from a source outside the film's narrative
Simultaneous sound - Diegetic sound that is represented as occurring at the same time in the story as the image it accompanies
Nonsimultaneous sound - Diegetic sound that comes from a source in time either earlier or later than the images it accompanies

Source: Film Art (8th Edition) by Thompson & Bordwell

Cinematography. Armando Lao’s recent works has been associated with movies that use long takes ("Kinatay," "Kubrador," and "Serbis"). So, one would easily expect that he would take the same route in his directorial debut. However, since the movie’s setting takes place on a bus, there's not much of such takes except on scenes where one or two characters are in focus, outside the bus, in their own place.

For example, when Mickey (Carlo Guevarra), the deaf boy, reaches his destination. In earlier parts of the movie, we, the audience, are told that he is meeting his mother for the first time. He feels anxious and excited at the same time. His adoptive mother, who did not know of his trip, through text messages, sends her love and concern. She couldn't stop him so she just wishes him a safe trip.

Mickey enters a cemetery. His mother lies there. The camera follows him as he enters the place. Once inside it gets behind him as he locates the tomb of his mother. We follow his trail, as if we are walking behind him. When he reaches the tomb, he touches the epitaph and introduces himself to his mother. Closure happens for finally, he gets to meet her. The camera stays at a distance, avoiding closer contact to the character. It is as if saying that, as spectators, we should give Mickey and his mother the space and time for themselves.

Second is Fina (Sharmaine Buencamino) who meets her husband (Noni Buencamino) at the bus stop. She comes from Manila to join the contest “Pera O Bayong.” Her husband happily tells her that their family has watched her on TV. She smiles. They walk. Silence follows.

Fina’s smile fades, showing how disappointed she is with her husband. Earlier on the bus, before she gets off, she wishes that she has married Tony, an ex-suitor, who is already a successful businessman.

As the couple reaches the bridge, the camera shoots them from behind. We see them walk away from us until they get to the boat. It is the last we see of them. We will never know what will become of their relationship.

Camera shots are nothing exceptional. They are mostly medium shots of the characters inside the bus as we hear them speak through their thoughts. They are wondering what the future has in store for them as the bus goes forward to Legazpi City. Each one of them carries a baggage from the past that they either want to leave behind or use as a springboard to create better lives for themselves.

Frames change to extreme close-ups during emotional scenes of one’s characters—from the forehead to the nose, focusing much on the eyes as tears start to pour. They begin to remember a certain past in their lives that led them to the journey in the bus.

Fina is going home from a trip to Manila to try her luck in winning and becoming rich. She cries as she regrets not marrying Tony, feeling sorry for the state she is in with her husband.

Irene (Eugene Domingo) weeps about leaving her son for she is about to work in Oman for two years.

Susan Africa’s (unnamed) character's tears fall when she finally gets a nod from his dead father through a butterfly that lands on her lap. His father just died, and she feels that he had not loved her at all.

Time plot is of the essence during the extreme close-ups. After such emotional scenes for the characters, they go off the bus, reaching their destinations. Different shades of the sky also tell what time the story is taking place. It started with light and progresses to dark.

At the last few sequences in the film, there is a long shot of an empty bridge at night that lasts for a few seconds. It has an eerie feel to it, an indication that something bad is about to happen to the bus and the remaining people on it.

True enough, as the bus enters the frame from the left, it stops before it reaches the middle. People fade inside the bus, leaving their personals behind. A radio announcer says that there is accident. The bus has fallen off the bridge.

The movie has used some light tricks to help with its narrative. One instance is when Obet (Coco Martin) sees the sign board destinations of buses while at a bus rest. He is going to Legazpi to find a job and pursue a new life. The camera pans at their bus's sign board (Legazpi) then on the bus beside it (Manila). It goes back and forth at the signs. Obet is at a crossroad. Soon a light shines on his face. He makes a decision. The light comes from the bus’s head lights going to Manila which is about to leave. Obet runs towards it and leaves on it.

Lilian (Angel Aquino) is one of the passengers left when the bus met the accident. As she lies on the overthrown bus, a light shines on her face. She smiles signifying her readiness to go. She is happy about it for she does not feel alone anymore. All her life she is looking for a boyfriend, thus the trip to Legazpi. Earlier on she meets Pepe (Allan Paule), the bus conductor, who showed interest on her. She is glad with the attention that Pepe bestowed her. She brings it with her as she leaves the bus.

Sound. The film mostly uses diegetic sounds. These are ambient sounds like the bus’s engine, the cars honking nearby, vehicles passing, people talking, the sound of the TV, etc. These sounds are prominent while the bus door is open and at a stop. Once the bus closes, it tells a different story. It shows a different world where all can be heard are the passenger's thoughts.

When Mickey rides the bus, ambient sounds fade. Internal diegetic sounds begin. The passengers are heard talking about Mickey with their heads. It can be perceived that he could be the central character, but he isn’t. There is nothing to hear from him as the film progresses because he is deaf and mute.

There is no audible sound inside the bus, only thoughts. However, when shots outside of the bus are seen, external diegetic sounds come back, like the marching band music that the bus passes by in one of the towns.

Most sounds are simultaneous. One’s thoughts are taken in while the frame focuses on the character himself. As they think, we get to see their faces and their reactions.

The sound becomes nonsimultaneous when the character begins to remember or dream events of the past or contemplating about the future. The images that appeared on screen are not current with the sound being played.

Nonsimultaneous sound is also used during the last scene when it is reported that the bus was on an accident, and the people on it passed away. The reporter is not shown. She is only heard over the images of the dying passengers.

Nondiegetic sound only comes from the music scoring.

There is an instant, though, when diegetic and nondiegetic sounds interact with each other, blurring the lines between them.

Anabel (Mercededs Cabral) reminisces her neighbor who gave birth to a squid. She is pregnant and is afraid that her unborn child might be dead inside or a squid. Sound flashes back to the neighbor giving birth. The midwife (or the mother herself) screams when she learns that the baby is a squid. The scream intertwines with a music that begins with some sort of a chanting. The sounds seem one with each other until they begin to separate.

Another music that is played on the film is “Kahit Isang Saglit.” It is an external diegetic sound for it is played on TV/videoke. Aside from that, since it is a sing-along video, the characters sing to it verbally or mentally, thus becoming internal diegetic sound at the same time.

Each character becomes the focus as he/she sings a line of the song, letting us know that that is what he/she is feeling at the moment. It is such a creative jive of a song to a film. The song is already made before the film, and one wonders if the film is fitted to the (lines of the) song or it so happened that the song fitted the film during its creative process. Either way, it is ingenious. A different way of telling the story of each character.

Overall, sound is applied very well. It is incorporated with a commendable acting ensemble.


Pictures taken from Facebook photos