drenisse moleta,
Gut-wrenching, chair gripping, and all together, haunting.
These were just some of the words that immediately came to mind after watching Erik Matti’s latest action film, Buy Bust. Most local movies today only care about eliciting small laughs from their audiences and earning big bucks. However, Buy Bust succeeded to stand out due to its notable quality and how it proves that it’s not the typical action flick that can be found in theaters nowadays. Earning an MTRCB rating of R-16, it doesn’t hold back from executing aggressive and brutal fight scenes that can keep you flinching from time to time while at the edge of your seat.
The film stars Anne Curtis as Nina Manigan, a rookie Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency officer who is suspicious of her superior officer’s actions after witnessing her former squad get slaughtered because of an unknown mole in the police force. With her new squad being sent on another high-profile drug “buy bust” operation, they suddenly find themselves trapped inside one of the most dangerous slums in Manila. Terror escalates as they try to escape from the wrath of the drug lords hunting them down, and the anguish of civilians who seek justice for the lives lost due to the war on drugs.
“You don’t know what’s in the district of Gracia ni Maria, when hell was unleashed all evil decided to live there. You can’t tell apart the saints from the sinners,” Teban (Alex Calleja).
The film takes place at night in a district called Gracia ni Maria, where houses are closely built, that even the audiences can feel the claustrophobic discomfort the characters are experiencing. This makes the setting look like an unending labyrinth filled with bloodthirsty people waiting around the corner. This keeps the viewers on their toes, awaiting surprise attacks.
Despite the unusual use of slums as a film setting, Matti makes it work with cinematography that takes advantage of the characteristics of the place to make it look visually pleasing. The use of the darkness, tight spaces, and harsh neon lighting in the movie was a great story-telling tool to hide or even emphasize information given to the audience. Aside from this, Matti also took advantage of common items found in slums and creatively integrating it to intense action scenes (you’ll be surprised what a cactus plant, garden hose, and an umbrella can do once you have Nina Manigan-like skills).
Buy Bust isn’t just heavy with action sequences, it is also fueled by a chilling narrative and an impressive performance from each cast member. The movie somewhat feels ambitious because of its over-the-top action sequences, but at the same time it’s grounded because it mirrors the horrors currently happening in our society.
Even Matti said in his Twitter account that his films are never based on the real world, but actually on his own. It is undeniable how the story was so heavily influenced by the current social issues the country is facing, especially in the case of President Duterte’s War on Drugs. Both police and civilians have lost their lives during operations of Oplan Tokhang. Innocent people die and yet the cycle continues as the drug businesses still operate in our country.
It also shows how our current system is anti-poor. Most killed suspects that “fought back” are from the lower class. It is rare to find cases where powerful and rich people such as drug lords and businessmen are involved in the operations. The desperation of our government to solve the country’s drug problem leads to implementation of short term solutions such as killing and busting users without realizing that they should focus more on the people who are actually leading the drug business inside the country.
Overall, Buy Bust is a well-made and well-directed film that can be a beacon of inspiration and hope for what Filipino movies should and could be. This also serves as a reminder to everyone who has watched it, to look beyond whatever message is being fed to us. The film clearly wasn’t made to impose solutions to the drug problem but rather just show how much it affects the people caught between the multiple crossfires that has happened or will happen if it does not stop.
Buy Bust is an extremely magnificent movie that might even be the best action-flick in years. Without a doubt, it can be easily classified as a Filipino cinematic masterpiece, making two hours of your life worth it.//by Elane Madrilejo and Drenisse Moleta
Feature: Buy Bust Review: Ambitiously made and alarmingly relevant
 |
Photo source: Viva Films and
Reality Entertainment,
|
Gut-wrenching, chair gripping, and all together, haunting.
These were just some of the words that immediately came to mind after watching Erik Matti’s latest action film, Buy Bust. Most local movies today only care about eliciting small laughs from their audiences and earning big bucks. However, Buy Bust succeeded to stand out due to its notable quality and how it proves that it’s not the typical action flick that can be found in theaters nowadays. Earning an MTRCB rating of R-16, it doesn’t hold back from executing aggressive and brutal fight scenes that can keep you flinching from time to time while at the edge of your seat.
The film stars Anne Curtis as Nina Manigan, a rookie Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency officer who is suspicious of her superior officer’s actions after witnessing her former squad get slaughtered because of an unknown mole in the police force. With her new squad being sent on another high-profile drug “buy bust” operation, they suddenly find themselves trapped inside one of the most dangerous slums in Manila. Terror escalates as they try to escape from the wrath of the drug lords hunting them down, and the anguish of civilians who seek justice for the lives lost due to the war on drugs.
“You don’t know what’s in the district of Gracia ni Maria, when hell was unleashed all evil decided to live there. You can’t tell apart the saints from the sinners,” Teban (Alex Calleja).
 |
| Photo source: Viva Films and Reality Entertainment |
The film takes place at night in a district called Gracia ni Maria, where houses are closely built, that even the audiences can feel the claustrophobic discomfort the characters are experiencing. This makes the setting look like an unending labyrinth filled with bloodthirsty people waiting around the corner. This keeps the viewers on their toes, awaiting surprise attacks.
Despite the unusual use of slums as a film setting, Matti makes it work with cinematography that takes advantage of the characteristics of the place to make it look visually pleasing. The use of the darkness, tight spaces, and harsh neon lighting in the movie was a great story-telling tool to hide or even emphasize information given to the audience. Aside from this, Matti also took advantage of common items found in slums and creatively integrating it to intense action scenes (you’ll be surprised what a cactus plant, garden hose, and an umbrella can do once you have Nina Manigan-like skills).
Buy Bust isn’t just heavy with action sequences, it is also fueled by a chilling narrative and an impressive performance from each cast member. The movie somewhat feels ambitious because of its over-the-top action sequences, but at the same time it’s grounded because it mirrors the horrors currently happening in our society.
Even Matti said in his Twitter account that his films are never based on the real world, but actually on his own. It is undeniable how the story was so heavily influenced by the current social issues the country is facing, especially in the case of President Duterte’s War on Drugs. Both police and civilians have lost their lives during operations of Oplan Tokhang. Innocent people die and yet the cycle continues as the drug businesses still operate in our country.
It also shows how our current system is anti-poor. Most killed suspects that “fought back” are from the lower class. It is rare to find cases where powerful and rich people such as drug lords and businessmen are involved in the operations. The desperation of our government to solve the country’s drug problem leads to implementation of short term solutions such as killing and busting users without realizing that they should focus more on the people who are actually leading the drug business inside the country.
 |
| Photo source: Viva Films and Reality Entertainment |
Buy Bust is an extremely magnificent movie that might even be the best action-flick in years. Without a doubt, it can be easily classified as a Filipino cinematic masterpiece, making two hours of your life worth it.//by Elane Madrilejo and Drenisse Moleta
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