Directed by Luisito Lagdameo Ignacio and written by Dennis C. Evangelista, Desperada is a film that feels more focused with melodrama than it is about fleshing out its characters and capturing striking images for impact rather than illumination. While the film tackles rather complex social issues, it often relies on transgressiveness to get a reaction rather than to subvert our biases.
The film opens in a cemetery, where Brenda (Robb Guinto) wanders naked through the darkness, confused and lost. She is found by a woman (played by Sue Prado) who runs a shelter and invites Brenda to stay until she recovers. There, she meets others on the fringes of society, each grappling with their own psychosis and disorders. While this setting offers ample opportunity to talk about how the system has failed the most vulnerable, yet the film chooses to zero in on their fleeting joys and breakdowns. Brenda soon becomes the object of another ward, Hesus (Mhack Morales) while later, Brenda sees a childhood friend and her ex-boyfriend, Lucio (Yasser Marta), who eventually joins them at the shelter. But Lucio is a chaotic force that tests Brenda’s resolve to heal. He’s an addict and is constantly thinking about sex and his presence breaks the relative harmony of the shelter.
While there’s plenty of opportunity to get real character work done in this film, Desperada doesn’t do any of the hard work required to flesh out the wards’ dysfunctions or psychoses. Funnily enough, the three characters who enter the shelter – Brenda, Lucio, and a character played by Jorge Guda – arrive broken, screaming, or listless, only to become instantly lucid after a single bath. Hesus is quick to fall in love with Brenda and maintains this affection throughout the film though the movie never really gives us any indication what it is in Brenda that caught his attention.
Brenda’s journey is the only one among the wards that resembles an arc, yet it is so rushed that it lacks the necessary narrative beats to feel fully realized. At the beginning, we her brought into the shelter, plagued by panic attacks; we see Hesus shower her with affection, and then the arrival of Lucio. Her physical desires are manifested, only for her to pull away from Lucio’s destructive force. Eventually, she finds her mother, who has been literally caged like an animal in the slums. She resolves her past quickly with one interaction from her one-dimensionally evil father but yet she can’t seem to let Lucio go. And while all these narrative beats are shown, it’s the steps that happen in-between that would ground this story but all we get is the highlight reel.
Aside from Brenda, it is the relationship between Sue Prado’s character and her lover (played by Mercedes Cabral) that really feels the most real. They are given moments to show their character’s good moments and weak moments. They get to have quiet moments to discuss the challenges they face running the shelter out of the kindness of their hearts, with Cabral’s character playing a former nun and Prado an orphan. Because most of their scenes unfod without explosive drama, we are able to truly see their humanity rather than just a mere spectacle of emotions.
At times, Robb Guinto and Mhack Morales have moments when they clearly articulate their character’s reality. Outside of the more seasoned Prado and Cabral, Guinto and Morales show a vulnerability, especially in their less dramatic scenes. In contrast, Yasser Marta and Jorge Guda are always performing at a constant “level 10,” almost at the level of camp. Guinto and Morales show better range and I feel that if the material was more nuanced, more fleshed-out, they would be able to give more in future roles.
Despite the screenplay’s weaknesses, the film is rather gorgeous to look at. Cinematographer TM Malones delivers gorgeous shots, especially when playing with darkness. He has a few cemetery scenes, which includes Guinto’s striking opening naked scene, that are visually stunning and the way he lights all of Brenda’s mother caged in a shanty creates an emotional effect which elevates the material away from camp.
Ultimately, Desperada is meant more to be more shocking and entertaining than it is groundbreaking. This is evident with the amount of sex scenes that feel unnecessary, the reliance on coarse language, and the way it uses a queer character for comedy. Lucky that Guinto is an arresting protagonist and Prado and Cabral give the film a grounding element that shows the film has way more potential that it allowed itself to explore.
My Rating: 2 Stars
Today marks the last day of Sinag Maynila Festival. While Desperada remains a provocative addition to Luisito Lagdameo Ignacio’s filmography, it stands as a testament to the festival’s commitment to showcasing bold, local cinema that isn’t afraid to push boundaries. Check the official Sinag Maynila social media pages for today’s final screening schedules and theater locations.
