Kalel, 15: A Review

Director: Jun Robles Lana

Starring: Elijah Canlas, Jacklyn Jose and Eddie Garcia

Vividly angry and sharp. Kalel, 15 is probably this year's best Filipino film for its powerful social commentary and profoundly moving imagery, topped by the solid performance from its main leads.

Jun Robles Lana (dir. Bwakaw, Die Beautiful) bares everything and holds no punches to expose the corruption, ignorance, poverty and addiction currently experienced by the country. 

Kalel, 15 follows the titular character as his world turns upside down after finding out he's HIV-positive. The film won at the 2019 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival for Best Director (Jun Lana) and stars an excellent cast including the up and coming Elijah Canlas and the veterans, Jacklyn Jose and Eddie Garcia.

The film has a limited run despite the award it received and the praises overflowing throughout the internet. Elijah Canlas effectively portrayed a youth lost and confused in a wild world inclined for chaos and judgment. Supporting him are two of the most well-decorated artists of the decade; Jacklyn Jose and Eddie Garcia. Both played their roles brilliantly, obviously.

Kalel,15 is more than just a film per se. Its an essay detailing how disgraceful society can be. It accounts all that needs to be shouted at the viewers to aware them that this is what we are becoming now. Its alerts. Its an alarm, that throughout it 1 and a half runtime, never goes off or be quiet.

Unforgiving might be the one word that can completely describe the experience that Lana will put the viewers into. He crafted a merciless story that does not aim to take sympathy from viewers. Life doesn't get better for Kalel that it becomes uncomfortable to sit through what's happening. If you expect a film that would bring hope or at least a shimmer of it by the end, I regret to inform you that the ending is as problematic as the whole story itself, if not even more.

The youth's unpleasant tendencies, the community's stigmatization, the leaders corruption and the deadly vices slowly kills a society. Lana's brash storytelling captures how we, as a community, are becoming more problematic as compared to what we are yesterday. Its terrifying to see how we can be such monsters to one another and be oblivious and defensive for it. It seems that our self-righteous acts are meant to completely destroy our already broken country.

Lana is truly one great director, not just for how he effectively directed each scenes, but for his creative vision and mind as well. One interesting decision by Lana is filming the film on black-and-white. According to him, it portrayed a world without hope. This creative choice also helps to clearly define the facial features of the leads and adds intensity and somber to an already bleek narrative. It's surprisingly immersive as well as it helps me focus on what is important and see what is important.

Lana depict the Philippines as how it should've been depicted a long time ago. However, this is not to only criticized but also to make a point. Filmmakers should have a voice for their films and they should not be afraid to cry out loudly what they feel because the people need them to. The people need to see see what is truly happening beyond their life. That is why Kalel, 15 deserves to be seen by everyone. Specially to those who are unafraid to see the truth because it has nothing.more to give than the truth itself.