Director J Altarejos’ film Unfriend, about a gay 15-year-old’s heartbreak and obsession with the social media took the Berlin film festival by storm, selling out all of its initial screenings and earning positive reviews from critics.
As a Reuters report described “Unfriend vividly portrays life in the Philippines, where poverty forces millions to work abroad, and cheap phones and free WiFi make social media all-pervasive.”
But will it have the same effect on local movie goers who are used
to more romantic comedies than a story driven narrative about gay teen love?
The film is based on the 2011 shootings in a Filipino shopping mall involving two young male lovers, amateur footage of which later surfaced online and went viral.
For Direk J, Unfriend is a fulfillment of a personal promise that he would do something about it and show people how social media has changed the way we live our lives.
The film’s universal message shows the dangers of the unfiltered information available online, how easily one can connect with shady individuals, buy a gun and learn how to use it– all in just
a few clicks and searches.
It takes viewers on a nightmarish journey with the film’s principal character D
avid (Sandino Martin), jilted by his lover just before Christmas, to turn to the screens of his mobile phone, iPad and computer in a desperate attempt to extend his affair with his 17-year old love, Jo (Angelo Ilagan).
As David’s phone calls, text messages and Skype calls go unanswered, he becomes more and more detached from reality and wanders through the crowds and chaos of Manila with a fatal plan forming in his head.
There are three things the director wanted viewers to realize through th
e film.
“First is that, in a way, the social media phenomenon has made us all voyeurs and exhibitionists,” Altarejos told guests at the exclusive press screening held Saturday.
“We post things the things to elicit certain reactions and sometimes we are not totally honest with what we post, we edit, we change some details to try and get the most attention.”
He then shared a little experiment he did before he left for Berlin. He told a story that when he was a kid they didn’t have their own TV and he had to peer through the curtains of a neigh
bor’s house to watch his favorite shows, and that now he is directing TV show Obsession for TV5 and also has a movie that is making its premiere in Berlin. “It made for a very nice narrative that got a lot of attention but its not actually 100 percent true. We are guilty of manipulating some details to make it more interesting for others.”
The second he says is about mental health. “We’ve read about the incidents in the US where young people commit suicide, or go on shooting rampages. But what surprised authorities were that these kids SEEM normal and their parents had no idea that they could do such things.”
“Research showed that when you are suffering from certain mental conditions like depression, you lose your sense of reason. We often tell those who are depressed to just pray, relax or take a break, but studies show that if one suffers from prolonged loneliness, they really should seek professional help becaus
e like any other medical condition, it is treatable.”
Lastly is the effect of the Pinoy diaspora. “Most Filipinos have to go out of the country to find work…It is ironic that you want to give your family a better life but at the same time you detach yourself from your loved ones,” said Altarejos, he himself a son of a former OFW.
David lives with his grandmother, a kind but distracted woman, who is immersed in her Catholic faith. The story unravels during Christmas, probably the worst time to feel alone. Although David can sing karaoke songs with her Lola and share tender moments, their generation gap is vast and obvious.
David’s parents work abroad – compounding his loneliness and he turns to social media to establish some semblance of connections and love.
The movie will be show
n in two versions an uncut R-18 and an R-16 version, which means that the younger people portrayed in the movie wouldn’t be able to watch it.
“I feel its still the responsibility of us adults to look after our children. To be aware and express concern if we see tell tale signs that something is wrong with them that is why I decided to target a much older audience,” Direk pointed out.
“David may have a good relationship with his lola, but there is still something lacking. His grandmother can only do so much because she also has problems dealing with her own suffering and loneliness, having lost her husband and with all her children working abroad,” he adds.
Unlike other gay-themed films which focus on sex or comedy, Unfriend tak
es on the hard truths and depicts the sometimes numbing effect of the internet. We’ve gotten so used to seeing violence online that we don’t even know how to react when we have to deal with it in real life.
The pacing can be a bit slow and tedious, reflective of the mindset of David’s character as his sadness turns into depression and finally desperation. The two sex scenes couldn’t be more contrasting– one done in a very slow romantic way, while the other is dark, raw and looks almost as real as it could get.
Unfriend stars Ms. Boots Anson Roa, Sandino Martin and Angelo Ilagan. It opens in cinemas February 26, 2014 and is distributed by Solar Entertainment Corporation.
