Mister Hotshot

2.21.2008

'Endo' Film Review




The movie Endo shows the troubles of the contractual workers in the retail and service sectors of the society. It is a love story set in the world of temporary labor. There is nothing stereotypical about the movie, further elaborating on the issues of dead-end jobs and dead-end relationships.


Endo is slang for “End of Contract,” or what contractual workers call their last day of work. The film is realistic and honest, relying on straightforward narrative to tell a story we may already have heard before but certainly not in this way.


Leo (Abalos) is a young breadwinner forced to take part-time jobs one after the other to support his family. His love affairs are as short-lived as his works. Losing some, and then finding some. From this cycle, he has developed a sense of contentment with just having a salary to meet the basic economic needs of his family and live his day to day with a companion. And he just lets things happen to him that even in his relationships, he chooses the passive route and he just lets the girls do the initial move. In a way, his life have become a routine. But as the story progresses, he suddenly gets reminded of his forgotten ambitions and life directions by his new girlfriend, the spirited dreamer Tanya (Feleo). From their love story sprouts certain realizations and life-changing choices. And the many characters come and go from within these couple’s lives just like their endless search for new work after every end of contract.


What I found fascinating is the movie’s sincerity in storytelling. It did not, even for once, pretended to be something it is not. It is a low-budget digital film but the cinematographic narration is seamless and compact. It is about love and life, but that which is told truthfully, realistically. It showed the slum areas of Manila and life at the low end of the economic spectrum, but never exploitatively. It shows reality as it is, often brutal and harsh, but also full of humor and love.

Out there it is only about one thing: survival. The film gives a good representation to those contractual workers, whether blue-collar or white-collar jobs, about their recycled employment and unemployment. These contractual workers had to jump from one job to another in order to survive. Sadly it also showed the veracity about Filipinos wanting to work abroad for greener pasture. In the film, Tanya had always hoped for job security. So as an answer, she applied for a job at a ship – a life away from the endless stream of 5-month contracts that she refuses her life to be defined by.

The movie also shows how romance can be as disposable as jobs and how one's economic status greatly affects the many facets of a person's goals and ambitions. In the film, one can totally relate to the characters in the movie. The viewers can see that each characters has his flaws and imperfections and really shows true- life situations. Thus, viewers in a way can connect to the characters and situations depicted.


The movie's srciptwriter also puts in details of how a typical Filipino couple functions.You see, Tanya and Leo's love story is a prime example of a couple who are both trying to meet each household’s financial need. The film’s brilliantly-written characters develop with raw emotions without the unnecessary melodrama where most films of the same theme fall. Its love story delivers well without becoming too cheesy.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

i've seen Endo to0.. hmm.. am not a big fan of indie movies, but this film is actually quite good. ;)

April 14, 2008 at 9:32 AM  

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