In a short video of about 1.5 minutes, the audience is confronted with a male figure who is obviously driven by anger and has a mission. Khavn conceives his short film “Kontra Madiaga” as a kind of application video. The main character introduces himself as Kontra Madiaga, he comes from the darkest depths of Manila, condemned to murder people for all eternity.
Khavn fades in the text on black boards like in a silent movie, it seems to be typewritten. The text fragments are also combined as in a blackmail letter, slightly oblique to each other. This gives the film a somewhat old-fashioned touch, a retro aesthetic, which is also evident in the images of Kontra Madiaga in action. Khavn refrains from using special effects and concentrates on simple means, which give the video the style of a documentary film and thus make it especially impressive. The decision to only hint at the depiction of violence also contributes to this effect. This laconic style encourages the viewer's powers of combination and imagination, without visually disturbing him or her from the very beginning.
“Kontra Madiaga” seems like a kind of mantra, reminiscent of a religious cult, which at the same time has a threatening side, but also something old and therefore self-evident. The leading role is played by the Philippine veteran actor Bembol Roco, who ties in with two of his early roles, both with a similar name. During his long collaboration with director Lino Brocka, Roco first appeared 1975 in “Manila in the Claws of Light” (“Maynila, sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag”) as Julio Madiaga and in 1989, in the last film the director and actor realized together, as “Commander Kontra” in “Orapronobis” (aka “Les Insoumis” aka “Fight For Us”). Both characters are driven by their wish and need to take revenge.
In 2008, Khavn directed a sequel and homage to this collaboration between the two Filipino masters based on the screenplay by Carljoe Javier (who is by the way the bassist of the band “Los Chupacabras” for whose song “Dead Woman in My House” Khavn directed a video). In “Manila in the Fangs of Darkness” (“Maynila sa mga pangil ng dilim”), which was shot in one day, Bembol Roco already roams the streets of the city as Kontra Madiaga, killing anyone who stands in his way. Thus, this enigmatic short film is a kind of offshoot, spin-off or teaser of the feature film and a second homage to his forerunners. The staff behind the camera remained the same, script by Carl (Joe) Javier, camera by Albert Banzon. Lawrence S. Ang, who took care of the sound design in 2008, does the editing here.
Bembol Roco shapes the pictures with his impressive physical and charismatic presence. The film follows a handheld camera aesthetic that is on the one side very close to the faces, and on the other side captures and underlines the dynamics of the action. Captured by Albert Banzon, the images were edited by Lawrence S. Ang in a fast and rousing rhythm. The pictures are accompanied by a humming melody, but above all by a carpet of diffuse conversations, as in a bar or at the market.
All in all, “Kontra Madiaga” is a suggestive short film that fascinates, but also leaves you with many questions.
