Khavn's experimentation with every notion associated with film and essentially entertainment was bound to bring him eventually to a movie that functions like a stage play. However, as usual in his works, this is just one of the many elements included in “The Trials of Mr Serapio”, which is based on Paul Dumol's classic one-act play, considered by many as the first modernist play.
The movie starts with a man playing his guitar and singing by a rather busy street, with the quality of the film in this sequence, which is actually repeated throughout the movie, being purposefully bad. The next sequence brings us to the “stage play” part, where the aforementioned man is revealed to be Mr Serapio, who has been arrested and is now subjected to a trial by two interrogators and a judge, who can only be described as caricatures. Serapio does not know the reason he is being tried, but soon realizes that the people there know everything about his life, and have put him on trial for everything that he is and everything that he has done in his life.
The narrative progresses in this fashion, with sequences of Serapio's past where he is walking through the streets of Manila, singing songs with a distinct sociopolitical context followed by scenes of the rather theatrical trial, where it is eventually revealed that Serapio represents all these people the authorities conceive as dangerous: Artists, dreamers, unemployed, poor, unmarried, everyone that strays away from what society perceives as normal, with Mr Serapio essentially collecting them all in his persona. The way he is arrested, accused, scrutinized for every part of his life (essentially meaning that the authorities are constantly watching those who perceive as dangerous) and ridiculed, all the while not being sure of what is his crime and why he has to face this behaviour, mirror the ways the aforementioned “groups” are treated by the system, with the inequality and unfairness being the rule in that regard. Jess Santiago, who was also in charge of the music, highlights these elements quite eloquently in the role of Serapio, as he portrays his bewilderment, frustration and eventual sadness with equal artistry.
Khavn essentially presents an accusation against the system, with this aspect deriving from every one of its aspects, including the lyrics of the songs (“only here anarchists are killed everyday but people do not care”), the way the judges think and act (“Those who disturb order are guilty”), and the presence of sycophants/snitches in the trial, which are eloquently presented wearing masks as they spread their lies about the accused, while hiding their true identities. That the judges are presented as buffoons, particularly the second interrogator, the obese one with the laurers on his head, seems like a comment on the judicial, through an ironic/mocking approach that works quite well for the narrative, while also benefiting the most by the acting, with Mike Coroza in the part being entertainingly despicable.
Albert Banzon's cinematography follows two different paths, with the trial scenes depicted as a mix of silent movie and (black) theatre play and the ones in the streets as a kind of tour guide to various areas of Manila, with the amalgam of black-and-white with colored film of bad quality working quite well for the narrative, adding to the whole experimental approach of the title. Since both styles are not particularly easy to the eye (or the brain, since the metaphors and the comments here are constant and demand unwavering attention from the viewer) Lawrence S. Ang's cuts are placed ideally, not allowing the viewer to get tired of either and also allowing both styles to function as a kind of relief for each other.
Although distinctly experimental, “The Trials of Mr Serapio” emerges as one of the most approachable works of Khavn, particularly since the comments presented here apply globally.
