Winner for Best Script in both Cinemalaya and QCinema, Jopy Arnaldo's feature debut is a film that stands out for an unusual aspect, the subtitles, which are truly implemented here in a rather unique way. Let us take things from the beginning though.
Gitling screened at Qcinema
Jamie, who works as a Japanese translator, has just called off her engagement. Makoto, a film director, is not sure yet how to handle his relationship with a wife who cheated on him two years ago. When he is invited for a film festival in Bacolod, their paths cross, as Jamie is hired to be his translator. As they spend more and more time together, the two become friends, bonding over their heartbreak stories and a language that Jamie made up. Eventually, Makoto decides to add additional subtitles to his film, and the two head into a cabin to work on them.
Although essentially a ‘will-they-won't-they', “Gitling” manages to stand out both for the aforementioned aspect, and the frequently quite popular meta theme of a movie about a movie. Leaving the subs besides for now, Jopy Arnaldo's film manages to approach both of the two additional central aspects of the narrative through a rather unique approach. Regarding the first, although the attraction is evident from the beginning, the fact that both carry “baggage” does not let them dive in fully, essentially approaching each other as carefully as possible. This, however, does not forbid them from opening up more and more intensely as time passes by, in the process becoming friends, with the potential of something more, however, always lingering between them. Perhaps the director wanted to comment on that aspect of festivals very rarely mentioned, that the people attending them tend to “fall in love” with each other, as spending so much time together with people with similar preferences (as in cinema) leads to a kind of relationship that is as brief as it is intense. No matter the reasons behind it though, the approach works excellently here, essentially carrying the movie from beginning to end.
Check also this interview
The film-about-a-film aspect derives from that last element, as we watch the two discussing very thoroughly about Makoto's work and his cinematic choices, while the getaway and their additional work in the subtitles of his movie makes another comment, of how both communication and its lack can occasionally work for a movie. This brings us to the third element, with the director implementing the subtitles in a way that essentially deems them more significant than the words themselves, since the emotions and psychological statuses of the protagonists are presented through them. As such, the different coloring of the fonts and even the way they are implemented as a narrative tool, is as unique as it is meaningful, in an element that is essentially the reason for the awards the film received.
Gabby Padilla as Jamie and Ken Yamamura as Makoto exhibit a wonderful chemistry throughout the movie, in two rather measured performances that communicate their thoughts and feelings through small gestures and facial expressions. The fact that they are both quite good looking also helps in that regard, while impressively, the fact that they speak different languages actually works in favor of the whole title.
Mycko David's cinematography captures the various settings the story takes place in (parties, cafes, restaurants, the house in the country etc) with realism and artfulness, with the same applying to the way he frames his protagonists, in both their connection and the distance that remains between them. His work most probably finds its apogee in the last frame of the movie, in the cinema. Lawrence S. Ang's editing implements a mellow pace, without any kind of exaltations, in a fashion that is definitely fitting for the overall aesthetics of the movie. Some more tension would probably benefit the film, but its lack is not a particular issue.
“Gitling” is what we call a “small film” but is also quite smartly shot and written, well-acted, and definitely manages to highlight some very interesting comments. Jopy Arnaldo is definitely a filmmaker worth watching in the future.
