Inspired by true events, once more taking place in Mindanao, “Moro” signifies Brillante Mendoza‘s return to top form, in a film that premiered in Busan and will soon start streaming on Netflix.
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Mangindra is a mother of two sons, who have been in a feud regarding inheritance rights for quite some time, and are essentially completely alienated. Jasim is the older and more serious one, hard working and diligent in his life. Abdel is immature, a gambler and essentially bordering on delinquency. After a dream involving her deceased husband, however, Mangindra sets on reconciling the two, although her effort proves quite difficult, and inevitably, violence ensues.
Brillanten Mendoza comes up with an 80-minutes film, which is essentially split in two, with the second part portraying the fighting of the Muslim guerrilla fighters in Mindanao, including Abdel and Jasim, against the government forces.
Some of his most significant trademarks throughout his career are to be found here. The first is intense realism, with no punches pulled, as the scene with the fighting between the two brothers, the horse fighting scene and the war sequences eloquently portray. The second is the way he achieves this documentary-like effect with DP Odyssey Flores tracking shots following the protagonists even through flying bullets, in a rather impactful approach that definitely benefits both the comments and the entertainment the movie offers.
This approach, of incorporating brutal realism in order to present the shocking, but stripped-bare reality is another of Mendoza’s trademarks, and in “Moro” finds one of its zeniths. The anti-war message that ensues is so impactful, that can truly draw a sense of disgust for war by anyone who sees the movie, in a style that we also met in Tsukamoto’s “Fires in the Plain”, although here the realism is definitely more intense. Also of note is the difference in the presentation of the dream scenes, whose atmospheric, essentially ritualistic depiction creates a very appealing antithesis with the rest of the movie, while providing a much welcomed relief.
Probably the most intelligent aspect of Mendoza’s direction, though, is the way he suggests that issues like inheritances among family members are essentially meaningless in the face of the war (and other major blights that have been happening in the world one could say) that has been happening in Mindanao. The comment can also be perceived as a call for reconciliation among families that are split for similar reasons, in an issue that is actually of global proportions.
Ysabelle Denoga’s editing is also excellent, implementing a non-stop pace that adds to the tension the movie emits, while the flashbacks that reveal the past stories of the protagonists are ideally placed within the narrative. Add to all that the excellent implementation of sound throughout the movie, and you have a true audiovisual extravaganza.
The acting is on a high level too. Laurice Guillen as Mangindra follows a line of excellent performances by veteran actresses in Mendoza’s films, as in the case of Jaclyn Jose in “Ma’Rosa” and Anita Linda in “Lola”, with her agony about the future of her two sons permeating the narrative. Piolo Pascual as Jasim and Baron Geisler as Abdel highlight their differences quite eloquently, with their antithetical chemistry being among the best assets of the movie.
“Moro” is an excellent movie, definitely among the best in Mendoza’s filmography. A must watch.
