Rae Red’s directorial film is in every sense outstanding and raw: Babae at Baril (2019)
Rae Red’s Babae at Baril or The Girl and the Gun (2019) is raw, violent, and very, very real. Its story follows a sales lady played by Janine Gutierez and also the former handlers of a gun that she has now come to possess. Her life is not anything one dreams about. She sends most of the money she makes to her selfish mother and the place she works in and lives in is constantly a place where she would feel less about herself with all the reprimanding from her supervisor and also constantly fearing about the overwhelming sea of testosterone around her.
While the title of the movie talks of two characters, the story really focuses solely on the gun and how it has found its way to multiple characters. Either by desire or fate, the gun exercises its power and control over them and changes their lives in the process.
The themes explored are highly relevant as it tackles oppression by those in higher power both in profession and in gender, poverty, rape, police brutality, and killing activists. Essentially, it reflects a society where safety is only for the rich.
Although thrilling and insanely well crafted through Red’s directing, Tey Clamor’s cinematography, and Ilsa Malsi’s editing, its story feels like something I have already seen before and therefore the direction it took became predictable. The unbelievable performances of the casts most importantly those of Janine Gutierez, Elijah Canlas, and JC Santos to carry out the various themes the film tackles must be highly praised and seen by the many.
Also accompanied by effective sound design and great musical scores, I am proud and in awe of what this film has done for the Philippine indie cinema and truly look forward to more.
9/10!
