KangKong

Title:

KANGKONG

Running Time: 

101 min

Lead Cast:

Rodel Velayo, Brigette de Joya

Director: 

Mauro Gia Samonte

Producer: 

Robbie Tan

Screenwriter: 

Mauro Gia Samonte

Music:

Bienvenido Medina

Editor: 

Ferren Salumbide

Genre:

Drama/ Love Story

Cinematography: 

Distributor:

Seiko Films

Location: 

Tagaytay City

Technical Assessment: 

• • •

Moral Assessment: 

+ + ½

CINEMA Rating:  

For mature viewers 18 and above

Kangkong is the story of a young man who undergoes conflict and confusion in discerning if his call to the priesthood is coming from God or only from his grandmother Nyora Isyang (Odette Khan). An obedient "lola's boy" from birth who is set on entering the seminary, Carlos (Rodel Velayo) displays extraordinary resistance to advances from aggressive and attractive girls. But in the heat of a determined girl's pursuit-aggravated by his ignorance in matters of the flesh-his defenses collapse and he bites into the apple, so to speak. In love with the shameless balikbayan Pamela (Brigette de Joya), he escapes his pushy grandmother just as when she is about to leave him in the seminary. That's where the story really begins.

Many parts of the movie can make the viewer wonder whether it's a drama or a comedy he's watching. Blame it on the lousy script made even lousier by poor delivery and amateurish acting. The inconsistent characterization, overacting to appear funny, and the ill-timed use of slapstick and side remarks also tend to trivialize the otherwise worthy subject. The editing is really bad, and the cinematography even worse-just imagine heads cropped out of the screen, body parts entering the scene when they shouldn't be ("Whose feet are those?"), etc. Outside of the evidently well-thought out and shot seduction scenes, the movie could easily be mistaken for a first attempt at film making by cinema students.

Kangkong comes up as another one of those movies with suggestive one-word titles like Talong, Warat, Sutla, and one more coming soon, Tuhog. The connection between title and subject matter is almost non-existent, and at best, forced to imply a promise of sensual gratification in the movie. However, this seems to be a cinematic trend. For instance, you might ask, Why Kangkong? Who knows, although one thing is sure. The naïve young man and the sex-starved balikbayan often romp about in the kangkungan, and the girl is a kangkong vendor besides. Congratulate yourself if you're reflective enough to see that the kangkungan could very well symbolize the mud of fleshy pleasures that keeps the young man from following a divine calling.

By the way, Kangkong presents a good story; it is like a haunting song sung off-key. Despite its horrid technical flaws, it's well worth one's time and money, because it focuses on an issue that gains relevance in the light of the Church's need for vocations these days. Because of the explicit sex scenes, MTRCB says the movie is For Adults Only; CINEMA wishes, though, that there were less of those torrid scenes so that it may be shown to a wider audience for discussions in families or institutions.