Written and directed by Ryan Machado, a young man’s quest for truth and justice in 1990s Philippines intertwines with a plane crash mystery, uncovering a sinister plot that propels his desire to be heard but also threatens his community. Starring: Elijah Canlas, Ron Angeles, Reynald Santos, Glenn Sevilla Mas and Nathan J. Sotto.
In Raging Ryan Machado employs a distinctly understated, contemplative style. Machado attempts to approach the topic of sexual assault and trauma with the utmost sensitivity. It was a lovely idea, and it works well but only to a certain extent. On the one hand, the tone that Machado creates feels perfect. It’s quiet, reflective and pained, it portrays Eli’s (Elijah Canlas) struggle while feeling organic and graceful.
Yet on the other hand, it’s lacking the detail to really make his story land. Those choices can keep the audience at arm’s length, not truly letting them in to this incredibly intimate, vulnerable story. It can make Eli be overly avoidant and his refusal to engage can wane, even with the best of intentions. That withdrawn quality feels perfectly reasonable but at some point, you have to open up and in Raging, it takes a little too long and even when you do get to find out more, it feels incomplete. With the exception interestingly being the choices for the ending which are unexpectedly very on the nose.
It may struggle in that respect but visually it’s nicely consistent. Machado and cinematographer Theo Lozada really embrace all of that green and the open spaces. It really helps to add depth and balance the intimacy with giving Eli room to roam. That forest palette and the gradual movement of direction complement the quiet nature of Raging with a compelling stillness. One of the other elements that Machado does very well is highlighting how rape allegations are dealt with in small communities. It’s heart-breaking and infuriating to watch how quickly and patronisingly Eli is dismissed.
Elijah Canlas does a wonderful job of bringing to life all of that vulnerability to Eli, while still giving him plenty of strength and resilience. There’s a bubbling rage, unsurprisingly from the title, that gradually grows in an unspoken fashion, it’s clear yet cleverly never dealt with overtly. Undoubtedly Canlas is one of the biggest strengths of Raging, while it would have been great to let him delve deeper and open up the character, his performance doesn’t disappoint. He’s well supported by Reynald Santos who brings a sweetness and kindness to his very supportive character.
Raging is a gentle, quiet and restrained story of surviving sexual assault in a small, closed-minded community. Elijah Canlas brings an understated bravery to Eli, and gives a moving portrayal. Ryan Machado’s direction is thoughtful and there’s a great depth to the cinematography from Theo Lozada. It’s a highly considerate, sensitive film but, unfortunately it holds back a little too much. Without a bigger development to its story, it limits itself and can’t quite reach its full potential, despite the most admirable of intentions.
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