The backdrop of the Philippines is shot in sepia tones with hints of red thrown in to portray the workers plight. It gives the city a stiflingly grim feel. With close up shots of dirty streets, rats scurrying about and the standstill traffic Red wholly conveys the problems of overpopulation. His cinematography is simply amazing, as he splices the ugly oppressive nature of life in the city with the starkly beautiful skyline of the buildings that make it up.
Raul is driven to desperation by a system that is failing him. When his attempts at getting a job don’t work out and he has no money to visit his sick father he turns to criminal activity. He hooks up with a gang of men who are planning a heist that is doomed to go wrong from the start. They have been conned out of money by an overseas work placement company and are looking for revenge. In the true spirit of this gloomy feature things go wrong in a particularly severe way including a graphic genitalia mutilation scene that makes for intentionally uneasy viewing. Raul manages to escape the demise that his friends face and embarks on a reckless attempt to get back to his home land of Romblon by hijacking a plane.
Raymond Red executes this feature with style and has obviously achieved what he set out to do. With the current state of the economy he has produced an extremely relevant narrative about not only the redundant workers in Manila but the frustration and crushing hopelessness that is being felt by many people across the world. Similar in style to Gus Van Sant’s Elephant as from the moment you start watching he builds the tension and ever-growing frustration in the character of Raul so well you know there could be no happy outcome. A relevant film that can be nothing other than deeply depressing.
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