KALAYAAN(The Review)

While  former President Joseph Estrada was facing his impeachment trial, a soldier assigned in one of the islands in Kalayaan  is also battling the pain of loneliness.  The movie, Kalayaan states that loneliness can drive a person crazy.  Sometimes, it is even worse than losing one's sanity.

She enjoyed the poster but not the film

The first half of the film shows the soldier, Julina Macaraig of Nueva Ecija, spending his whole day with a routine.  Alongside with that routine are diversions to keep himself occupied during the whole day.  No dialogue can be heard from the lead character.  Viewers who are used to watching kilometric lines would find this movie boring. In fact, my wife fell asleep watching this film.  On one hand, there is no one to talk with in that island, so, it is just proper to lessen dialogue.  

One would really feel the loneliness Julian is enduring in that island.  The atmosphere changed mainly for the viewers on the next half of the film when two soldiers named Lucio and Eric joined  played by actors Zanjoe Marudo and Luis Alandy joined Julian in the island.  

Lucio who is an old timer in the island in some of his conversation with Eric had revealed that Julian was traumatized when another soldier who used to join him in the island committed a suicide.  They also talked about the ghost of a man and the presence of mermaids that the dead soldier was seeing.  Lucio even told that the dead soldier fell in love with the mermaid.

The movie is implying that while our country id trapped in the vicious cycle of corruption and immorality, a soldier can find himself imprisoned also in that remote island.  At the end of the film, the Philippines got its freedom from its incompetent president.  Julian got also his freedom in the most unexpected way.

The movie succeeds in giving us the genuine feelings of soldiers who do not only battle for our country's sovereignty but also  fight their  personal demon.