The altered world of Erik Matti's BuyBust is visually stunning and thought provoking, hitting on President Duterte's drug on war in the Philippines. Two years in the making, but kind of lacks truth on its depiction of the lower class people. That two years is put too much on the visual and aesthetics action sequences of the film. In the Philippines action films is not getting produce that much because of budget issues, but this year we are lucky to have Buy Bust. It is still worth the wait.
BuyBust is about an anti-drug enforcement agency that stages a massive drug bust in the slums of Manila. It tackles the issues about extrajudicial killings during Duterte's drug on war. It shows those people who gets affected with it. It asks the question "Is it the system or Is it us?". Obviously, the film is pure fiction it is not really showcasing what's happening, but a theory or an exaggerated fictionalized world. This situation can or may happen, but not yet. The downside of the film is its underdeveloped characters specifically the PDEA squad. The killings don't matter at all because you don't know these people and you cannot feel them. There are particular scenes that can be more heartfelt and memorable if the characters were just flesh out a bit, like the relationship of Alda (Sheenly Gener) and Bernie (Victor Neri) who are married to each other their death should have been a tearjerker sequence.
The lower class people who is in the middle of the crossfire is not humanized, they become a tool or a visual style for the director. We cannot see what do they really want - is it war or to fix the system? It's unclear because of their contradicting actions.
BuyBust was good, but it should have been better. I understand the intention and choice of director Erik Matti to make the film an hour long non-stop action sequences, like blue-printed from Mad Max: Furry Road, but as the story progress it gets lost in the action, but the third act saves the film. I like BuyBust more when it's silent and talkie, rather than its action scenes.
BuyBust is about an anti-drug enforcement agency that stages a massive drug bust in the slums of Manila. It tackles the issues about extrajudicial killings during Duterte's drug on war. It shows those people who gets affected with it. It asks the question "Is it the system or Is it us?". Obviously, the film is pure fiction it is not really showcasing what's happening, but a theory or an exaggerated fictionalized world. This situation can or may happen, but not yet. The downside of the film is its underdeveloped characters specifically the PDEA squad. The killings don't matter at all because you don't know these people and you cannot feel them. There are particular scenes that can be more heartfelt and memorable if the characters were just flesh out a bit, like the relationship of Alda (Sheenly Gener) and Bernie (Victor Neri) who are married to each other their death should have been a tearjerker sequence.
The lower class people who is in the middle of the crossfire is not humanized, they become a tool or a visual style for the director. We cannot see what do they really want - is it war or to fix the system? It's unclear because of their contradicting actions.
BuyBust was good, but it should have been better. I understand the intention and choice of director Erik Matti to make the film an hour long non-stop action sequences, like blue-printed from Mad Max: Furry Road, but as the story progress it gets lost in the action, but the third act saves the film. I like BuyBust more when it's silent and talkie, rather than its action scenes.