Sunday, April 11, 2021

VivaMax: Review of STEAL: Capricious Caper

April 11, 2021



Hiyasmin (Meg Imperial) was Filipina who worked in a bar in the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka, Japan. She was close friends with her fellow bartender CM (Ella Cruz) and her tomboyish cousin Mitch (Jennifer Lee). One night at work, she helped Platinum (Nathalie Hart), a fellow Filipina whom she saw being bullied on the street by a man.

One day, Platinum propositioned the girls to steal a bag full of money that belonged to her abusive Japanese husband Hideo (Guji Lorenzana) from a billiards place. Desperate for cash themselves, the naive ladies accepted the offer against their better judgement and enter the dangerous world of ruthless gangsters.

The four actresses all had good rapport with each other, and all had their distinct personalities to distinguish one character from the others. They were all energetic, game for action and their Japanese lines. However, the humor tended to fall flat when the girls go into over-the-top mode in their acting, becoming too noisy than funny. Meg Imperial stood out from the ensemble as she was able to keep things serious and believable as Hiyasmin. 

The screenplay by Enrique S. Villasis told a slice of life of Filipinas living in Japan as overseas workers, the instability of their financial situation there and how they cope. The crime aspect of the script was rather simplistic, with some holes in the planning. The reasons why they were pushed to commit crime ranged from the familiar (someone back home needed a kidney transplant) to the absurd (owing one million yen playing pachinko at the arcade).  

Director Bona Fajardo told the story of this first-time caper with a wacky playful spirit. He went back and forth in time to keep certain details kept in suspense as the events unfold in the present. It may be visually confusing, but he had the idea of using Filipino actors for Japanese characters. There were some Japanese actors, but just in comic bit roles. The director's execution was awkward and uneven, but the girls' charms can somehow still get viewers engaged in the action and the fun. 5/10.


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