September 22, 2022
Rene Martinez (Jay Manalo) was running for barangay chairman of District 128 in Manila. His nephew Jepoy (Albie Casino), son of a former congressman (Carlos Siguion-Reyna), was running for as SK (youth council) chair. Jepoy's mother Corazon (Bibeth Orteza) was running their campaign like clockwork, getting all their allies together with their generous "donations" to the police, the teachers and the church, all to ensure their win.
Isaac de Jesus (Vince Rillon) was one of Jepoy's extensive network of motorcycle thieves who operate under the protection of the local police. He had committed to serve Jepoy because he had to pay back his father's debts to the family. During a riot in a rap battle concert, Isaac stole a motorcycle which belonged to Richard (Khalil Ramos), leader of a rival gang. This caused their conflict to escalate into a deadly full-blown rumble.
After seeing him dabble in Vivamax erotica, it was very good to see director Brillante Mendoza back on the gritty streets of the city where we knew him best. "Resbak" (2021) revisited the rough streets of Manila which Mendoza's camera had explored before in films like "Ma'Rosa" (2016), "Alpha: The Right to Kill" (2018) and TV series "Amo" (2017). Mendoza's production design showed his meticulous eye for detail, down to how Jepoy's piranhas were fed.
We already saw Vince Rillon's motorcycle riding skills before in Roman Perez's "Siklo" (2022) where he played a motorcycle delivery boy. It turned out that he had more intense motorcycle riding stunts here in "Resbak" (which was shot back in 2019) as Isaac weaved in and out of vehicular traffic. His raw, restrained, sensitive performance as Isaac won Rillon the Best Actor award at the 19th Asian Film Festival in Rome, Italy earlier this year.
The rap culture of restless youth dominated the energetic musical soundtrack by Diwa de Leon. The cinematography of Joshua A. Reyles and editing of Diego Max Dobles both deserve commendation. Troy Espiritu's screenplay was best how he incorporated all the crooked political machinations behind winning local elections. Bibeth Orteza's ruthless portrayal of a political kingmaker behind the men in her family was chilling. 7/10
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