CINEMALAYA 2023: Review of GITLING: Subtitling the Silent

August 10, 2023

Japanese filmmaker Makoto Kanno (Ken Yamamura) was invited to grace a film festival in Bacolod City which will feature one of his most famous films, noted for its last twenty minutes which was completely without dialogue. A Filipina translator, Jamie Lazaro (Gabby Padilla), had been hired by the festival director (Emmanuel dela Cruz) to help Makoto in his daily communications and also to write the subtitles for the film to be shown. 

Of all the films I had seen in this year's Cinemalaya, this was the one that is the most "arthouse" in impact. The camera work and angles while following the two lead characters, the subtleties in lighting of the scenes, the dramatic sweep of the musical score. It felt as if celebrated Chinese director Wong Kar Wai may be one of the cinematic heroes of first-time feature film director Jopy Arnaldo in the way he executed his ambitious script. 

There was hardly any action in this film, only intimate conversations between a Japanese film director and his Filipino interpreter for a good 100 or so minutes of its run time. You have to pay attention intently because these conversations would be conducted in five languages -- English, Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Nihonggo and Jamie's own invented language. The color-coded subtitles will be your friend here (although they were typed in a rather tiny, thin font).

One of the key plot moments was Makoto's decision to put subtitles in the silent third act of his masterpiece. This would be the highlight of the final night of the festival, as a special midnight screening to be held at the picturesque, exquisitely-lit Ruins. In a unique and remarkable innovation, Arnaldo himself would do this in "Gitling," as his wordless scenes would also be given subtitles to bring us into the unspoken thoughts of the two main characters. 

Veteran Japanese actor Ken Yamamura was so remarkable in its restraint. Despite the very subdued introversion of his character, Yamamura can draw audience sympathy to his problematic situation. One cannot help but be impressed with the way Gabby Padilla shifted seamlessly in all the five languages of the script, English with an affected accent notwithstanding. Padilla was certainly able to hold her own in this deep two-hander.  7/10.