Luxury Golf Satire ‘Filipiñana’ Lectures From the Clubhouse

The new Philippine film “Filipiñana” is set on the grounds of a lush golf course and grand country club just outside Manila, but those moviegoers hoping to be transported to the greens and a tropical haven are forewarned: it’s no diverting, intermittently thrilling excursion. Like the hit TV series “The White Lotus,” the picture depicts both the guests and workers of a luxury destination while satirizing the wealthy and the hospitality industry. Yet writer-director Rafael Manuel is not out to entertain so much as lecture, maintaining a dour, protracted viewpoint despite the occasional dippy, ironic moment.In addition to its patronizing manner, the film reeks of trendy aesthetics and themes, from its pink title design and credits to its boxy framing, arch music sequences, and colonizer critique. Furthermore, its two main storylines are flimsy, while a late-stage lurch towards drama comes across as heavy-handed. Fortunately, these discouraging elements do not prevent absorption with its central heroine, 17-year-old Isabel, and her job as a “tee girl,” which mainly requires her to crouch down as golfers practice on the driving range. In spite of her demeaning employment, the character is an engaging mix of curiosity and drollness, and Jorrybell Agoto’s performance as a new club employee is one of the reasons why the picture works on occasion. Isabel’s inquiries and wanderings about the club have an appealingly strange whimsicality to them, one that leavens Mr. Manuel’s easy targets and censorious tone overall. Her journey around the course and club even somewhat resembles the trials of a saint, complete with loneliness, tormenting heat, devilish figures, and the temptations of gluttony and luxury. Another reason why the movie works at times is owing to the cinematography by Xenia Patricia. Using glaring white sunlight, color-coordinated static compositions, and the setting’s various planar qualities, Ms. Patricia frequently creates two-dimensional illusions, many in which the surroundings look like painted backgrounds, capturing imagery that’s striking or playful or both. Some of these shots are so accomplished that they wouldn’t be out of place in a contemporary photography exhibit at a renowned gallery or museum. Indeed, the film may prove to be an enticing experience for those viewers who approach it as an experiment in lightly connected artful tableaux.One image in particular was vital to the conception of “Filipiñana.” As Mr. Manuel mentions in press notes, the memorable shot of Isabel seen through the legs of a golfer was the genesis of the project, which first took shape as a short film made for the London Film School. Unfortunately, the expanded feature film still betrays a thesis film-like mindset, particularly in its on-trend elements, narrative ineptitude, and underlying humorlessness. His points about service worker indignities, power imbalances, and monied extravagance are well-taken, yet one feels they would carry more weight if they were delivered with more pep and humanity instead of torpor and glibness.One of the young director’s best decisions was to have the narrative take place in the span of a day, enhancing the uncanny quality of Isabel’s journey. After taking his time establishing the specifics of her job and having her commune with the landspace, which reminds her of her native Ilocos, a rural northern region of the Philippines, he does eventually grant her a goal: to return the mislaid golf iron of country club director Dr. Palanca. This sees her roam the extensive grounds and into several deluxe club spaces, sometimes amusingly, in search of the boss, who is a fellow Ilocano but whose ruthless past is clumsily introduced in one of the film’s final scenes. Philippine-American viewers may make a connection between Dr. Palanca and former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, as well as his son, current president Bongbong Marcos, but for most viewers, the association is not made clear. A subplot involving the head of a golf equipment company trying to convince his expat niece to move back home to help with the business never truly engages, though it has its moments. Between rounds of golf, he talks to her of the country’s “brain drain,” and considering Mr. Manuel is himself the heir of a Philippine golf company, a personal sense of responsibility is transmitted in these scenes. Still, when the auteur’s accountability turns into a form of guilt through the device of a tragic occurrence, one realizes that moral paralysis and performative self-reproach are the reasons for the limp satire and lethargic pace. This slowness often feels affected, grasping at humor and profundity that’s not really there, though it may also be the filmmakers’ attempt to mirror the unhurried rhythm of golf, as well as to depict the oppressive heat and humidity. Certainly the acting, imagery, and ambiance of insect trills effectively convey how the sweltering weather nullifies action and expression. Perhaps that explains the inclusion of the sporadic musical sequence and scenes of synchronized activity—to add some energy and variety to the rather still film. Images of golfing clergymen and other bits of absurdity also add to the fitful Fellini-esque tone.Besides the heat, the primary atmosphere is one of coercive authority, particularly among the men in their relations with the female staff. This mood coincides with the exploration of economic inequality, wasteful consumption, and environmental destruction. Too often, though, these themes are brought up bluntly, leaving no room for context while crudely substituting the golf course for the Philippines and reducing Isabel to a symbol of injustice, a victim of exploitation and gentrification. Ultimately, in choosing a country club as his subject but treating its workers and patrons as mere pawns in a globalist game, Mr. Manuel wished to have his cake and spit it out.

Luxury Golf Satire ‘Filipiñana’ Lectures From the Clubhouse

Luxury Golf Satire ‘Filipiñana’ Lectures From the Clubhouse

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