Mike de Leon's Short Film Kangkungan Is a Chilling Plea to the Youth
Acclaimed auteur Mike de Leon isn't one to shy away from controversial topics, especially with films like Kisapmata, Batch '81, and Sister Stella L. His latest feature film (and first after 17 years), Citizen Jake, takes on the corruption that haunts Philippine society thanks to political dynasties. At Citizen Jake's final public screening—which de Leon says was perfectly timed because, "February 23 also happens to be Day 2 of the 1986 Revolt that toppled the Marcos regime"—he debuted a new, five-minute short film. In Kangkungan, available for streaming on Vimeo, de Leon criticizes the government that put the Marcos family back in power.
The film's description reads, "Rodrigo Roa Duterte: A Portrait of the Dictator as Filipino (with apologies to Nick Joaquin)." Narrated by Teroy Guzman (who also stars in Citizen Jake), Kangkungan puts together clips of some of the headline-making events or comments that have so far made up Duterte's presidency. The film ends with a plea to voters of the upcoming elections: "Mga kababayan—at lalo na sa inyo, mga kabataan—ngayong Mayo, bumoto na parang nakasalalay rito ang inyong kinabukasan at ang inyong buhay."
This story originally appeared on Spot.ph.
* Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.
