Whatever superlative film-making skills co-director Ian Gamazon has attained over the years are quickly diminished by his average acting ability portraying 'Adam', the lead role of "Cavite." It also makes one wonder just how shallow the Filipino-American acting pool is in this country.
That said, this story is basically an extension of the Hollywood movie "Phone Booth" where a voice on the telephone forces the person on the other end to capitulate to their demands. Of course, "Cavite" takes it one step further by allowing the caller to be a well-known terrorist who not only has Adam's cellphone number but his victim's mother and sister too (after having already executed the father).
The cellphone also allows the action to travel which is technically more visually interesting than watching Colin Farrell sweat it out in one spot (a la "Phone Booth"). Although the voice on the phone purports to be Muslim terrorist leader, the political thriller elements are muted for the most part with the primary action revolving around the making audience watching Adam saunter his way through the city of Cavite (near Manila) on foot until he reaches the point of no return.
The terrorist's final request is the ultimate decision of the Adam's life: be a suicide bomber for the Abu Sayyaf and complete the mission or listen to the sound of your family being killed over the cellphone.
Of course, it'll cost you the price of admission to find out which choice he opted for, but for those not used to cinema verite this may be a hard film to watch. Almost all of the action is shot from either the Adam's POV (self-held camera) or the POV of the cameraman (also hand-held) gamely following behind him. Not for all tastes, but this low-budgeter shows you don't have to have millions of dollars to create suspense, but a better lead actor would have been worth a fortune.
That said, this story is basically an extension of the Hollywood movie "Phone Booth" where a voice on the telephone forces the person on the other end to capitulate to their demands. Of course, "Cavite" takes it one step further by allowing the caller to be a well-known terrorist who not only has Adam's cellphone number but his victim's mother and sister too (after having already executed the father).
The cellphone also allows the action to travel which is technically more visually interesting than watching Colin Farrell sweat it out in one spot (a la "Phone Booth"). Although the voice on the phone purports to be Muslim terrorist leader, the political thriller elements are muted for the most part with the primary action revolving around the making audience watching Adam saunter his way through the city of Cavite (near Manila) on foot until he reaches the point of no return.
The terrorist's final request is the ultimate decision of the Adam's life: be a suicide bomber for the Abu Sayyaf and complete the mission or listen to the sound of your family being killed over the cellphone.
Of course, it'll cost you the price of admission to find out which choice he opted for, but for those not used to cinema verite this may be a hard film to watch. Almost all of the action is shot from either the Adam's POV (self-held camera) or the POV of the cameraman (also hand-held) gamely following behind him. Not for all tastes, but this low-budgeter shows you don't have to have millions of dollars to create suspense, but a better lead actor would have been worth a fortune.