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Film Review: Honor Thy Father

Picache, Patrick Luis D.

150351 | TF 1:30-3

Honor Thy Father: A Thematic Analysis

Honor Thy Father is an indie film directed by Erik Matti, that features John Lloyd Cruz as Edgar, a family man subject to desperate times calling for desperate measures. However, this film is not limited just to the bare narrative, but it seems to be a reflection upon Filipino society, just like how American Psycho is a satire of 80’s materialism and the prevalent yuppie culture in New York. There isn’t really a singular theme in the movie per se, bur rather a collective on essential facets of contemporary Filipino culture: family, religion, and interpersonal relationships, all explored through the medium of Edgar’s dilemma, with the common denominator of all facets portrayed in dysfunction. The film was released two years ago, and I did watch it in an under maintained SM cinema. It does take more than one viewing to really digest the main themes of the film. This paper will cover the salient techniques used throughout the film in regards to shifts, patterns, and consistencies, within the context of it’s main theme through the citation and analysis of pivotal scenes.

About ten minutes into the film we are introduced to two the main themes of the film - family and religion. A sense of disfunction is introduced to us immediately through how the film is graded - undersaturated, and the use of low key lighting, which stays consistent throughout the duration of the film. Religion continues to be portrayed in a dysfunctional way throughout the duration of the film - in a sequence of medium long shot jump cuts, we see Edgar framed with a center-point composition, with him being static in the midst of an emotionally driven congregation engaged in worship. This continues on later on in the film, where religion is used as a way of portraying irony - forty minutes into the film we see Edgar in focus using a shallow depth of field with the out of focus elements being the maids, counting an excessive amount of tithes. Religion is not strictly limited to cinematography and linear storytelling though - early on in the film we see a series of contrasting jump cuts, a juxtaposition between Edgar breaking his windscreen out of frustration while cuts and an amplified of Tirso Cruz preaching about how God provides for His people plays throughout the sequence - truly a moment of cinematic brilliance. Corruption in religion is implicit at the beginning of the film, but becomes explicit during the latter half, where the theme dies down a little - in a sequence with the Bishop and Edgar, the Bishop tells Edgar that he is willing to give the excess tithings to Edgar, instead of the church. In this particular scene, the use of lowkey lighting was used on the bishops face in a close up, with one half lit and another half dark and barely visible - a visual representation of how religion is viewed upon by the film in a nutshell.

Family is theme that is constant throughout the duration of the film, but in it’s progression is tackled in numerous perspective. In relation to religion, family also is shown in a dysfunctional way  - early on in the film, we would see a series of shallow shots of Edgar and his wife, with one having a completely contrasting expression compared to the other. When his wife is in frame, charismatic talking about Yeshua and His blessings, Edgar is often seen out of focus but in frame, contemplating or in the case that he is in frame with just his wife, seen with a flat expression. This composition is often used, in times that they are alone and in scenes of public confrontation. Certain relationships of family members are also expressed visually - straight on shots are used when Edgar has his moments with his wife, signifying equal dignity in the relationship, this is often seen early on in the film, and continues on to the end of the film, where Edgar loses his wife due to excessive blood loss, with the same composition used. Low angle shots are used pointed towards Edgar in his scenes with his daughter’s, as well as  the juxtaposition of high angle shots looking down at her from Edgar’s perspective, signifying their maternal relationship. This goes on to the extended family, where midway through the film, Edgar is seen in a medium close up with a shallow depth of field with his mother - as his mother is in the foreground out of focus giving advice, Edgar is seen in contemplation, in focus in the background - this is a visual representation of his mother being a source of wisdom, in times of trouble. In many ways, the film explores the dynamic of family in different and visually pleasing avenues.

Interpersonal relationships is the third and last theme that remains to be consistent, and is the common denominator with both family and religion. It also is the origin of the main dilemma of the film - a struggle between Edgar and his family against the community - this is introduced to us early on in the film. In Edgar’s house, we see a mob of people forming in front of their doorstep demanding for their money back - with the use of low angle long shot from Edgar’s perspective, as well as following sequences using high angle shots from the mob’s perspective, the juxtaposition seen in the cinematography reinforces the larger-than-life power that the people have over Edgar and his family. This is further emphasised in the succeeding sequence, where Edgar and his wife get robbed. The director uses back lighting combined with a medium long shots, with only Edgar and Kaye being identifiable as contrast to the seemingly anonymous mob. Unfortunately the film departs on this theme for the majority of the film, giving emphasis on the way Edgar finds solutions to solve their financial situations. How the superwant for this film is solved is through Edgar’s negotiations with the debt collector, and this is where the film loses a bit of its capacity for storytelling - it shifts from a ‘family v. community’ dilemma to ‘Edgar vs. debt collector’ .

If there were any thematic criticisms that I have to make, I wish that there would have been non-diegetic narratives told by Edgar from time to give off a sense of mental progression. Movies that exploit and make satire of social norms, like American Psycho and The Wolf of Wall Street, do this with great effectiveness, as both are exposés of their respective cultural norms as well. As much as follow us were employed to the initial themes that the film introduced earlier on, only one or two sequences informed the audience of how the situation is going, with reference to the Bishop an the debt collector. A significant part of the film was used to portray Edgar at work, which honestly, seemed inessential and a way of being a filler.

Overall though, Honor Thy Father drives its point home well in its use of cinematography, mis-en-scene, and sound and editing. All of the salient techniques used in each facet worked effectively in asserting the main theme of the film. American Psycho tier? Not necessarily, but not offensive by any stretch of the imagination.

References:

American Psycho (2000): Individuality through Conformity [Thematic Analysis], YouTube, May/2016

“MOVIE REVIEW: Honor Thy Father (2015) - Film Police Reviews”, Zinampan, December/2015

Notes:

Yes, American Psycho is used as a basis of comparison. Both films make use of exploring societal norms and challenging them through the use of a pivotal figure. It was also one of the first decent films that I appreciated through contemplation, so there is a personal bias. Yes, I used a YouTube video of a thematic analysis of A.P as a template on how to attack this requirement. Explains why I have the video cited. A blog post about Honor Thy Father’s narrative was also used to make sure that I had my head on straight and understood the film correctly.