Intia, Rushelle I.

December 10, 2019

2 JRN 1 Professor Castillo

Anino through the lens of Realism

The film Anino presents and mirrors the ugly truth of the Philippines in various ways. In 2009,

Raymond Red's Anino was released, which was later on won the Palme d’Or du court métrage

award. Anino is a short-film starring Ronnie Lazaro, John Arcilla, and with the late actor Eddie

Garcia. The film is about a photographer who came to Manila to earn some money, and as he

wanders in Manila, he met three people. First, the man in black who's standing outside the church.

Second, the kid who stole his camera. Lastly, the man who's driving an expensive car. These people

changed his life.

Looking through the lens of Realism, the film has a lot to say about the fractured society today.

“No money anywhere.”

The film shows corruption and poverty. In the first part of the film, the photographer said to the

man in black that he came from the province to earn some money in Manila. This shows the typical

mindset of every Filipino, especially from the provinces, wherein they think that going to Manila

will make their lives easier. Moreover, Through the scenes, cinematography or images, and the

color of the film that was employed, corruption and poverty were visible in various forms. The

film shows poverty by showing the people living in the slum area, kids wearing ragged clothes,

feces flowing in the sidewalk's canal. As for corruption, the textual evidence is when a police

officer was seen taking money from a person in a hidden way.

“... that job’s dead. Nobody will hire you.”

The film shows the challenges of a photographer wherein he faced different issues, including

discriminations, financial problems, and rejections, which are still relevant today. Harsh words

were thrown by the man in black to the photographer in the film, saying, "You know... that job's

dead. Nobody will hire you. Nobody needs photos taken anymore."

“You’re a thief... You’re an opportunist... You’re a user!”

People take advantage of what they see and what they have, and this is evident in one of the scenes

of the film. The man in black accused the photographer of an opportunist, thief, and a user because

he takes photos of people's faces, which signifies that people are willing to do anything just to earn

money.

"Do you want me to take your photo?"

In the first half of the film, the photographer has encountered a kid who stole not only his camera

but also his hope and happiness. The sadness and hopelessness surrounded the photographer as the

film’s color turned more yellow-ish and blue-ish. This scenario mirrors societies and people today

in various forms. For instance, today, people are taking the next generation's hope for the good

future.

"Are you deaf?"

Lastly, the film shows how awful it is to be poor. In the film, the photographer was seen fighting

with the rich man who drives an expensive car. This scene does not only implies disparity between

the rich and the poor, but it also entails that one is poor by wearing a simple attire, and the other is

rich by wearing a visually-expensive clothes. The scene also implies that the photographer was

barred from voicing out by the rich man, which resulted in social injustice. Social injustice is

common in poor people for decades.

20 years have passed, and the scenarios in the film are still relevant today. The film presented the

ugly truth of the Philippines and the state of some Filipinos who are being deprived because of

their socioeconomic status in life and the environment they live in.