Review for

Disoriented

Chad'z rating: **1/2 (out of 4 = okay/average)

1999, no MPAA rating, 90 minutes [1 hour, 30 minutes]

[drama]

Starring: Francisco Aliwalas (West Cordova), Potri Ranica Manis (Mrs. Cordova), Wayland Quintero (Eduardo `Danger' Cordova); produced by Douglas Bachman; written and directed by Francisco Aliwalas

Seen May 13, 1999 at 9:10 p.m. at The Spectrum Theatre (Albany, NY), theater #5, by myself for $7. [Theater rating: ***: good seats, picture and sound]

[Critic's note: This film is about as independent as they come. It's so small that it hasn't been picked up by a distributor (yet) and it's not even listed on the Internet Movie Database. The director grew up and went to school in Guilderland, N.Y. which is only a few miles from Schenectady where I live.

According to information I've read on some film festival web pages, Aliwalas went to film school at Rochester Institute of Technology and shot this film in Albany and Guilderland sometime in 1996 or 1997 (although there's no specific references to the date and location of the story). However, I'm using the release date of 1999 just to maintain some kind of continuity.

In April, Aliwalas lent the film to The Spectrum Theatre (the only arthouse theater in the Capital District) to be shown as a regular movie. The first few showings he held question and answer sessions about the film, which I'm ashamed to admit I missed. The film played there for about a month and I didn't have time to see it until its very last showing!

Anyway, I'm hoping that by reviewing the film and posting my review on the Internet it will get more attention and possibly a listing on the IMDb. The only problem is I haven't been able to get a copy of the complete cast and crew (my apologies to all those I missed).]

If we're to believe what the movies tell us, drama only comes in a few shapes and forms, with those being on really big scales and of events and emotions so major and powerful they're the kind that can only happen in movies. But then there's `Disoriented,' a film that's pretty small in just about every way, but has a quaint charm to it, showing that powerful drama (or sometimes melodrama) can be found at the local level.

Drama is probably the easiest genre to work with as a first-time filmmaker on a tight budget because it doesn't require special effects or a lot of props or fantastic scenery (and yes, that old cliche is true - it's harder to do comedy than drama). Rookie filmmaker Francisco Aliwalas probably realized this and put together a story that could be told and filmed entirely in the Capital District of Albany, N.Y.

Aliwalas himself stars as West Cordova, a 20-something-year-old Filipino-American who's a struggling pre-med student living at home with his overbearing, conservative, traditional Catholic mother (Manis) who obviously hasn't so much guided him in life as she has pushed him. The two live in a section of their city that's not where the people well-off would live, but isn't the crack slums either. West works part time as a deliverer of Chinese take-out while his mother is a maid at a sleazy motel.

Aliwalas is quick to establish the setting of the story, giving us that feeling that things haven't been and probably won't be easy for this family. We also learn that Mr. Cordova left the family 10 years ago for a younger woman and the other son, Eduardo `Danger' Cordova (Quintero), who was a sports prodigy in high school, hasn't been seen in a while either.

The film's first act does a fine job in establishing all the problems and conflicts in West's life, and most of them will pale in comparison to what will happen to him later on in the story. The first thing the film is able to convey well, and what is one of the most important aspects of the theme and atmosphere, is just how overbearing West's mother is. Some might say she's in a state of denial about the family and the problems she faces on a daily basis, but it's not so much that factor as it is her upbringing. She comes from a different culture and can't really comprehend modern American society, so she sticks to the traditions and values she knows.

Mrs. Cordova's character is surprisingly easy to relate to because she doesn't just represent culture clash but generational clash, which is something everyone can relate to.

And with clash comes conflict and in the case of this film it comes in the form of the return of Danger who is still as seemingly jocular as ever, but with one major change - he's gay.

Instead of launching right into emotional battles between Danger, West and Mrs. Cordova, the film decides to take it slow as West convinces his brother to remain closeted while he stays at home for a week or so. There are a few occasional outbursts between Danger and his mother, but they serve mostly as transitions from scene to scene and remind us there's a heavy dramatic tone to the mostly-lighthearted film.

And yes, the film is rather lighthearted in the midst of the drama. Although the tensions between the Cordova family are the biggest thematic element, a few other sub-plots crop up which are at least interesting. The best of these is a friendship which develops between West and another Filipino man named Speedy Sparkles, who owns and runs a car wash. The two seem to have a natural bond immediately and when Speedy begins offering West pieces of sage advice it doesn't seem out of the ordinary. However, their mentor/protege relationship seems to move a bit too fast. It's hard to believe that two strangers would be so nice to each other, especially in the way it's filmed here which seems like something out of `Sesame Street.'

Another interest sidebar is West's meeting and fascination with a Japanese girl named Minniko, who also meets and gets to know just by being very nice. Minniko doesn't have much direction in life either other than she wants to be a model and more American. She even puts up with an obnoxious, almost racist boyfriend named Manny which doesn't seem to make sense. Later, when West tries to win her over, the two never really seem attracted to each other. Their friendship or allegedly romantic relationship has a very forced feeling to it. Perhaps they come together out of loneliness, yet there's still an absence of chemistry.

For a film that has such a good mix of characters, conflicts and overall situations, the execution of the story is surprisingly weak. Perhaps Aliwalas gets in over his head by having so many dramatic sub-plots and other sidebars that the only way to resolve every conflict is through melodrama (specific examples of this would serve as spoilers to those who haven't seen the film, but let's just say they're things that have been done before and seem out of place here).

Every character is so perfectly poised to knock down at least one other character it's just a bit too much to swallow. And when things do finally come to their individual climaxes the drama, which had been tight, believable and realistic all along, takes a turn for the melodramatic in what seems to be efforts just to please the audience. The [happy] ending is pretty much proof of this.

Although `Disoriented' has some problems, they are forgivable for the most part. Even during the times of sheer and pure drama for the sake of drama, the film consistently remains interesting to watch and does through in a few surprises here and there.

        5/17/99

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