Edward (2019) worked so well as a tender coming-of-age story and a social criticism of the state of public health in the country.
The one-shot opening was masterfully filmed, but also one of the most important scenes. It shed light on just how poor our public hospitals are. It's chaotic and disturbing. But the way it shifted to Edward (brilliantly portrayed by young actor Louise Abuel) and his friend Renz (Elijah Canlas) making light of the whole situation they've grown accustomed with was darkly funny and a great introduction to the stellar lead.
The dialogue flowed so naturally between characters that, along with the continuously moving camera following the protagonist on the labyrinthine hospital halls and ward rooms, it almost felt like eavesdropping on real people.
The fact that the grim hospital served as the backdrop for the story could be an argument for the film to be dubbed as poverty porn. But in its 82-minute run, it didn't feel as such. The camera was set from Edward's point of view and he saw the perpetually crowded hallways and the under-ventilated rooms as his playground. He saw it as such because it became his world and he had to compensate. However to the viewers, it's not our reality. We aren't accustomed to people betting on someone's life in the E.R. whether he'd live or not. This discomfort of watching Edward play in the hospital hallways and room with wheelchairs and gurneys only strengthened the main purpose of the film: to criticize the state of our public hospitals.
Director Thop Nazareno, who co-wrote the script with John Paul Bedia, incorporated some subtle but sharp digs that showed that the disorder of public hospitals are so much more than the things we usually see, e.g., overflowing patients in the emergency room and lack of medical equipment. At one point, the resident doctor for Edward's father (Dido de la Paz) advised the patient that he would be endorsing him to a new physician, citing the reason that he would be migrating with his family. And another scene where the nurse exclaimed to Edward that there were not only shortage of nurses in the hospital, but also of doctors. But really, one of the most disturbing scenes shown in the film was that it took three weeks for the laboratory results for Edward's father to be released because the hospital didn't have the equipment for it.
The climax up to the end was simply unforgettable. At first, I thought Edward was simply rescuing Agnes from the filthy, twisted hands of the funeral homes' and morgue helper, but when it was revealed where he was carrying her to, I was deeply saddened. It was a tender moment, underlined by a somber score by Pepe Manikan, delivered skillfully by Abuel. But the scene that really cemented the young actor's bright future was the ending. It was simple enough: Edward crying on his own. But as the camera slowly panned out to reveal the extent of tragedy Edward was experiencing and when, finally, he saw the actual reality of the world he was living in, it was heartbreaking. Until the screen went black, Abuel's cries echoed and lingered.
In 82 minutes, director Nazareno and his remarkable cast delivered amazing performances that are both part heartbreaking and eye-opening. Edward (2019) is an essential viewing.
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