The Politics of Art & Authenticity

Bwakaw  is a film that is a cross-genre between a comedy and a tragedy. The director, Jun Robles Lana, handles this approach by making the tragedy portrayed through the main character, Rene. Rene is constantly being surrounded by death. He actually waits for death to come upon him and consistently checks and writes his will. However, death actually approaches everyone before himself.

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The comedy part of the film is portrayed through the characterization of Rene. Rene can be characterized as bitter because he doesn’t want to interact with people. He refuses to talk to people because he wants to just leave the world and be alone. The reason for his bitterness is because his inability to accept who he is as a person and that he lied about his life for the one girl he has ever been with. He tries to run away from the person he truly is. Due to his bitterness, Rene constantly gives back witty remarks to the people he does interact with such as his neighbor, his best friend, and the cab driver who he soon realizes that he falls in love with. Not only does Lana use witty comments for the use of comedy, he also uses Rene’s actions to provide a sense of humor in a somewhat tragic situation. For example, when the funeral home closes down and they tell Rene that he must take his coffin home. Rene lives in the coffin in the living room and decides to see how it feels to be laying in the coffin. Of course, it’s not something a person would normally do, but it just shows  the comedic approach the director tries to bring to the audience in a serious matter such as death. The use of a comedy as a relief through a serious moment, I believe, is what makes Lana an auteur.

The title character, Bwakaw, is a symbol throughout the film. Bwakaw is the only interaction that Rene has that is genuine and shows the soft side of him. When Bwakaw gets cancer, Rene to see that death is approaching everyone around him, but himself. He even says that Bwakaw wasn’t suppose to die before him. The moment Rene finds out about Bwakaw sickness, he starts to change his habits and the way he is. Bwakaw is a symbol of Rene’s turning point. At first, Rene was bitter and didn’t want to have anything to do with the world anymore which is why he continued to push people out of his life. Along with pushing people out of his life, he put everything he owned in boxes and made a list as to what box would go to who after he passed. However, the moment Rene finds out that Bwakaw has cancer, he realizes that he can’t live for death, he has to live life and not wait for death to come. That is when he decides to redecorate his house and fix all the broken falls and floors around his house. The moment Bwakaw dies, Rene realizes that life is too short to just sit and wait for death and that is where he starts to unpack all his boxes and decorate his house. Bwakaw is symbolic of Rene’s change from a bitter, old man to trying to live what he has left of his life rather than waiting for death to approach him.

Bwakaw was a very comedic yet serious film that I enjoyed watching. Not only was it comedic, but it brings to light that people should not wait for death or wait for something and they should just live the life they have.