WARNING:

This review contains spoilers for the Cinemalaya 2020 Main Competition Shorts Entry “Living Things”. Read at your own risk.

REVIEWER’S RATINGS: 8/10

SYNOPSIS: Kints and Charles have been together for almost a decade. One day, Kints wakes up and discovers that her lover has changed, literally. Although troubled at first, she eventually understands that what happened is a natural phenomenon. Through this, she is reminded that people change all the time and love can change people.

The film introduces the two main characters, Kints and Charles, at the opening scene. The following scenes let us in their relationship — how they bond, how they do things as a couple, the arguments, and the conversations. We can see that they are a very fun and happy couple, but with a decade of being together, Kints has started to see some changes in Charles.

Then one day, Charles changed. Literally. Into a cardboard version of himself. Although slightly taken aback, Kints does not seem that surprised by what happened. She struggles to adjust at first, but eventually, she accepts the fact and decides also to change for Charles.

Living Things was fully shot using only a Huawei Mate30 Pro phone and the difference only shows with the aspect ratio of the film, but other than that, every scene is beautifully taken. The color grading has a very retro feel to it, together with the soundtracks that they used.

The actors who in real life are also named Kristine Kintana (Kints) and Charles Salazar, acted very natural without a hit of awkwardness. They did justice to the characters that they were playing.

Change is inevitable, and whether we like it or not. We may see a change in other people, and other people may see changes in us, too. Sometimes, we also see ourselves change. But like what Kints did in the film, it’s up to us how we will accept change and what we will do after the fact.