Suffers from a ceaselessly roving camera and overuse of shaky handhelds, as well as even less successful editing tropes, and some very fake-looking blood.
Comment
03/01/07
Cavite (2006)
73 %
Reviews Counted: 40 Fresh: 29 Rotten:11 Average Rating: 6.4/10
Consensus:
A gritty, low-budget thriller, Cavite takes us on a heart-pounding ride through the seedy Filipino underworld.
Runtime: 80 mins
Synopsis: In the town of Cavite, Philippines, people will do just about anything to survive. This is the harsh reality for many Filipinos living in a poverty stricken nation. Adam, an American citizen visiting his home country for his father's funeral, soon realizes this when he arrives at the... [More]
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Starring: Ian Gamazon, Dominique Gonzalez
Reviews
Arbitrarily arranged and awfully acted... proof positive that well-meaning creative wishes and savvy, low-fi merging of production means and narrative concept doesn't automatically produce heady results.
09/17/06
A harrowing but ultimately empty indie political thriller about Muslim terrorists.
08/23/06
Cavite...will probably be cited in years to come as a classic example of the post-9/11 action thriller
08/20/06
...there's...a certain unseemliness to the endeavor that is difficult to dismiss.
08/05/06
Its herky-jerky camcorder style, jump-cut editing and sustained takes soon wear out their welcome.
07/27/06
... cunning meditation on the birthing grounds of religious extremism ...
07/22/06
The budget for this film is one of those miniscule amounts when compared to a studio film, which just goes to show it's not how much you spend to make a movie, but what you put into it.
07/07/06
Cavite will go down in history as a classic of no-budget filmmaking, making such ingenious use of bare resources that it's a wonder the movie is an effective, even thoughtful thriller.
06/30/06
A thrilling and scary ride through the side streets of a third world that is rarely seen in the movies, and carries a revolutionary message that is frightening in its political implications.
06/29/06
Despite the shaky camera work, it's good to be reminded what talent and dedication can do in 10 days with less than $7,000.
06/24/06
Gamazon is a capable actor for this hard tour. He and Dela Llana filmed with the kind of brave hustle and bustle that plows vividly through glib touches, repetition, razzle effects and shocks that whomp us hard.
06/16/06
This is by no means a polished film. But it has an energy lacking in thrillers that cost hundreds times more to make.
06/16/06
The film maintains an impressive narrative momentum throughout, but its documentary details make the biggest impression.
06/13/06
a fresh bid for indie-thriller cred....[but] watching Gamazon and Dela Llana charge through their limitations is a bit like watching a sprinter run in clogs.
06/06/06
Though the film seldom deviates from its thriller format, Gamazon and Dela Llana astutely weave in matters of political, cultural and religious importance, elevating Cavite well above mere genre.
06/03/06
Top Critic
The film is a tender, unflinching look at the brutal conditions of life in the Philippines, its sympathy for its accidental subjects intertwined with a flexible, on-the-fly mode of filmmaking.
06/03/06
The directing duo brilliantly stretch the limits of their very low budget to moving aesthetic and dramatic effect.
06/01/06
One of those blistering no-budget thrillers, like Open Water or Detour, in which the film's economy of means is the trigger for its ingenuity.
05/31/06
A microbudget exercise in sensory overload that leaves you sick on all sorts of levels.
05/30/06
Related Forums
(ND/NF)-Filipino thriller CAVITE gets a NYC preem in the New Directors/New Films fest
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/13/06
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/13/06
(ND/NF)-Filipino thriller CAVITE gets a NYC preem in the New Directors/New Films fest
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/13/06
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(ND/NF)-Filipino thriller CAVITE gets a NYC preem in the New Directors/New Films fest
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/13/06
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/13/06
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