“The Missing/Iti Mapukpukan” is a unique and profoundly moving animation. It is a remarkable film that explores the long-term impact of child abuse, trauma, and overcoming grief to find happiness amid a chaotic world.
A coming-of-age story shot with rotoscoping featuring real actors. The animation, representing the Philippines at the 96th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, is surprisingly compelling and engaging.
The well-developed drama introduces an extraordinary mute character trying to connect with others but struggling to open his heart, even to those he loves. His vivid imagination and mental challenges make Eric a relatable character.
Eric is beautifully portrayed by Gio Gahol (“Sila-sila,” “A Tale of Filipino Violence,” “Sana dati”). He is an outsider with psychological issues who immediately draws the audience in with emotional themes such as compassion, sadness, and curiosity about the future.
Eric is a mute animator who, when he experiences a mental breakdown, loses other parts of his body. A similar scene appears in the French traditional animation “I Lost My Body,” which was also nominated.
The deep symbolism behind losing his mouth suggests that he cannot speak about the trauma he endured as a small child when he was too helpless to defend himself.
Growing up as a quiet boy made him a target for bullying at school. Now, he is a very introverted individual.
At work, Eric begins dating Carlo, played by Carlo Aquino (“Love You Long Time,” “Bar Boys”), who seems to care for his new friend. Their relationship starts to spiral out of control due to Eric’s mental episodes.
His busy mother, Rosalinda, is excellently portrayed by Academy Award nominee Dolly De Leon (“Triangle of Sadness”). She is unaware of Eric’s past but accepts her son’s sexual preference with love and understanding. She knows her son has become mute but doesn’t understand why.
They communicate via video chat using Eric’s whiteboard. Over the phone, she asks him to investigate her missing brother. When Eric enters his uncle’s house, the overwhelming smell and the flies worsen his nightmares. During this intense moment, Carlo’s deep love cannot stop the alien invasion and chaos inside Eric’s mind. In this devastating process, kindness and care serve as a catharsis to ease the immense pain the young boy carries.
The Filipino-Ilocano production is directed by award-winning filmmaker Carl Joseph Papa (“The Unforgetting,” “Paglisa”), who aimed to tell a very personal story based on his own experiences and interviews he conducted to shed light on the children who have been sexually abused in the archipelago.
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| Award-winning filmmaker, Carl Joseph Papa |
Joseph Papa filmed with actors over four consecutive days on a green screen, then spent nine months in post-production using rotoscoping techniques. This style was chosen to create confusion and to make viewers question what was real. He also combined 2D animation to depict Eric’s memories buried deep in his mind, stuck somewhere in his childhood.
As a child, Eric was more talkative and outspoken. Now, as an adult, he is nostalgic and timid.
In the U.S., Disney’s “Fantasia” and “Anastasia” were produced using rotoscoping, where live-action actors are recorded first, then animated afterward.
Director Richard Linklater used this technique to create the existentialist film “Waking Life,” and later, the suspenseful thriller “Scanner Darkly,” featuring Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and Robert Downey Jr.
Other animated films employing this method include the Polish movie “Loving Vincent” and this year’s Oscar entry “The Peasants,” which used a similar detailed post-production process.
Winner of the Balanghai Trophy at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and nominated for the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Foreign Film at the Palm Springs Film Festival 2024, “The Missing” is the Philippines’ official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
“The Missing” is the first animated film with an LGBTQ+ central character submitted to the Academy. The Philippines has never been nominated in that category, and the director feels honored to represent his country internationally and to all the talented Filipino animators.
“The Missing” is a profound and transcendent Filipino masterpiece waiting to be recognized by a global audience.
