‘The Hearing’ REVIEW: To Be Seen and Heard
‘The Hearing’ REVIEW: To Be Seen and Heard
Madonna (Mylene Dizon) hugs Lucas (Enzo Osorio) while both of them are in near tears | Photo taken from the official Cinemalaya website
Content Warning: This review contains spoilers and discussions of plot details regarding pedophilia and sexual assault.
Lucas (Enzo Osorio) is a deaf boy loved by his parents Madonna (Mylene Dizon) and Dante (Nor Domingo) and his younger brother who isn’t deaf (Ruslan Jacob Asumbrado). Dante goes out to sea to fish for most of the day, so Madonna is often left with her young boys. While she takes great care of her children, she puts a lot of focus on Lucas. She makes a huge effort to understand his wants and needs.
They live in a tiny fishing village, where the local church is an integral part of their community. This is where everyone convenes, from ordinary locals to small government officials like their barangay captain. Among them is Madonna, who brings along her kids to church while serving in the church’s duties.
Part of the reason why the church is so beloved is thanks to Father Mejor (Rom Factolerin). He is known for being kind, friendly and devout, with a lot of credibility to back up his trustworthy reputation. After a mass and celebratory feast, the kids were tasked to bring leftovers to Father Mejor’s house. As soon as they were done, they were asked to leave. Except for Lucas.
The unspeakable happens: Father Mejor rapes Lucas.
Madonna (Mylene Dizon) comforts Lucas (Enzo Osorio) as they both cry with no hesitation | Photo taken from the official Cinemalaya website
Once Madonna and Dante find out what happened, they decide to pursue a case against Father Mejor. It is during the trial that they cross paths with Maya (Ina Feleo). Maya has done a lot of tremendous work supporting deaf people: her day job is teaching sign language at a school for deaf children and she takes care of her deaf aunt at home. She is also assigned to court cases involving deaf people as their interpreter, and Lucas’ court case is her latest one.
However, Maya leads a troubled life. He is married to an abusive husband (Rome Mallari) who has total control of her. Maya is aware how awful her situation is, but the abuse she suffered has become so severe that she can’t talk about it to anyone. Fighting back is even more unlikely.
At its core, the film is about a deaf boy fighting to be heard in the court of law with the help of a sign language interpreter who couldn’t speak up about her own abuse. Even the film’s title The Hearing is a loaded use of wordplay, where you can wring out several meanings and connotations as it relates to the film’s plot.
That's why when I first read the premise for The Hearing, my kneejerk reaction was both curiosity and suspicion. While filmmaker Lawrence Fajardo is no stranger to tackling stories about the oppressed, even within Cinemalaya with films like Amok and Posas, I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrow. It is easy to spot the ironies and parallels The Hearing is built on. It feels too calculated and obvious, which might result in a film that favors shock on top of shallow sociopolitical commentary.
I’m glad to be proven wrong! For the most part, The Hearing builds upon the easy ironies and parallels of its premise to create an immersive legal drama that prioritizes victims of abuse and sexual assault above everything else.
Dante (Nor Domingo), Lucas (Enzo Osorio), and Madonna (Mylene Dizon) sitting inside of a utility van | Photo taken from the official Cinemalaya website
The cast is the easy draw here. They have assembled a crackerjack ensemble without a single weak link, even down to the tertiary characters. Neil Tolentino and Ruby Ruiz portray the barangay captain and one of the ardent parishioners respectively, who remain loyal to Father Mejor even after a criminal charge was filed against him.
Both of these characters could’ve been presented as cartoonish henchmen who represent the worst aspects of society they are standing in for, but the performers handle them with care. They are flawed people too absorbed by Father Mejor’s good deeds and what he represents to take care of the people who need it the most, which makes them more infuriating to watch.
Of course, the standouts are housed within the family. Nor Domingo is a somewhat aloof yet supportive father as Dante, who may not fully understand his son but loves him so much he’s willing to fight for him regardless of what their community thinks.
Mylene Dizon exudes so much warmth and care as Madonna that it’s heartbreaking to see the dawning realization that a terrible violation happened to her son. Ruslan Jacob Asumbrado’s role may not be as prominent as the others, but he provides comfort and companionship to his older brother that comes off as genuine.
Lucas (Enzo Osorio) cries while staring at the camera | Photo taken from the official Cinemalaya website
Most impressive of all is Enzo Osorio. As Lucas, he is a gentle wallflower of a kid who may not have lots of friends but loves being around his family. After the attack, his shyness becomes a form of distance as he processes what happens to him. He begins to sulk on his own until he breaks down in tears. He cowers in fear. He rages with fierce intensity.
And what makes it heartbreaking is that he is just a child. It’s an astounding performance from Osorio, who is able to portray such a wide spectrum of emotions after having gone through such a traumatic event. It is through his performance as Lucas and his interactions with the rest of his family where the heart of the film lies. This is even the case for Maya, who becomes Lucas’ voice in the courtroom. Their strength and affection for each other is clear even before the tragic event, and this is what these characters rely on as the trial forges on.
They will need it too, because the world they navigate is wrought with poverty and institutional decay. The film takes its time to familiarize us to the world they live in and lets us experience the barriers and limitations they are facing even before the assault. There aren’t enough resources the government can provide in their town that they have to take a boat ride to the city to gain access to them.
The few times that they get decent support is thanks to Father Mejor and his connections. It’s not a surprise that Madonna is so patient and understanding to Lucas, because beyond the fact that she is her child, there are no services within the town who can accommodate his needs.
This becomes more pronounced when they have to rely on these institutions for help. As much as people within the system want to provide them with support on filing a criminal charge and proceeding with the trial, they are hampered by the lack of critical support to help a deaf kid such as Lucas. Police officers from the women and children’s desk do not know how to communicate with him. The investigation and the trial themselves become traumatizing and dehumanizing for Lucas, who wants nothing but justice.
All of this is hinged on the film’s main formal hook, one that I’d love for viewers to experience on their own. It’s not even mentioned in the materials provided by Cinemalaya, and the film’s 30-second teaser only hints at it. So if you’d like to be surprised, please skip the paragraphs between the next two images below.
A group of parishioners walking on the shore stares at someone beyond the frame | Photo taken from the official Cinemalaya website
It all comes down to perspective. The whole film is shot in first-person, which means we see and hear the world through someone’s eyes and ears. This is the most critical aspect of The Hearing’s ability to immerse the audience to this grueling ordeal.
Each injustice feels more visceral as we are put in the shoes of Maya, Lucas, and the rest of his family. Even if the perspective shifts to those who are enacting an act of transgression, the film never relishes in their pain. The narrative is always on their side, and it emphasizes how systems and people can be so cavalier about hurting others even with their good intentions.
It commits to this idea so strongly that when the perspective shifts to Lucas, the film approximates his form of deafness often through a subjective lens. It may be a bit odd to say for a film that tackles serious material, but there is a sense of playfulness in its sound design. While we might hear faint vibrations of the world and people around him, there are times when we hear nothing but absolute silence or the slow but rising thrum of its intense score. Yet it’s all in service of letting the audience know how Lucas is feeling at any moment.
Experiencing everything in first-person becomes a magnifying lens to view the world. It highlights how the systems in place do no favors to the poor and marginalized when they are the most vulnerable to abuse. Combined with the societal inequities and cultural contexts it is placed in — from the unending influence of the patriarchy and the Catholic church to the herd mentality of small, tight-knit communities — it only compounds their suffering.
Maya (Ina Feleo) smiles while holding a cup of coffee | Photo taken from the official Cinemalaya website
These are all Cinemalaya staples, especially in this year’s lineup where there is a sense of urgency, anger, and specks of hope in the stories they’re telling. But it pushes that idea further to a more philosophical and spiritual place to ask: What does it mean to suffer in a world without divine intervention?
The film provides no easy answers, and it speaks to the film’s vast scope and ambition that it can even ask this question. But it is also the same approach that proves to be the film’s failing, as it overextends itself to cover everything the premise hints at. This is apparent in Maya’s story, which starts out as a complementary subplot to Lucas’ story to reveal another angle to view abuse.
But Lucas’ story takes over most of the film, so much so that Maya’s story becomes an afterthought, a faint echo of a promising narrative. It is a shame since Ina Feleo is fantastic as Maya, who radiates joy and strength to the people around her but all of that is sucked away once she gets near her husband.
Even with its shortcomings, what’s clear is its commitment to center the narrative on the victims of sexual assault. Filmmaker Lawrence Fajardo stated that his advocacy for making the film is to give voice to those highlighted in the distressing statistic that 70 percent of deaf children are sexually abused, regardless of their gender.
He mostly succeeded in this goal, using filmmaking as a device for empathy and possible change. The film’s conclusion underlines this fact in a way that might be divisive to many, but serves as the beginning of their journey from victims to survivors. They would need support from their own communities — as that, in itself, would be an effective preventive measure — but that would require a shift of perspective, viewing those who would be easily harmed by bad actors as human beings deserving of protection and understanding.
Deaf children deserve to be seen and heard.
‘The Hearing’ premiered on August 3, 2024 as part of the 20th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival under the Full Length Main Competition category.
