By ABIGAIL M. ADRIATICO
AT A YOUNG AGE, a child is introduced to the concept of responsibility by their parents or guardians. While it can be taught in various ways, the lesson they wish to impart holds great importance to children as they grow up and enter the real world.
Directed by Aina Eunice Viray, Itlog is one of the exhibition films for this year’s Sine Reel, an annual film-making competition that features short films produced by fourth-year students of the UST Communication Arts Students’ Association (CASA). The short film is now streaming for free on iWantTFC.
Focusing on the struggles of responsibility, the short film follows a mischievous young boy named Miggy (Juan Carlos Tamayo). The story begins when he was entrusted to keep an egg intact for a whole day by his mother, Maricar (Camille Dominique Salvacion). After accidentally breaking it, Miggy goes on a troublesome journey to find a replacement before his mother comes home.
The film takes on a whimsical tone aided by its musical scoring. It also features playful melodies that highlight the theme of childhood innocence. However, there are moments when the sound effects fail to amplify comedic scenes, leaving an awkward effect. An example of this is when Miggy drops the egg and a long beep sound is played while the camera focuses on the boy’s hands cleaning the mess.
It is made clear that the story is told from a child’s perspective—through how Miggy deals with his mistake, the film gives further emphasis on the thought process of a young boy who is afraid to face the consequences of his actions.
After being reprimanded for his misbehavior, Miggy is motivated to hide the fact that he broke the egg to avoid getting scolded again. He even goes out of his way to cover up his mistake instead of owning up to it. His choice also comes with the consequence of guilt haunting him up until the film’s end.
Despite it being framed in a comedic manner, lying to avoid the consequences of an unfulfilled responsibility remains timely and relevant. In these trying times, there are far too many occurrences of authorities failing to uphold their responsibilities. They opt to deceive their constituents rather than be held accountable for their actions. This is an issue that the film addresses through its young protagonist who learned to be accountable for his deeds by admitting his fault in the end. With a run time of only 14 minutes, Itlog manages to display a lighthearted story with a deeper message through its playful premise. It imparts the valuable lesson that no matter the responsibility, one must always be accountable for their actions. F
