''Trap'' ( tl, Taklub) is a 2015 Filipino

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Brillante Mendoza Brillante "Dante" Mendoza (born 30 July 1960) is a Filipino independent filmmaker. Mendoza is known one of the key members associated with the Filipino New Wave. Career He was born and raised in San Fernando, Pampanga. He took advertising ...

and starring

Nora Aunor Nora Cabaltera Villamayor (born May 21, 1953), professionally known as Nora Aunor (), is a Filipino actress, recording artist, and film producer. Aunor has also appeared in several stage plays, television shows and concerts. She is known as Ph ...

, Julio Diaz,

Lou Veloso Luciano "Lou" Mariñas Veloso (born January 7, 1948) is a Filipino actor, comedian, director and politician. He is known for his supporting roles in over 30 comedy films, which include ''Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang'' (1985), ''Pulis Patola'' (1993 ...

and Aaron Rivera. ''Taklub'' centers on the survivors in the aftermath of the Super Typhoon Haiyan that devastated the central part of the Philippines, especially

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban ( war, Syudad han Tacloban; fil, Lungsod ng Tacloban), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The city is autonomous from the province of Leyte, a ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

and how they picked up their lives a year after the typhoon. It was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...

. At Cannes it won a commendation awarded by the Ecumenical Jury.

Cast

as Bebeth * Julio Diaz as Larry *

as Renato * Aaron Rivera as Erwin * Ruby Ruiz as Kagawad Duke * Soliman Cruz * Rome Mallari as Marlon * Shine Santos * John Rendez * Glenda Kennedy

Production

After

Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...

struck the Philippines in 2013, director Brillante Mendoza was asked by others if he would make a film about the disaster, to which he thought could be insensitive for him to exploit the tragedies that have occurred for the victims' lives. Some months later, he was asked by the

Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( fil, Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman, DENR or KKLY) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for governing and supervising the exploration, developmen ...

to create a documentary film about climate change. For it to have a better impact towards audiences, Mendoza suggested to make a narrative film instead. In preparing for her role,

interviewed some of the people in

, a city heavily damaged by the typhoon.

Release

''Trap'' was screened on 19 May 2015 in the

section at the

68th Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...

. It was also shown at the

Sarajevo Film Festival The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War, and brings internation ...

. The film was also part of the 9th Film and Arts Festival Two Riverside in Poland, the 15th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival in Poland, the 28th Helsinki International Film Festival and the 20th Busan International Film.

Reception

Maggie Lee of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it "an intimate yet detached portrait of survivors of Typhoon Yolanda". Clarence Tsui of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote that the film "proves to be very much in line with the director's trademark vision of the world as a bleak, imperfect if not even hopeless place". ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' described it as "a choral film shot in urgent, handheld, docu-drama style that illuminates the tragedy and its aftermath via an intertwined series of personal stories". Manny Lima of ''Telegra'' praised the film, saying "Every aspect of their lives from having to fend for themselves due to slow progress of rescue, and the grief they have over their lost loved ones are shown in vivid detail." 20 June 2020 He did however, criticized the use of the Tagalog language rather than Native Waray.

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trap 2015 films 2015 drama films Philippine drama films Philippine disaster films Filipino-language films Films about natural disasters in the Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Films directed by Brillante Mendoza 2010s English-language films