“It clearly has the audience in its grasp throughout the film, but when all is said and done the message it wants to convey plays second fiddle to all of its over-the-top humor.”

Five years after his last feature, Kip Oebanda returns to the festival circuit with Balota, a film that highlights the sanctity and integrity of elections as seen from the scope of a fictional local town. Set in 2007, when local elections in the Philippines were still done manually by casting your ballots via pen and paper, a teacher goes to great lengths and hides in a forest to protect the last remaining ballot box, which contains the last remaining copy of the election results.

The film captures the local election setting all too well, from annoying yet effective campaign jingles by incompetent candidates to their pre-election corruption preparations for vote-buying in the slums. This is the reality of any local election in the Philippines – people being forced to choose between lesser evils instead of an ideal candidate, with contenders ranging from political dynasties to has-been celebrities cashing in on previous popularity under the guise of being willing to help the people and bring them out of poverty. In the film, a former sexy star and a land-grabbing tycoon are both vying to become the town’s mayor, with the latter up for reelection.

Oebanda went the route of using humor and a satirical approach to put out his message, emphasizing the importance and role of elections to a town like this and to its citizens. In a way, I understand where he’s coming from. He mentioned using the 2022 national elections (and their devastating results) as some sort of reference while making this film – that feeling of being part of a broken system that seems to be a chicken-and-egg situation. Sometimes, the best way to feel the pain is by laughing it away.

However, Balota falters a bit with its decision to fully embrace the humor rather than make a truly chilling statement. In a way, it feels hindering. It clearly has the audience in its grasp throughout the film, but when all is said and done the message it wants to convey plays second fiddle to all of its over-the-top humor.

The film’s greatest asset is the sheer genius of casting popular actress Marian Rivera in the lead role of Teacher Emmy. Rivera fits the role like a glove, which makes you wonder if the role was written with her especially in mind. She brings the needed spunk and pizzazz of this strict instructor, who clearly practices the values she teaches in school outside of the four walls of her classroom. She’s funny and fierce, sometimes even simultaneously, and Rivera switches between these depending on what the scene calls for. The dramatic moments kind of pale in comparison, but you’re already hooked.

Balota ties everything together at the end with a nice ribbon. In a way, it still gives some sort of optimism to a situation that feels repetitive and helpless. One can’t fault the film for still trying – with another election season happening in the Philippines in 2025, here’s hoping this imparted a call for change.