Reaction Paper on Mike de Leon’s AKΩ Batch 81’

Seen through the eyes of a neophyte, Sid Lucero whose goal is to be part of the fraternity Alpha Kappa Omega (AKΩ) the most popular fraternity in their university campus. 8 out of 15 neophytes interrogated pass the interview, each with different reasons for joining. The neophytes then become a subject of hazing and humiliation. Through each test the group becomes doubtful whether they should continue or not, they’re reasons become futile and the humiliation does not give them hope but Sid Lucero has his mind set on becoming one of the ‘Masters’ in AKΩ. He encourages the brotherhood to stay and if they argue he calls them a ‘simplidor’, he reasons that they’ve gone through many things together and to quit will just make the time they’ve spent useless. And so the show must go on, clad in their black stockings they dance the cabaret to a German song, Hitler’s insignia behind them, it is a show of brotherhood but amidst the fun, there are dangers ahead. A rival fraternity wants a fight and the AKΩ masters agree to it, the night ends with some of the members dead but the their brotherhood grows closer. The wait has been harsh and unforgiving but the 5 left of the neophytes finally become the masters they wished to be and the AKΩ brotherhood sings to their success.
Batch ’81 is a feature length film directed & written by Mike De Leon with Clodualdo Del Mundo Jr. and Raquel N. Villavicencio. The film reflects the reality and metaphors of living under the horrors of that time. Conformity, freedom, loyalty, identity and tyranny are seen throughout the narrative style of presenting the story. Mark Gil as Sid Lucero is remarkable and brings the hardness and tenacity of a man who wants to succeed but does not see how it sacrifices his individuality in the process, the rest of the cast, such as Noel Trinidad who creates the comic relief in contrast to the heaviness of the story. The framing is outstanding and is fluid, the way each scene is made to focus on a character’s expression and pan to the whole of the space. I watched it as if I were watching a modern film except that the sound had a certain beep to it (technology issues), also what makes the music ironic was during the ‘rambol’ of the rivalling frats wherein the music they used felt too comedic against the blood spurting and knife wielding scenes. They’ve also included props that showcased iconic historical figures, Hitler’s swastika which symbolizes oppression as felt under Marcos’ regime and Clockwork Orange’s main character which in this case signifies the unreasonable violence to ensue. The costumes were in their time, the 80’s were very much intact: the hairstyles, men with unbuttoned shirts up to their chests and tucked in fitted trousers and the way the characters spoke were very 80’s, of course this doesn’t mean that the story loses its timelessness.
To be honest, I could barely relate to this film and so I’ve read other reviews on this and it helped me understand why they’ve done this because for one I didn’t live through the 70/ 80’s nor did I feel the threat of Marcos’ regime. My age though does not stop me from imagining the gruel circumstances that lead to Batch 81’s story of power and the difficult ways to achieve it under a “master” that we cannot question. I have only heard from the adults, history classes and news how the world ran in those years. I enjoyed the film and made me question how come today’s mainstream film makers opt to create movies that have recycled storylines over and over again when we can have films like this.

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