Earlier this week, Kazuhisa Hashimoto passed away at the age of 61. Known as the inventor of the Konami Code — ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B, A, Start — gamers of certain age mourned the programmer’s death, as part of their youth went him. The reminder of the infamous cheat code conjured memories of the excitement of unwrapping a fresh cartridge, bleary-eyed evenings trying to beat your favorite game, and how 8-bit pixels and music could help forge deep, lasting friendships. Director Raya Martin targets the spirit of those halcyon days of button-mashing and coming-of-age in “Death Of Nintendo.” While the film is content to run through the familiar motions of the genre, its distinctly Filipino story and sweetness of the performances keep it just interesting enough to vibe with its shambling style.
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The 1990s-set story follows 13-year-old Paolo (Noel Comia Jr.), and his two best friends — Kachi (John Vincent Servilla) and Gilligan (Jigger Sementilla) — who have a foolproof plan to accelerate into manhood. With hormones raging and tired of being on the receiving end of local bully Jimbo (Cayden Williams), the trio plot a trip to the countryside where they believe circumcision by a witch doctor will turn them from boys into men (the practice of Tuli is a tradition in the Phillippines). If that’s not enough to pre-occupy them, Paolo is nursing a crush on preppy girl Shiara (Elijah Alejo), Gilligan’s sister and frequent companion to the trio, Mimaw (Kim Chloe Oquendo), has her own feelings for Paolo, meanwhile, Mount Pinatubo, serving as an environmental metaphor for the boys’ roiling emotions, is nearly about to burst. It’s a lot of plot and story elements (there’s even more), and yet “Death Of Nintendo” often feels shapeless, pinging from one half-sketched episode to another, yet rarely gaining any narrative or emotional momentum.
Written by Valerie Castillo Martinez, there is something of a ticking clock to the story, as the film builds toward Christianity’s Holy Week and essentially culminates around Easter. On top of that, she weaves in the ghostly legend of the White Lady. Again, this is a lot, particularly for a movie that barely lopes over the 90-minute mark. And while there is plenty of potential here for the various story strands to complement and contrast with each other, and perhaps offer a more layered and richer insight into coming-of-age in a deeply Christian society, unfortunately, there’s no greater design in the script. Or if there is, there are so many strands of story, that it’s difficult to allow much room for nuance.
To that end, there’s no illusion about the kind of film being made by the “Death Of Nintendo” technical team. Cinematographer Ante Cheng aggressively lights the film, pushing the already naturally sunlit setting even further, giving the picture a harsh yellow/white sheen that might cause you to squint. Production designers Whammy Alcazaren and Thesa Tang keep the sets bright as well, and bring the time period to life from the Rebook Pumps high tops to the analog TV sets that Mario dances across. Even the music supervision doesn’t miss a beat, reminding us all that no borders could hold back Snow or Inner Circle at the time.
Clearly, a lot of care went into the production of the film, the characters feel authentically crafted, and the performances from the kids are largely natural and unaffected. Yet, the jarring tonal switches throughout never allow “Death Of Nintendo” to settle into a comfortable groove. From broad adolescent sex gags to Scooby-Doo graveyard shenanigans to heartfelt dramedy, Martin embraces the variety of the teenage experience but doesn’t quite know how to make those disparate elements gel together. One suspects a disconnect between the filmmaker and the script by Martinez, a sensation that becomes acute in the final act.
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As “Death Of Nintendo” heads into its home stretch, it finally feels like the picture has a moment to breathe. It’s here where the film starts to feel at ease with itself, the relationships between the characters grow more dynamic, and Paolo, Kachi and Gilligan’s drift towards manhood gains resonance. It’s also the point where Mimaw awkwardly takes the pole position as the lead character, with Kim Chloe Oquendo surprisingly taking top billing as the credits roll. One wonders if in the transition from script to screen, Martin consciously or not gravitated and emphasized the portions of the story that more accurately reflected his own upbringing. Just as likely, the script may have been unfocused from the start. Regardless, it’s a frustrating note to bring the film to a close as, like the kids in the film, “Death Of Nintendo was just starting to find itself. [C]
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