Kommander Kulas: The One and Only Concert of the Amazing Kommander Kulas and His Poor Carabao (2011)

Overview

Mythological love story by Filipino multi-talent Khavn De La Cruz. Kommander Kulas has a restless night, in which he dreams that he is a giant cockroach. Upon waking, Kulas finds a number of stitches in his chest: his heart seems to have been stolen. With his destitute friend Carabao, Kulas sets off on an adventure that leads the two wandering souls all over the country in search of Kulas’ heart. On the way, they meet various mythological characters. As ever, De La Cruz - who has now made more than seventy short films and some thirty features - shot this film on video, but deviates from his typical experimental style, completely unaffected by film conventions. Kommander Kulas is more controlled than De La Cruz' previous films. Nevertheless, the absurdism the maker himself compares to the films of Chilean cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky is still present. The principal role is played by an itinerant piano.