The film centers on Hilarion Zabala, whose mysterious olfactory problem has recurred. A counselor/psychiatrist suspects it to be a lingering case of phantosmia, a phantom smell, and possibly caused by trauma, a deep psychological fracture. One recommended radical process to cure the ailment was that Hilarion must go back and deal with the darkest currents of his past life in the military service. Reassigned in the very remote Pulo Penal Colony, he must also confront the horrific realities of his present situation.
In a statement, the director asks: “Do human beings have the right to kill other human beings? A big part of the story of ‘Phantosmia’ is about this discourse, and other questions about man’s existence.”
He adds: “One of the main protagonists of the film is a retired military officer. All his life, he has done military and police services and most of those experiences were burdened by violence with institutional sanction.
“Even his upbringing is ladened with violence, because of his father’s perspective on dealing with life’s challenges – that man must be tough, mentally and physically. He remembers waking up every morning and the very first words he heard were ‘You are a fighter!’ and ‘You are a warrior!’; and the very first exercises would be about how to use a gun and how to fight. Thus, he became a true fighter and a warrior, by his own reckoning, but a very violent one, and he believed then that violence was part of his duty, and it is a natural attribute of the military and police institutions.
“These kinds of conditionings have profoundly spawned fascist, authoritarian, feudal and barbaric setups.”
The cast is led by Ronnie Lazaro, Janine Gutierrez, Paul Jake Paule and Hazel Orencio.
Diaz serves as director, writer, cinematographer, editor and producer.
Diaz’s past films include “From What Is Before,” which won best film at Locarno in 2014, “The Woman Who Left,” which won best film at Venice in 2016, and “A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery,” which won the Alfred Bauer Award at Berlin in 2016.
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