Feast, the new Filipino entry on Netflix, seems like a film that is heavily inspired by the works of the legendary Hirokazu Koreeda. It lacks the subtlety and finesse that are usually seen in Koreeda’s film, which makes it just about a decent watch and nothing more. But the film hinges on a (literally) killer twist in the end, if you know what I mean. And despite providing us with enough breadcrumbs throughout the story, Feast pulls it off pretty well. We’re going to look into the twist and what it really means for the characters.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: Who Is Responsible For The Accident?
Nita’s birthday gets ruined when her husband Matias and younger daughter Kat suffer a freak accident. Kat recovers, as her injury was minor, but Matias wasn’t that lucky and ended up dying. In a very unfortunate turn of events, restauranter Alfredo Tuazon and his son Rafael accidentally hit Matias and Kat and then fled the scene in their blue pickup truck. Not that Alfredo and Rafael are bad people; in fact, it gets evident that it’s rather the opposite. The only reason they escaped from the scene without helping the father and daughter is because it was Rafael who was driving, and Alfredo freaked out about his young son being apprehended for such an unfortunate thing. But intentional or not, a crime like that is still a punishable offense, and Alfredo wastes no time seeking legal help after being pushed by his wife, Elise. The lawyer doesn’t give him much hope, other than seeking forgiveness from Nita and financially helping out the family as much as possible. It becomes clear that money is not an issue for the Tuazon family when Rafael goes to the hospital and anonymously pays all the bills for Matias and Kat.
Why Does Alfredo Take The Fall?
The Tuazon’s family’s last hope of getting through this without a scratch gets crushed when they hear the news of Matias’ death. With no way out of the mess, Alfredo decides to take the fall for his son. Rafael is clearly against his father’s wish, but Alfredo’s argument, which says he has already lived his life enough while Rafael is still young and has a little daughter, Adeline, is convincing enough for him to give in. Elise tries her hand at saving her dear husband by going to Nita and asking for forgiveness, but Nita refuses to do so, understandably. Alfredo ends up in prison after pleading guilty in the court hearing, and he seems to be perfectly okay with his fate.
How Does Nita Get Close To The Tuazon Family?
Nita gets employed by the Tuazon family, as the court ordered. Days go by, and she gets pretty close with Elise and Rafael. They are always nice to her, and she’s treated like their own. Her family—two daughters, a son, and Matias’ sister Chedeng—is also looked after by the Tuazon family. Elise forms a special bond with her, thanks to her own humble beginning as a waitress. With time, Nita’s emotional wound also heals as she starts to realize that the Tuazons are actually nice people and they never meant any harm.
How Does Alfredo Get Out Of Prison?
With how Nita had gotten really close to the Tuazons, it was only a matter of time until the actual truth came out. Rafael was always burdened with the guilt that he had been carrying around for all this time, but for that to come out, he probably needed to be in an emotionally vulnerable state. His own life is pretty much in shambles anyway. He barely gets to see his daughter, and his ex, Shelly, has moved on to another man, Marco. That’s why his sudden breakdown and subsequent confession in front of Nita were not at all surprising. Similarly, Nita instantly forgiving him and even comforting a weeping Rafael is not surprising either, given she has also managed to find forgiveness in her heart. After that, Alfredo’s rotting in prison doesn’t make any sense at all, and the Tuazons expectedly get elated with him coming back home after getting released from prison.
Does Chedeng Taking Revenge Make Any Sense?
Matias’ sister, Chedeng, didn’t have much to say in the entire movie. But her silent but stern gazes made it quite clear that she doesn’t harbor the same feelings for the Tuazons as Nita. For her, no matter how good the Tuazons have been, they still remain the ones who are responsible for what happened to Matias.
I assume Chedeng has been planning to take revenge all along, but with Alfredo already getting arrested, she didn’t quite have the chance. But with Alfredo returning and Nita arranging a huge feast as a thank-you note, Chedeng got the perfect opportunity to execute her plan. Poisoning their food was really easy for her, as she was helping out Nita both during the preparation and serving. I am not sure if she had considered the fact that Nita and the kids might eat the same food, especially given that the Tuazons had asked them to dine together. Nita hesitated and ultimately didn’t go ahead, which saved her from certain death. But Alfredo, Elise, and Rafael were not quite fortunate.
It would have been interesting if the movie had left us with the Tuazons eating and enjoying the food, and the rest was left up to our interpretation. But seeing Chedeng being taken by the police in handcuffs and Nita being questioned made everything pretty clear. Chedeng got what she always wanted: revenge. But does it make any sense? Not quite, I would say. Because Alfredo had already spent his time in jail for a crime he didn’t even commit. And the one who did commit the crime was nothing but remorseful. Even Nita had no problem moving on and giving the Tuazons the chance that they really deserved. Chedeng’s vengeful action will probably make Nita and the kids’ lives difficult, as they would also be held responsible for the Tuazons’ deaths. Not to mention, killing your employers, who had been nothing but nice to you, is sort of like ruining your own source of income and putting yourself in a lot of trouble. Did Chedeng think about all that before moving forward with her plan? Most definitely not.
