DIRECTOR Vahn Leinard Pascual confronts the glamorized “American dream” and asks whether age should limit one’s capacity to dream or love in his Cinemalaya feature directorial debut, “Status: Rejected.”
The film follows 69-year-old Biring (Ruby Ruiz) as she navigates the distance between her dreams and reality.
Biring’s ultimate goal is simple: to join her son and build a successful life in the United States. Although her visa application has been rejected four times, she remains determined.
Desperate to fulfill her aspirations, Biring turns to social media at a friend’s suggestion after learning that the U.S. Embassy considers an applicant’s online presence in evaluating visa applications.
The film effectively constructs Biring’s world through its sets and visual language. Her room, filled with symbols of the “American dream,” and the film’s depiction of the digital space allow the audience to see her aspirations from her perspective.
As the film progresses, Biring meets Steve online, a faceless character who introduces himself as a retired soldier and becomes both a remedy for her loneliness and a potential “ticket” to the life she has always wanted.
Infatuated, Biring begins behaving like a teenager experiencing love for the first time—sneaking out of the house, spending recklessly and hiding her relationship with Steve—all in pursuit of love and her ideal life.
While the film seeks to explore the family troubles of its three female leads—Biring, Anna (Alessandra de Rossi) and Sophia (Yani Villarosa)—the latter two are underdeveloped and given little time to take center stage.
The film nevertheless draws parallels between Biring and her granddaughter Sophia, a teenager experiencing love for the first time under the watch of a strict mother, mirroring Biring’s own romantic awakening.
“Status: Rejected” shows that naivety can persist at every stage of life, whether in Sophia’s adolescence, Anna’s adulthood or Biring’s old age.
The romanticized vision of life abroad is repeatedly deconstructed throughout the film. Yet Biring’s wishful thinking keeps her hopeful that effort and perseverance alone will be enough to achieve her lifelong dream.
Ultimately, “Status: Rejected” cautions against losing sight of reality in the pursuit of one’s dreams while also warning against placing too much trust in social media and the information consumed online.
