The Missing

Carl Joseph E. Papa's 2023 Filipino animation follows a young man with no mouth. Eric cannot speak and those around him treat this as ordinary; when an alien returns to take him, things he did not want to remember begin to open. The film uses its science fiction elements as a cover. The alien abduction narrative stands in for abuse experienced in childhood, and the missing mouth is its visual equivalent. The narrative states this late and plainly. It was made with rotoscope; the performers were filmed first and drawn over frame by frame. That creates a constant uncertainty between the real and the drawn, in keeping with the subject. Who it's for: those who like animation for adults and Filipino cinema. Who it's not for: viewers sensitive to the sexual abuse of children; the film places it at the centre.