Curious to know how the Filipino movie “Smaller And Smaller Circles” ends? Then we have got you covered. Based on the novel by F.H. Batacan, Smaller and Smaller Circles is the first Filipino crime novel that was published back in 1996. Soon in the year 2017, Raya Martin decided to have an adaption of it which received critical acclaim all around the world for its perfect depiction of the reality of slums and underprivileged people in the Philippines.
Smaller And Smaller Circles chronicles the lives of two priests, Father Jerome, and Father Saenz, from the Philippines, who are greatly known for their investigation skills. They have been working on various criminal cases with the police, and all of the time, they have been successful in solving them. Soon they start working on the case of the killings of young boys from the slum regions in Manila.
This particular investigation opens the eyes of both Jerome and Saenz as they come across atrocities that are happening against underprivileged people in their society. If you love watching movies that are emotionally driven and inspiring, Smaller and Smaller Circles is highly recommended for you. The ones who have watched this crime mystery film are so curious about the open ending of it.
Smaller and Smaller Circles: Plot Summary
Smaller and Smaller Circles, the Filipino movie, opens up with some slum children leading father Emil to the body of a boy who was found in the fifty-acre landfill. When the father sees the body, he gets to know that this is not a mere murder, but the victim got severely abused before getting murdered. There were severe injuries to his body, and the most noticeable thing was his genitals were removed. In the town, this boy is the sixth one to be murdered this way.
The child’s body is taken to the lab of Father Saenz for the autopsy. Father Saenz is the longtime friend of Father Gus, and both of them have the utmost interest in investigation and forensics. After discussing the murder, both Jerome and Saenz dive deeper into the whereabouts of the last six murders, and soon they get to know that all of the murders happened on the first Saturday of every month.
As soon as Father Saenz and Father Jerome start investigating the case of the young boy and the past deaths, they come across the corruption that is openly happening in the state. Additionally, no one cares that there is a serial killer wandering around the town, and even police have stopped investigating the same. As the young children who are getting murdered belong to slum areas, no one cares about them and their families receiving justice.
The director of the National Bureau of Investigation, Lastimosa, has a long-time interest in the case as even he wants to catch the serial killer who is on the loose. He calls Father Jerome and Saenz to investigate further. First, they suspect Father Ramirez, who has been assaulting children. However, Ramirez does not have such a history of killing children, so they need solid proofs to put Ramirez behind bars.
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Father Ramirez also has strong contacts, and all children are scared of him, so there is no way that they will testify against Ramirez. Apart from this, when Jerome and Saenz when going deeper into the investigation, they come across incompetent government officials, a corrupt system that is usually against the underprivileged people, and that is why there are no solid proofs or reports to know who may have been doing this.
Smaller and Smaller Circles: Ending Explained
Father Jerome and Saenz have helped police with many criminal cases in Manila, using their investigation skills. However, this particular case of a serial killer opened their eyes. Because as they start investigating more and more about the case and the lives of children, they get to know how unfair the whole system is against underprivileged children and families. The story of the serial killer is also the same.
Even though Father Jerome and Saenz suspected Ramirez of killing those children because he openly molested them, they were aware of the fact that the killer was someone who was secretly doing this and was intelligent enough to con them. One day, the fathers come across the mobile dental clinic, which Dr. Alex Carlos opens every weekend, particularly on Saturdays, to check the dental conditions of underprivileged people.
As Dr. Alex has the dental records of all children, to get a lead, Jerome and Saenz reach the clinic. Dr. Alex is a nice man, a particularly calm and introverted person who is dedicated to helping vulnerable people in society. But he is also the man who catches the fathers’ interest because he has all the instruments that could prove essential to mutilate the victims’ bodies. So after Father Ramirez, Dr. Carlos became the suspect in this serial killing case.
When the priests visit Alex’s parents for the investigation, they let them know that their boy had been sexually assaulted and raped by his teacher when they sent him for a one-day stay at school. However, even his parents did not pay attention to his mental health back then. Dr. Alex Carlos was an underprivileged child, so he suffered from utmost poverty, just like the children who got killed.
Carlos never had any close ones in his life nor received any chance to express his feelings, and that is what started impacting his mind gradually. When the fathers get clear about the one who is murdering the children, they go to Alex’s apartment, where they find the mutilated organs stuffed in the freezer. On the same day, Alex is on the way to killing another young child. So, Saenz and Jerome quickly make their way to his clinic.
Unfortunately, Carlos has already killed the boy, and before starting the process of mutilation, Saenz and Jerome catch him. Saenz risks and talks about Alex’s devastating past with him. He assures that with the right procedure, Alex can treat himself. At first, Alex understands what Saenz is talking about, but the next minute, he attacks Saenz with the knife. But the police arrive at the same time and shoot Dr. Alex Carlos to death. Before dying, Carlos says, “I Didn’t Want It”.
Alex’s last words made every viewer and reader of the book think about the drastic past he suffered, which destroyed his psychological ability to think wisely. When he said he did not want it, he referred to everything from his assault to the killings that he had done over the past six months.
Smaller and Smaller Circles opens the eyes of the viewers in regard to the sexual violence and mental health of children. Additionally, The movie and the novel provide us with a thorough overview of the traumatic conditions of impoverished children around the world.
