Favorite films
Don’t forget to select your favorite films!
Don’t forget to select your favorite films!
Don't let the running time deter you from checking out this incisive take on the 1890s revolution from the non-Tagalog speaking parts of the Philippines. By expertly tackling ideas of identity and nationhood in the 1890s Visayas from different perspectives: "indio" revolutionaries, a criollo soldier, and a Sangley Chinese, the meagerly budgeted film dispels the notion that you can only do an historical, war-era film with a big budget. A solid, nuanced script, talented actors, and confident directing that trusts the power of conversation scenes, go a long way.
The movie relies heavily on the charisma and performance of its two leads, Pokwang and Eugene Domingo, who deliver as they usually do when given larger-than-life characters. The film's most enjoyable moments occur in the Batangas sequence, where they try to outdo each other in seeking the attention of their high-school sweetheart (Sarmenta).
However, outside of the performances, the film seems content with being cartoonish, turning supposedly serious moments or confrontations into opportunities to parody Vilma Santos melodramas or other…
The first two-thirds of the script is too manipulative, riddling the characters with one mishap after another to get viewers' sympathy. As usual with a Naval film, it's also annoyingly overscored. Yet the talented cast are the film's saving grace, with performances that are too charming to resist that by the last third, all misgivings dissipate.