Cinepanalo 2026: Review of MONO NO AWARE: Morbid Musings on Mortality

October 1, 2026

George (Perry Dizon) was a Filipino from Davao who married a Japanese woman. His wife has now passed away and George had seemingly lost the zest for life that he was known for in his neighborhood. He usually hung out at the bar of his friend Kaito (Kouichi Hanagasaki) to drink his beer.  A young female volunteer from the local welfare office named Mori (Momoko Kobayashi) visited George regularly to make sure that he was doing fine. 

Ichi (juan karlos) was a young father-to-be from Cebu who went to Japan to earn more money for his future family. He was employed as one of the staff of a special cleaning service who were called to clean out the abandoned houses of elderly folk who had died alone inside, the so-called "lonely deaths." One day, Mori smelled a foul odor coming from inside George's house but could not find the source. Ichi was called in to solve the problem. 

From there grew the friendship of the two Bisaya-speaking guys as an ominous veil of death hung over them both. A heavy theme of death pervaded throughout this pensive film by writer-director BC Amparado is death. While Ichi worked, we see the unsightly stain resulting from the fluids and maggots from the decomposed body, not only the tatami mats on which it laid, but seeping through to the wooden floor under it. We actually smell the stench of death. 

With his technical staff --director of photography TM Malones, film editor Edmund M. Telmo,    production designer Remton Zuasola, costume designer Juan Pablo Pineda III, musical score and sound designer Willie Apa Jr., Amparado told his tale with a decidedly Japanese aesthetic and mood. Despite the uncomfortable subject matter and off-putting images we can see, the whole film felt clean, uncluttered and restrained with emotional elegance. 

As way he was made up here, Perry Dizon could credibly pass as Japanese senior citizen. His portrayal felt very real as it embodied the anxieties of many widows and widowers, not seeing the point of existing anymore, as they are left behind counting the days leading up to their own death.  Momoko Kobayashi had one great speech about why she advocated for the care of the elderly, a single scene that earned for her the award for Best Supporting Actress.

juan karlos's portrayal of flawed Ichi had that elusive quality of relatability. His Japanese sounded as natural as his Bisaya. Ichi's personal issue was the usual inner conflict felt by all OFWs, in his case leaving behind a wife with a fragile pregnancy. When that dam that held his guilt and grief within him finally broke down, we see the very heart and soul of juan karlos literally breaking in front of our eyes -- a true Best Actor-worthy performance. 9/10

Cinepanalo 2026: Review of BEAST: A Cool and Chatty Carabao

September 30, 2026

Domingo "Omeng" Tonogbanua (John Arcilla) was a rice farmer from Pulilan, Bulacan who was well-loved by his neighbors. There was one young boy Pepe (Ruslan Jacob) who hung around Lolo Omeng constantly, help with chores and sketching on his drawing pad. One day, just before harvest time, he was informed that the owner of the land he tilled was already sold to a real estate developer and was going to be turned into a subdivision. 

That night, Omeng awakened to hear his loyal carabao BOB singing "Bituing Marikit" (voice of Robert Sena). It was only then that he realized that BOB could speak (voice of Lou Veloso) as well. Encouraged by BOB, Omeng decided to embark on a long distance road trip with BOB pulling his cart all the way to Manila.  He wanted to go look for his long-lost niece Marietta (Candy Pangilinan) whom he had entrusted with a foster family living in Luneta. 

This film was a charming, sentimental ode to the relationship of an old-school Filipino farmer to his trusty carabao. As written by Jim Flores, it imagines the conversations they would have if the carabao could talk, from the realistic to the philosophical. It was directed and edited by Law Fajardo, in a seeming departure from his usual hardnosed output, like "Posas" (2012, MY REVIEW), "A Hard Day" (2022, MY REVIEW) and "Reroute" (2023, MY REVIEW). 

Front and center in this film is John Arcilla in a tender, quiet performance we do not commonly see from him. His Lolo Omeng was low-key and submissive, just going with where the flow of life takes him, representative of the Filipino common tao. He was kind and helpful to his neighbors, and even to total strangers, sometimes to a fault. As Omeng, Arcilla had about him a calm positive aura, in total contrast with the villainous roles that he'd played of late. 

Along his road trip, Omeng met various people along the way -- the young single mother (XY Martillo) off to work in Ermita, the young runaway (Karl Medina) who lived in the North Cemetery, the bully in the Hi-Ace (John Arceo), the barangay officials (Marvin Yap) who detained him, the flamboyant tour guide (Onyl Torres) and his noisy coterie of influencers.  This aspect of the film may colorful, but they felt random, odd and unfocused. 

Arcilla's first moment with Candy Pangilinan hit very hard emotionally, even with hardly a word said. I really thought the film would end at that point and it would have been perfect tearful close. However, the film still continued and even amped up the fantasy element another notch. And then there was the twist that brought the whimsy which held sway in the past hour come crashing back down to reality. So, whose fantasies did we actually see? 6/10 

Cinepanalo 2026: Review of APOL OF MY AI: A Crushing Crush

September 30, 2026

The mother of 10 year-old Apolinario "Apol" Medina, Jr. (Zion Cruz) passed away 10 months ago. His father Poli (Zanjoe Marudo) just came back one month ago from his job as a folk singer in Japan to take care of his son. However, both found it difficult to connect to each other as father and son. Having lived without him for most his life, Apol believed that he did not need his father anymore and shunned his father's efforts to establish rapport with him. 

At school, Apol was a frequent visitor to the principal's office for his numerous infractions of school rules, together with his BFF Max (Jacob Cawagdan). One day, their FIlipino teacher went into labor prematurely. A substitute teacher, Miss Maria Aileen 'Ma'am Ai" Melendez (Rochelle Pangilinan) was assigned to take over, on whom Apol developed a serious crush. Ma'am Ai was also the adviser of the school choir, so Apol auditioned to join. 

The story of this film fell right into the wheelhouse of director Thop Nazareno, whose past films all showed his proficiency in telling stories about young boys who are going through tough father-son relationships, like "Kiko Boksingero" (2017, MY REVIEW) and "Edward" (2019, MY REVIEW). The charming screenplay was written by Mark Raywin Tome and Che Espiritu-Istrael, adding the angle of a boyhood crush on a teacher into the mix. 

Zanjoe Marudo imbued the father Poli with regret and patience. He was being treated rudely by his son, but he remained calm and worked harder to win his love. He recognized that owing to his long absence, earning his son's trust back would not be an easy process. Rochelle Pangilinan was a refreshing screen presence as the disarming Ma'am Ai. She handled those awkward moments with her lovestruck student with sensitivity and compassion.

The shining jewel at the center of this precious film was the winsome Zion Cruz as Apol. With his fair complexion and deep dimple, he can charm audiences effortlessly, especially in those "kilig" moments with Ma'am Ai. He can also sing, delivering a mean acapella rendition of kundiman "Bituing Marikit." All the pent-up resentment he had against his long-estranged father had to blow up at one point, and Cruz went all-out for it, making us all feel his anger and pain. Cruz gave a strong lead performance deserving of a Best Actor consideration. 8/10

Review of RESIDENT EVIL (2026): A Courier's Crazy Commitment

September 21, 2026

Right after Bryan (Austin Abrams) delivered an organ for transplant, he was once again booked to deliver another package to Raccoon General Hospital located in a remote mountainous location. Along the way, the weather was snowy and cold. His girlfriend called him to discuss about her pregnancy, when he failed to see a woman crossing the road and hit her. He decided to pick the injured woman up so he could take her to the hospital. 

From there started Bryan's crazy adventures en route to Raccoon City. Along the way, he encounters various creatures who have been transformed into carnivorous monsters with long tentacles used to snag their victims and pull them into its ever-hungry mouth. He learned from employees of Umbrella Corporation that his precious package was actually an essential ingredient to make a cure for those stricken with the rampant deadly outbreak.

"Resident Evil" originated as a Japanese horror video game called "Biohazard" in 1983, where players fight to survive in toxic environments overrun by zombies. I had never played that video game, nor watched any of the films adapted from it, from the first one in 2002 by Paul W.E. Anderson to any of the poorly-rated sequels released in 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, and 2016 (all starring Mila Jovovich as Alice), to the failed reboot in 2021.

I am only watching this new film because it was co-written (with Shay Hatten) and directed by Scott Cregger. Cregger was the wunderkind behind recent acclaimed horror films like "Barbarian" (2022) and "Weapons" (2025). Here, one can instantly feel the engaging and darkly humorous vibe that Cregger was known for from the get-go. In a variation, this one had multiple victims amalgamate into one complex creature that rolled around like a multi-legged ball. 

Propelling the story forward on an entertaining clip was the very likable performance of Austin Abrams as the embattled Brian. The whole film was practically about him and his crazy encounters with those killer monsters all in one night. They may be hiding in the most unlikely hosts, lending those scenes some drama before the terror was unleashed. The fast-paced buildup was perfect, one wishes the ending itself could have been more solid. 7/10  

Review of 58TH: The Missing Martyr

September 16, 2026

On November 23, 2009, Mrs. Gigi Mangudadatu was on her way to file the certificate of candidacy of her husband Esmael Mangudadatu, who wanted to run for the position of governor of Maguindanao province. She went with members of their family, their staff, as well as the media. In the town of Ampatuan, they were blocked by a group of 100 men who went on to shower bullets at all of them. 58 people lost their lives that day. 

One of the media men who joined that tragic convoy was Reynaldo "Bebot" Momay (Ricky Davao), a photojournalist by trade. His married daughter Reynafe "Nenen" Castillo (Glaiza de Castro) had to go to the chilling crime scene to witness the retrieval of the victims' bodies, who had to be dug out of the earth using a backhoe. At the end of these operations, there were only 57 bodies found. Bebot Momay was not one of them. 

The details of the fateful day were related by Nenen to a filmmaker (Mikoy Morales) by way of a Zoom call. Papa also used the device of Nenen being able to bring the filmmaker along to witness certain scenes with here. We meet Nenen's family -- her husband Ronnie (Biboy Ramirez), as well their two sons Raprap (Zyren dela Cruz) and RJ (Marco Masa), who displayed their psychological trauma from these events in very different ways. 

Directed and co-written (with Aica Riz Ganhinhin) by animator Carl Joseph Papa, this film was once again rendered in his signature rotoscopic animation style, where animated lines were . Three of his previous films were also rendered this way, namely, "Manang Biring" (2015), "Ang Paglisan" (2018), and "Iti Magpupukaw" (2023). These three won Best Film in their respective film festivals -- the first two in CinemaOne, and the latest one in CInemalaya. 

"58th" has recently been chosen to compete for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. There were scenes recreated with professional actors like Glaiza de Castro and the late Ricky Davao, which were then rendered into rotoscopic animation. These were stitched together with TV news reports, the grisly real-life footage of the body retrieval operations, as well as the pained appeals of the victims' relatives back then for a prompt autopsy. 

The stylistic choice to render the recreated scenes into rotoscopic animation may puzzle some viewers, but for me it was quite logical. Using the animation style, Papa was able to artistically depict the extreme violence of the heinous massacre and follow Nenen go through the rows of decomposing dead bodies, without making the audience outright vomit. The images still make us feel shellshocked as the victims' blood splatter upwards as bullets mercilessly rained down into them.

The way Papa told her story and how De Castro portrayed her, we are moved by Nenen's frustrations about the seeming miscarriage of justice in her father's case for now 17 years. She never saw his body. She still has no closure.  Dela Cruz's portrayal of Raprap's anger, Masa's portrayal of RJ's courage, and Davao's portrayal of Bebot's conviviality -- all transcend through the rotoscopic animated images drawn on top of them. 8/10

Review of FORGOTTEN ISLAND: Making Memories Magical

August 24, 2026

Ever since her childhood, Jo (H.E.R.) enjoyed telling stories about Philippine mythology as told to her by her Lola Fatima (Dolly de Leon). While teachers did not like these gory tales, there was one classmate who shared her interest -- Raissa (Liza Soberano), who soon became her best and only true friend. They marked their friendship with a string bracelet on which they would attach charms to commemorate various events in their lives. 

Jo and Raissa grew up together as practically sisters. However, one day after high school graduation, Raissa had to say goodbye as she had been accepted into Caltech for college. During her despedida party, Jo convinced Raissa to go out with her to the beach for one last night together. There, Jo saw a glowing item in the water, and realized it was same mystical sand dollar which brought them into the legendary island of Nakali. 

I knew this film had Filipino characters and was about Philippine mythology, but it really surprised me that practically the whole film took place here in the Philippines. There was a lot of Filipino words and phrases scattered all over the script. We see jeepneys on the streets, karaoke singing and lechon at the party. A notable recurring design element was the yellow sun of the Philippine flag (they showed the whole flag as well to be sure).  

The film is scored by Fil-Am composer Nathan Matthew David based on 1980s to 1990s pop and hip-hop beats. Aside from chestnuts like "Don't You (Forget About Me)" to "Don't Stop Believing," the musical soundtrack also gave us Francis M's "Mga Kababayan" as covered by P-pop icons SB19. The 1988 #7 hit song by INXS "Never Take Us Apart," which fit right into the film's theme of lasting friendship, was played in two versions -- the original, and a gorgeously-stylized remix cover by Katseye member Sophia Laforteza. 

The creatures Jo and Raissa meet in Nakali were based on Filipino mythology. Most were voiced by Filipino or Fil-Am talents: Manang the manananggal by Lea Salonga, Bungi the tiyanak by Manny Jacinto, the head kapre by Jo Koy.  The rest include the were-aspin Raww by Dave Franco, the agoraphobic Batibat by Jenny Slate, the vain Mermahn by Kevin McCann and don't-call-him-cute duwende King Truffle Wuffle by Ronnie Chieng. 

The animation art styles used here are very modern and eclectic. The designs for the mythological monsters were quite original and dynamic, particularly Manang. Japanese anime styles heavily influenced the artwork, with the exaggerated way they expressed shock or sadness. Nostalgic pop culture references to the 1980s and 1990s abound, but there were also current pop references, like the one from recent box-office hit "The Odyssey."

"Forgotten Island" is written and directed by Joel Crawford (his wife is Filipina) and Fil-Am Januel Mercado and is produced by Mark Swift, the Oscar-nominated team behind "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" (2023). It was fascinating and heart-warming to watch a Dreamwork film that was so Philippine-centric that it felt like a Filipino film. There is no doubt that it will click with Filipino audiences, I just hope the international audience will also take our culture to heart.  9/10

Review of EDJOP: Running a Race of Redemption

September 10, 2026

Edgar Jopson or "Edjop" (Elijah Canlas) was the second of 12 children of supermarket owners Hernan and Josefa Jopson (Teroy Guzman and Issa Litton). He had his high school and college years at the Ateneo. He was active in political issues and soon became the president of the National Union of Students in the Philippines. He was able to challenge President Ferdinand Marcos face to face to promise not to run for a third term. 

Joyette Jopson (Jodi Sta. Maria) was the second child of Edjop and his wife Joy (Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo) after eldest son Noy (Cedrick Juan). She was only 3 when her father died. She was into running long road races, most notably the grueling FWD 78° North Marathon in Norway in which she finished first in 2019. When her sister Risa (Regina de Vera) invites her to attend an event held in their father's honor, she would decline. 

This film was co-written (with Jade Castro) and directed by Katski Flores. In the very first scene, Joyette enumerated for us the different kinds of races that she had run in -- point to point, out and back, and multi-loop. She tells us how these types of races can also refer to the various ways a person's life story can be told. With such an unexpectedly astute introduction, we already knew right there that the film we are going to watch will be a very intelligent one. 

Edjop's story was told in flashbacks, but even these flashbacks were not in linear order. It started in Davao City 1982, detailing the events on the night which would prove to be his last. We were then brought back to his halcyon school days until his political activism took over.  In a most transformative performance, Elijah Canlas played Edjop from his teens up to his death at age 34, portraying his evolution from moderate reformist to Communist rebel to address his social advocacies. 

Jodi Sta. Maria has always been a reliable dramatic actress and her performance here was as excellent as she was expected to deliver and more. As she is portraying a topnotch athlete here, there was an intense physical component to her role here than most of her usual roles. Her running, open water swimming and bicycle stages in Ironman were convincingly staged. Her emotional monologue about her father at the end was impeccably delivered.

Another notable performance was turned in by Kakie Pangilinan as young Joy Asuncion, in a most impressive big screen debut. Her Joy was a sensible and brave young woman who was herself very politically aware and staunchly supportive of Edjop. She also had her own opinions and voiced them out, as shown in that China visit scene. For an acting neophyte, Pangilinan gave a natural and assured performance, remarkable in its subtlety.

Minor characters were played by theater actors, several Ateneo-based, as Flores also is. Thea Marabut, Jam Binay, Nour Houshmand play Edjop's sisters. We also see Bryan Sy, Missy Maramara, Kalil Almonte, Gab Pangilinan, Delphine Buencamino, Nor Domingo, Ron Capinding, Joseph dela Cruz, Yan Yuzon, Gold Soon. Inka Magnaye played intellectual prostitute Ursula Andres. VMX star Nicco Locco was Joyette's coach Thomas. Members of SPIT Manila were in the mix too. However, seeing Christian Esguerra as the late dictator was rather distracting. 

The cinematography of Neil Daza was topnotch, with all his vivid colors and camera angles. One memorable shot was that when Joyette swims out into the ocean as the water turned from bright to dark blue.  The film editing done by Benjamin Tolentino was clean and seamless. The period production design by Erik Manalo for the 1970s to the 1980s was meticulously recreated. The choice of Mike Hanopol's "Laki sa Layaw" over the closing credits, while invigorating, seemed ironic given Edjop's decidedly "un-jeprox" personality.  

Joyette's final speech here was essentially a call to action for the audience to be brave and never forget, a message still very much appropriate for the turbulent political climate today. For her, Edjop is a symbolic concept for hope as our country continues to face adversity. She talked about another kind of race she has yet to run -- a relay race. This is an eloquent metaphor for the passing on the torch of nationalism to succeeding generations so our country can eventually crawl out the dark tunnel of corruption and emerge out into the light in the future. 9/10 

Review of LIFE AFTER YOU: Reluctantly Responsible

September 10, 2026

Joey del Mundo (Bela Padilla) worked as an assistant director and choreographer in a commercial ad company. She loved her work and was very busy, a favorite of her boss Alex (Peach Caparas). However in one more week, Joey was already about to leave for Canada to continue her studies. One night, Joey invited her elder sister Dianne (Ryza Cenon) to go out for a night-out with her. Tragically, Dianne never made it back home anymore that night.

Joey had to forego all her Canada plans to take care of Dianne's little daughter Denise (Dani Zee). As she had no housekeeping experience, Joey could not keep up with Denise's daily needs alongside the tasks expected of her in her commercial shoots. Out of desperation, Joey texted the other contact person in Denise's school record. Her name was Bella Concepcion (Maricel Soriano), who admitted that she was Denise's grandmother on her father's side.

There have been a number of past films tackling this same story about someone whose life got topsy-turvy because he suddenly needed to take care of an unexpected child not his own. Writer-director Marla Ancheta gave Joey's reluctant guardian trope another dimension by involving a mother Bella who felt guilty that her son Carl (Marlo Mortel) would not accept his daughter because of a painful episode of betrayal they shared in the past.  

While it was treated as supposedly funny, I did not understand why Joey was so rude to Bella during their first meeting. I get that Joey was very frustrated and stressed out, but Bella was not doing anything to provoke her disrespectful tone of voice and behavior against a much older woman. I guess Ancheta was trying to create initial friction between these two women, but this did not seem to be a realistic scenario for their "meet-cute" of sorts. 

As was usual in female-led films, men were the jerks here. Bella's husband Fred (Jeric Raval) once brought home a daughter from his second family, which destroyed his first family. You'd understand why Carl would want to protect his current family from suffering the same fate if he introduced Denise. Too bad Ancheta did not elaborate why Carl abandoned Dianne in the first place before he met Stacey (Krissha Viaje) and had their Winter (Cali Buena). 

Maricel Soriano's Bella was a delightful lady with her Gen X sense of humor. She shone best in that confrontation scene with Carl with her effortless tears, and endears us to her more. Ancheta's script really gave Joey the shorter end of the stick, from her sister's death, instant motherhood, job troubles, physical disability. Bela Padilla portrayed Joey with rawness, abrasive even, but she was tough, and we still root for her to get her life back on track. 7/10 

Review of SAVING CHERRY: The Necessity for Non-Negotiables

September 3, 2026

Cherry Valdez (Barbie Forteza) and Jude Nicolas (Khalil Ramos) have pledged themselves to remain pure and chaste until marriage. In anticipation of losing her virginity, Cherry was being advised by her gang of close pals. They are: flirty Jewel (Mika Salamanca), married Beth (Mikee Quintos), reserved Ingrid (AC Bonifacio) and comical Martha (Sassa Gurl), she was advised on the perfect wardrobe, scent, positions, and moans. 

Their wedding ceremony and reception party all went great. On their wedding night, Cherry was nervously psyching herself up for her first time in their honeymoon suite, but Jude was taking a very long time to arrive. Both concerned and impatient at the same time, Cherry went out looking for him. She was shell-shocked to find her new husband in a compromising canoodling clinch with another girl named Eunice (Monina Lawrence).

A major part of the film written by director Ivan Andrew Payawal with Fatrick Tabada dealt with Cherry's wrath at Jude's betrayal by wanting to get even. Borne out of her extreme frustration to still be a virgin after all these years, her method of choice was to get herself devirginized by any man -- be it by a random hot guy at the disco Josh (JC Alcantara), an ex-boyfriend Matthew (Than Perez), or even a macho dancer Omar (Kokoy de Santos). 

Honestly I was not really a fan of these loud, noisy and raunchy scenes of Cherry and her gang. I know Forteza and her fellow actresses were just doing all of their exaggerated facial expressions and body posturing in the name of being funny, but I admit I am not the target demographic of these gags. I realize they are supposed to be "funny," but I did not find these funny at all, only annoying and, in my view, even demeaning to women.

When practically every heterosexual male characters with a name in this film were depicted to be cheaters, it was as if Payawal and Tabada were generalizing this unfortunate unflattering trait to all men. It was suggested that it was a social norm that women simply have to accept the situation, forgive him, and move on with their lives as a couple. Could there not have been an exception to the rule somewhere to represent us good guys, loyal to their wives?

When all the madcap hubbub and superglue mishaps finally settled down, Cherry and Jude got their moment to get serious and talk. It was clear that Forteza and Ramos were at their best when in their dramatic wheelhouse. While mixed signals were being bandied around for most of the film, it was only in the last 15 minutes that Payawal and Tabada's main message to women about setting non-negotiables in relationships was delivered loud and clear.  4/10

Review of PLUMP BLOSSOM: Will AI in Animation Ever Be Acceptable?

September 1, 2026

It was the Hwang Dynasty in China. The Emperor (Audie Gemora) had one daughter named Ruo Hwa (Candice Tan). She was better known as "Plump Blossom" because of her chubby cheeks and frame, symbols of good health and prosperity. She had six meals between her breakfast and her dinner. Instead of her royal duties, she would rather spend her days in the kitchen, helping Chef Bao (Gutch Gutierrez) and his staff prepare the food. 

One night, Ruo Hwa saw the chef tending to the wounds of a seriously injured young man. He was Yu Jian (Don Puno), who turned out to be a young general in the army protecting the palace from its enemies. Unmindful of her station and reputation, Ruo Hwa took care of him and nursed him back to full consciousness. Thinking that she was a kitchen maid, the handsome soldier with "abs like a jade pillow" soon developed a close friendship with her.

Likely inspired by Disney animated films, Hwang also included animal sidekicks who can communicate with their masters. For Ruo Hwa, it was a dignified Pekingese dog named Yuan Yuan (Yeng Her) to whom she confided her secrets. For General Jian, it was a battle-scarred carrier pigeon named General Feathers (Chad Williams), who served to bridge their long-distance love affair. With their witty banter and wisecracks, they provided much comic relief.

This is the feature-length directorial debut of Kapitana Films producer Rossana Hwang, who also wrote the screenplay. This passion project of hers was certainly an audacious undertaking for three reasons. First, the language of this film is English (with Chinese subtitles), which may be misinterpreted as classism. Second, her story was based in historic China, a daring setting for a Filipino film considering WPS issues. Third and most controversial of all, she openly admitted that she used "AI-assisted" tools in this film, as obvious from the trailer. 

It is unfortunate for Hwang that whatever quality her movie has, it would likely always be criticized for its use of AI -- especially since it is the first Filipino-produced film released in cinemas to openly admit using AI tools. Hwang cited budget constraints as her reason to use AI, but even then, AI remains to be a sensitive red flag topic when it comes to creating art. AI is perceived to be the "lazy" way to do animation as it can take over the frame-by-frame work of human animators that would cost way more time and money. Even with AI, the quality of the artwork and animation in this film was still not that clean nor consistent. 

The final frame called this film "a hybrid production combining traditional animation techniques with emerging AI-assisted tools and workflows. There were human creatives behind the scenes: Rene Francis Hermoso as Chief Animator, Pedro Chuidan for VFX, Justin Zapata and Franz Niedo for character sculpting. As for the songs, Hwang and Ken Aoki were credited as lyricist and arranger, while Candice Tan, Maria Buenaventura, Paulina Yeung and Paeng Sudayan as the vocalists. The voice actors were likewise all credited accordingly.

Putting aside all the AI hullabaloo (impossible now, I know), this film may still find its limited niche among Generation X, they who share the same world view as Hwang herself. There were admittedly moments that were delightful, moving, cute and "kilig" sprinkled throughout this film which our aunties or titas will like and enjoy. How the film industry and the viewing public will view the seemingly inevitable role of AI in filmmaking in succeeding years still remains to be seen. Rossana Hwang just boldly dared to cross that Rubicon earlier. 

Review of FILIPIÑANA: Metaphors in a Microcosm

August 29, 2026

Dr. Palanca (Teroy Guzman) was the charismatic Ilocano president of a golf and country club catering mostly to tourists from China. One of the tee-girls working there was Isabel (Jorrybell Agoto), who was walking from one part of the club to another looking for Dr. Palanca in order to return a golf club to him. No one seemed to know where he was exactly, not even his wife (Agot Isidro) nor their bodyguard Rodel (Dyas Adarlo). 

Meanwhile, Clara (Carmen Castellanos), a young balikbayan student, was on the green that same day with her caddy Ina (Isabel Sicat), playing with her uncle Renato (Carlos Siguion-Reyna) who was a member. There was also a nanny (Thea Marabut) who was looking for her ward (Jewel Sotelo), a little girl in a red dress with dragonfly-shaped clips on her hair, whom Isabel actually saw running around the golf course. 

This film is the feature-length directorial debut of Rafael Manuel. I was able to watch his breakthrough thesis short film also entitled "Filipinana" (2020), of which this current film is the expanded version. I have seen this golf course, tee girl Isabel and her cohorts before, and was already enthralled by his unique cinematic vision with his color palette and shot selection. It had won the Silver Berlin Bear for best short film and other international awards back then.

With its manicured grass, water sprinklers, electronic carts, a golf course is a perfect symbol of the privileged elite. While the wealthy club members go around hitting little balls into little holes, they are being waited on hand and foot by their caddies, tee girls, ball pickers, food servers, etc. Most were developed out of farmlands, from whom the tenant farmers had been driven out of their homes and livelihood -- further emphasizing the class divide. 

Cinematographer Xenia Patricia was able to capture and relay the bleakness of the golf course despite of its aesthetic exteriors and luxurious interiors. The costume designs by Carla Villanueva and Tatjana Fanny Honegger were striking aspects of this film. There was color-coding for ease of character identification -- mint green mini-dresses for the tee-girls, hot pink uniforms for the female caddies, all-white outfits for the Chinese club guests. 

Music is also an important part of this film. There was a fragment of a melody that Isabel kept humming, but cannot recall the title and lyrics. Filipinos will likely recognize the folk song when it is sung in full later in the film. Also featured is a band of blind musicians led by Bullet Dumas as lead singer. They rendered a very catchy campaign jingle to re-elect Dr. Palanca, accompanying a lively dance by middle-aged matrons and their teenage boy partners. 

Even when it can get rather annoying for mainstream viewers, the slowness of the pace of this film's storytelling, with dialog which sometimes seemed to go  nowhere, was also a deliberate metaphor of the frustrating snail's pace at which our country is progressing (or not). While the satire was mostly light and whimsical, it did turn very dark at the end when it suggested that youth and innocence are the biggest victims of this dire system we are in.  

Isabel represents us, the common Filipino. We need to sneak around in order to enjoy simple joys of life -- like a luscious mango or a refreshing shower. We are obsessed in following the rich and famous around, even if our fates are at their mercy. We call for help when we see a problem, but often these fall on deaf ears, so we need to act on our own. However, our eagerness to help others can also lead us to our own harm. 8/10