July 28, 2023
Eloy (Joko Diaz) and his daughter Elria (Yen Durano) ran a popular lechon shop in Laloma called "Litsoneras". One day, his estranged wife Minerva (Jamilla Obispo) suddenly came home from working in Dubai for several years. She made it clear to Eloy that she was not about to forgive him for his past unfaithfulness, and their relationship was over. She wanted to reconnect with her daughter, but to no avail.
Minerva began exerting her influence around the shop, interfering with the way Eloy dealt with his employees. She accepted a new employee into their shop named Jonas (Victor Relosa), who quickly got into the good graces of his employers. Unexpectedly, Elria saw her mom's boarding pass in her bag and realized that her mother had already been in the country two weeks before the day she showed up at their shop.
In the opening sequence, director Roman Perez Jr. immediately immersed his audience behind the scenes in the traditional process of lechon making in Laloma district in Quezon City, the hot and smoky setting which served as the backdrop for this sordid family drama. Behind the store front and roasting areas, there were makeshift bathrooms with hardly any privacy, as well as dark little rooms to accommodate quickie trysts.
18-year old Elria, who was portrayed by new Vivamax siren Yen Durano. At first, it was not easy to see her as Diaz and Obispo's daughter because of her prominently almond eyes. Her ultra-sexy school uniform which she wore with black stockings felt contrived, and made her look more mature than her age. However, Durano would eventually overcome all that when her character reached the peak of her arc -- a promising debut as lead star.
Perez's story was interesting and he told it well, channeling a "Brocka-esque" realism. Joko Diaz gave his Eloy a nuanced portrayal, down to that defective right hand, that made him a sympathetic character. Jamilla Obispo youthful looks worked against her being Elria's birth mother, but contributed to the disconnect between those two characters. Victor Relosa's Jonas was such a major jerk that his shocking comeuppance felt completely deserved. 6/10.
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