MMFF2023: Review of PENDUKO: Folkloric Fighter

January 15, 2024

One night, a young man named Pedro Penduko (Matteo Guidicelli) was visited by a mysterious woman named Wendy (Phoebe Walker). She told him that she knew that he possessed special gifts for seeing spirits, sorcery and healing. She invited him to work with other young people like him in an underground organization called Midnight, founded by a respectable gentleman named Gat Blanco (Albert Martinez). 

Pedro was thrilled at the opportunity of learning from mentors like Dayang Esther (Marissa Sanchez) to develop his gift of sight, Gat Nimuel (Gene Padilla) to learn about amulets and charms, and Dayang Aurora (Candy Pangilinan) for supernatural healing. After graduation, Pedro was paired up with his classmate Liway (Kylie Versoza) as Team Buot (or Cloud Rat), which would become the most successful healing team in Midnight.

Pedro Penduko was a classic Filipino comic book character created by National Artist Francisco Coching in 1954 for Liwayway magazine. This ordinary boy possessed an amulet which was able to help him fight the dark forces of evil.  He had been featured in a number of feature films and TV shows over the years, portrayed by actors like Efren Reyes, Sr. (1954), Ramon Zamora (1973), Janno Gibbs (1994) and Matt Evans (2006).

In this incarnation, Penduko was played by Matteo Guidicelli. His Pedro Penduko seemed to be a regular, chill, laid-back guy, but he was also shown to have a very violent temper when he got triggered.  While Guidicelli possessed the physicality (fit toned body and martial arts skills) required of this role, he was awkward when attempting to be cute (in some silly anime-like exclamations), and was too over-the-top when erupting into explosive rage. 

Along with the scenes of action and fantasy, writer-director Jason Paul Laxamana taught the audience several aspects of Philippine folklore via Pedro's "Harry Potter"-like training and lessons by his father Apo Tisot (John Arcilla). The was a deeper focus on the battle between "panggagaway" (witchcraft) and "pananambal" (healing). He introduced us to "hukluban" who can kill by mere raising his hand, and the different color types of the "aghoy" (or elves). 

"Penduko" was one of only two films that the MTRCB generously rated G (the other being "Family of Two"), but there were certainly scenes of violence involving the hero Penduko himself, which need parental guidance. While the way this film ended opened it up for a possible sequel, it is not ideally tailored for the kiddie demographic that it targets, who would have preferred something more inspirational or heartwarming. 5/10.