April 12, 2024
During the pandemic, attractive middle-aged woman Sarah (Sue Prado) earned a living mainly by cooking native desserts and tutoring students online. She lived with a slacker young man Emman (Kokoy De Santos), whom she introduced as her son. In the afternoon, Emman would to the house of Amy (Elora Espano), the girl who helped Sarah with her food business. They would do drugs, which would invariably lead to rounds of sex.
One day, Sarah brought home a younger lad Oliver (Miggy Jimenez), whom she introduced to be the son of her eldest brother. Oliver was being physically abused by his father, and Sarah thought it best to take the boy away from his home and bring him home with her. Ever since Oliver moved in, the insecure Emman could not help but feel paranoid that Sarah was getting closer to the new boy, while he was being pushed aside and taken for granted.
"Your Mother's Son" was one of four films written and directed by Jun Robles Lana released 2023, along with "About Us But Not About Us," "Ten Little Mistresses," and "Becky and Badette." It was first shown in Toronto, and a couple more foreign venues, before finally premiering in the Philippines tonight as the opening film of the IdeaFirst filmfest, launched to celebrate their 10th anniversary in the local film landscape.
Indie film goddess Sue Prado always had this sensual screen presence, and she played it to the hilt here as earthy mama Sarah. With roles like Amy, Elora Espano seems to follow the same career path Prado took. With his tousled curls and big round eyes, Kokoy De Santos projects crazy and recklessness in all his roles. Often shrouded in clouds of his vape, De Santos captured the precarious imbalance of Emman's psyche. Miggy Jimenez has that air of innocence about him, which made his turn as Oliver feel more corrupted.
Lana's original cut of this foray into the erotic film genre first got an X-rating from the MTRCB. He was able to somehow make judicious cuts to make it R-18 for a commercial release. The story about perverted sex and its link to violence was the stuff of Vivamax erotica. However, Lana showed here how a such a sick sordid tale could be richly spun with layers of simmering steam and danger before its inevitable conclusion. 7/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment