June 27, 2026
Elderly Sister Yolanda (Ruby Ruiz) lived and worked in a 400 year-old convent, the main building of which was already in various states of disrepair. Her Mother Superior Angie (Lui Manansala) had assigned young Sister Arlene (Kare Adea) under her mentorship. As the ministry of her congregation was hospital work, she would make daily rounds on Celia, the comatose mother of rich and influential Mrs. Linda dela Cruz (Maricel Soriano).
One day, a Policeman (Apollo Abraham) requested Sister Yolanda to administer the last rites to a young man Angelo (BJ Forez), who had sustained severe injuries in an accident at a major road construction project in their town. After Angelo's death, his father Cesar (Emmanuel Santos) could not get a straight answer about the circumstances of his son's accident and what had transpired at the hospital, much to Sister Yolanda's chagrin.
This film is the directorial debut of young Fil-Australian filmmaker James Robinson, who also wrote the screenplay. He had actually already won the award for Best Australian Director when this film premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2025. Robinson's prior profession as a photographer was evident in the beautiful camera angles, play of light, shadows, smoke, and blocking of the actors, making each scene look like striking postcards.
Ms. Ruby Ruiz comes up with yet another restrained yet magnetic performance here as her Sister Yolanda eventually realized how naive she had been after all these years she had spent behind the walls of her convent. Diamond Star Maricel Soriano managed to portray her Ms. Linda with enough compassion so as not to come off as an outright villain, even if she was. Kare Adea imbued her Sister Arlene with youthful idealism that made her question her calling.
Soliman Cruz's Fr. Claridad seemed so kind and fatherly, even if he was being so hypocritical and prejudiced. This was the first time I have seen Emmanuel Santos, but his subdued portrayal of bereaved father Cesar connected very strongly with me. BJ Forez only had one scene as the dying Angelo, but his fear was contagious. National Artist for Film Kidlat Tahimik had a remarkable cameo as land caretaker Diwa, a friend of Yolanda's late mother.
The dilapidated condition of the old convent would seem to be a metaphor the instability of the Catholic Church presently. As the film suggested (in a not too subtle way), the Church could cave in to external pressures, either financial or political. This insidious corruption was represented by the stinky rot coming from the forest. Robinson's pace can be glacially slow, but his stylish cinematography makes his auspicious debut effort worth a watch. 7/10
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