‘Gulay Lang, Manong’

Writer-director BC Amparado’s message is crystal clear: legalize medical cannabis in the Philippines. However, he doesn’t force it upon the audience.

His topical comedy brims with wit and satire, triggering plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. The colorful characters are consistent and richly drawn, performed with delightful naturalism by an exceptional cast ensemble.

The film follows an old vegetable farmer, Manong (Perry Dizon), who crosses paths with a hilariously vain and ambitious cop, Lacson (Cedrick Juan). Amid the heat of the drug war, Lacson uses the lowly farmer to bring down a “drug cartel” to advance his career.

The duo then meets a midget cannabis grower (Ranzell Magpantay) and the renowned genius weed farmer, Haring Damo (Dong Abay).

While we can predict the eventual enlightenment of both Manong and Lacson on the medical benefits of cannabis, the journey is fun and never preachy. The film is entertaining, compassionate, and perfectly paced—not to mention boasting a cool soundtrack. Its advocacy still shines through, with a side commentary on the plight of farmers. Intelligent, earnest, and enjoyable, it’s a must-see in this year’s line-up. (4.5 out of 5 stars)

‘Love Child’

Jonathan Jurilla’s middling domestic drama-slash-love story follows a young, unmarried couple, Ayla and Pao (RK Bagatsing, Jane Oineza), who are struggling to raise their love child — a four-year-old son with autism (John Tyrron Ramos). Set in Silay, Bacolod, the drama is straightforward and often melodramatic, painted with a dreamy color palette and laced with a slightly emotionally manipulative score.

The characters are somewhat one-dimensional: Ayla is the worrywart mom and Pao is the level-headed, optimistic dad. However, this can be somewhat forgiven due to the strong and believable conflict. You find yourself empathizing with them as they navigate financial distress compounded by the expensive care required for their child with special needs.

There are plenty of cheesy lines, but a few bright moments, including Ayla’s existential questions. Despite some questionable scenarios —particularly the scene where their son goes missing for a while — the film is not bad. It manages to stimulate discussion on values, decisions, and painful sacrifices common among many lower- to middle-income Filipino families. (2.5 out of 5 stars)

‘Tumandok’

Filmmakers Richard Jeroui Salvadico and Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay team up with the Ati, a culturally indigenous Visayan group residing in the mountains of Panay, to create this transcendent semi-documentary that is mandatory viewing.

I lost count of how many times I choked back tears (with one scene making me bawl for an embarrassingly long time). Tumandok is masterful storytelling that brings to light the factual and gigantic struggles of the Ati to reclaim their ancestral land through the lens of its central character, En (Jenaica Sangher).

It’s a visually arresting cinematic feature starring an all-Ati cast of non-professional actors that lends the film heartbreaking authenticity. The lines are succinct yet poetic and pierce the heart. Even the quiet moments are packed with feelings.

Tumandok is neither exploitative nor manipulative, but rather overflowing with compassion for the lives of this ethnic group, who are sadly treated like pests, tourist attractions, and robbed of basic human rights. 

Deeply inspired and earnest, you will never see your petty problems the same way again. It also gently provokes active participation in contributing to saving our ethnic brothers and sisters. (5 out of 5 stars)

‘An Errand’

A gorgeously lensed arthouse drama on social class divides, An Errand starts off intriguing as it takes viewers into a rarely explored world: the relationship between private car drivers and their wealthy, influential bosses. However, after the one-hour mark, I was already exhausted.

Dominic Bekaert’s often silent, meditative drama follows a driver, Moroy (Sid Lucero), as he runs a strange errand for his boss, simply called “Sir” (Art Acuña), at an ungodly hour.

I feared the movie would closely follow in the steps of Steven Knight’s unforgettable 2013 drama-thriller Locke (starring Tom Hardy), but luckily, it swerves into an entirely different direction, utilizing flashbacks and memories instead of phone conversations.

It takes its sweet time luxuriating in beautifully composed frames, strictly confining us to the world of drivers with super-rich and powerful bosses and their impenetrable—and often dangerous — world. Don’t ask questions, just obey — even if your boss chats with cryptic old women in the backseat, keeps a mistress and a gun, and never reveals the nature of his work.

The abrupt ending elicited a collective gasp in the packed theater where I watched. It’s the type of ending that breeds confusion and multiple theories. 

Because of the film’s excessive ambiguity and self-indulgence, it robs the story of its essence and substance, leaving you emotionally shortchanged and ultimately unsatisfied. (2 out of 5 stars)

‘The Wedding Dance’

Julius Lumiqued’s period drama set in the 1940s in the Cordilleras is difficult to take seriously. Unrefined and often absurdly comical with strong teleserye qualities, it wastes the talent of his cast. It is stagey, with blockings that remind you of dioramas.

Based on Amador T. Daguio’s short story, The Wedding Dance follows a young Kalinga couple, Awiyao and Lumnay (Arvin Balageo, Mai Fanglayan), from the moment they lay eyes on each other to their childless marriage. However, it is told in a nonlinear fashion.

Topics of patriarchy and the discussion on the value of marriage and children are lost in the film’s shockingly cloying, mawkish, and awkward treatment. Aside from its lack of immersive power and a sense of real cinematic qualities, it also subjects the viewers to punishingly overstretched scenes of anguish.

You can’t help but feel concerned about Fanglayan — not her character Lumnay, but the actress — who does all she can to look believably distraught and on the brink of madness in a movie that feels like the work of a mere dabbler. (0 out of 5 stars)

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The Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival runs until 11 August in select Ayala Malls Cinemas.