You have until Tuesday, 25 March, to catch CinePanalo at Gateway Cineplex 18, featuring seven full-length films and 25 short film entries.

‘SEPAK TAKRAW’

The film calls itself a sports drama, yet bizarrely, there’s nothing about the titular sport. Instead, Mes De Guzman’s indigenous film seems to think it’s playing sepak takraw, juggling multiple subplots only to drop them all.

It starts off strong. A visually stunning ritual unfolds against a majestic mountain and a calm river. Ruby Ruiz, this festival’s favorite, performs a ceremony on an adult man. It’s so National Geographic that it hooks you. Especially when the prologue promises cultural immersion into the Isinay people of Nueva Vizcaya.

Then the film cuts to a boy. He’s the center of the film, as the poster suggests. Enzo Osorio, the child actor who made us weep in last year’s The Hearing, is a little older now, and this time, we finally hear his voice.

And yet, there is no sepak takraw in this film, literally or figuratively. Just a few mentions, including an upcoming tryout that never happens. It feels like something got cut in post-production, as if all traces of the sport had to be removed.

The POV is confused. Is this Osorio’s character’s story — this troubled, heartbroken kid? Or is it Ruiz’s drunken, observant grandmother fighting for her ancestral land?

The film touches on so many issues: the effects of adultery on kids, mental health, domestic abuse, modern influences on the Isinay, the preservation of their traditions, and half-sibling dynamics. But it presents them in the most boring way possible. The execution is lifeless, made worse by stilted dialogue, awkward amateur performances (except Ruiz), and actors visibly looking at the camera.

Scenes stretch on unnecessarily. A barangay captain rants with exaggerated passion. Young boys tease each other with cringey dialogue. There’s a mining project called “AsianaGold,” clearly inspired by the real-life Didipio copper-gold project by OceanaGold, but the film barely scratches the surface.

Meanwhile, the most compelling theme, ancestral land rights and modern development, is barely explored. Albert Banzon’s impressive cinematography could have elevated it.

There is one captivating scene. A bonfire after a burial, with the Isinay chanting. For a moment, you wish De Guzman had just focused on their fight for cultural preservation and how government policies and legal restrictions affect indigenous customs, including their traditional burial practices.

But instead, we get a mess of a film. It jumps from dogs named Chaka and Rosie, to a philandering father, to a “good boy” named Ayong. There is plenty of Ruiz, her beautifully expressive face either running a commentary or wistful for some long-lost lover while getting intoxicated on rice wine. At some point, you almost wish you had some of that rice wine yourself — just to get through this film.

(0.5 out of 5 stars)

‘OLSEN’S DAY’

JP Habac’s well-deserved Best Director win at this year’s CinePanalo Film Festival is evident in Olsen’s Day, a tight, contemplative drama rich with subtext.

Nearly a one-man show, the film revolves around Olsen (CinePanalo Best Actor Khalil Ramos), a reserved, melancholic young man we follow on a journey from Dagupan to Manila, driving a van on All Saints’ Day. His passengers are Tony (Romnick Sarmenta), a strange, chatty man in his 50s, and Tonton (Xander Nuda, whom I consider the best child performer in this year’s festival), his young son.

Rarely do we get to see a local film packed with such exquisitely beautiful nuances, brought to life by two great actors who completely disappear into their roles. The intelligent, natural dialogue, flawlessly delivered in a casual, conversational tone by Ramos and Sarmenta, paired with their strong onscreen rapport, keeps you hooked from start to finish.

But what makes Olsen’s Day remarkable is not just its craftsmanship — it is a soulful film that treads delicately on the most painful aspects of life. At its core is a young man seemingly resigned to a depressing routine, with Habac masterfully capturing the secret sorrows of the heart through unconventional camera angles, thoughtful silences, and the guise of small talk.

And the small talk, humor, choice of radio songs, and references to The Little Prince are not mere fillers to get the characters talking. Every line is necessary, each one loaded with meaning, all tied to the essence of this poetic, meditative portrait of pain, resentment, regret, and loss within the family.

Of course, early on, one can already predict the twist, but execution is what truly matters. The ending takes an almost supernatural turn, slightly breaking the film’s tone, but nevertheless, the journey far outweighs the destination.

Great drama is one that understands its subject with profound depth, resulting in sharp, clever writing and masterful direction. It draws out the emotions of its characters without spelling everything out and trusts the intelligence of the audience. Olsen’s Day is clearly an inspired work of cinema.

(4.5 out of 5 stars)