I thought this movie was well written and scenes were carefully thought of. Congratulations to the whole team behind this rare gem and I can only imagine how tight the budget must have been. It tried its best to be as realistic as possible but I can understand the need to move away from being too pure to keep the audiences entertained. At least it does it in a way that the message/s it tried to convey is/are not spoiled.
The director does a great job of showcasing the sad situation of many Filipinos trying to live in this god forsaken city of Manila. And told it in a straight-up-in-your-face kind of way which is refreshing and impressive. I thought I would be lectured with the history and ills of martial law which I was anticipating. But I was surprised that is was not that way at all. Yes, there is this old guy who was a victim of torture and lost his son and wife from the hands of the notorious PCs of Marcos but it was just a necessary ingredient to what the writers were trying to concoct.
Loved the idea of the parallelisms of old days and current and again reminded us that history repeats itself even the dark ones if we, as what we are now witnessing----allow it.
Scene upon scene you are tricked in hoping finally something good would happen to Hendrix, putting your emotions throughout the movie uncomfortable at best. But alas, the writers have their own sneaky way of torturing the audiences as well.
The ending was done brilliantly. I could not see how to end it any other way. The symbolism of the swirling torn papers hits you just right. I felt relieved that I am not one of any of those characters and can go back to my comfy bed and life. But my heart breaks just a little knowing millions of my kababayans are not as fortunate.
The director does a great job of showcasing the sad situation of many Filipinos trying to live in this god forsaken city of Manila. And told it in a straight-up-in-your-face kind of way which is refreshing and impressive. I thought I would be lectured with the history and ills of martial law which I was anticipating. But I was surprised that is was not that way at all. Yes, there is this old guy who was a victim of torture and lost his son and wife from the hands of the notorious PCs of Marcos but it was just a necessary ingredient to what the writers were trying to concoct.
Loved the idea of the parallelisms of old days and current and again reminded us that history repeats itself even the dark ones if we, as what we are now witnessing----allow it.
Scene upon scene you are tricked in hoping finally something good would happen to Hendrix, putting your emotions throughout the movie uncomfortable at best. But alas, the writers have their own sneaky way of torturing the audiences as well.
The ending was done brilliantly. I could not see how to end it any other way. The symbolism of the swirling torn papers hits you just right. I felt relieved that I am not one of any of those characters and can go back to my comfy bed and life. But my heart breaks just a little knowing millions of my kababayans are not as fortunate.