Movie No. 61 (2016): HIBLANG ABO

Hiblang Abo (2016)
Director: Ralston Jover
Cast: Lou Veloso, Leo Rialp, Nanding Josef, Jun Arbano
In Tagalog, with English subtitles

I was in the gala screening of the movie so that before the movie was screened the director shared that the movie was based on a play. Indeed, there were scenes that were theatrical, but not as conspicuous as Kusina's.

The film is about four old men who share the same room in a home for the aged. Each one of them has secret that they don't want to share to the other despite the considerable length of time that they've been living together in the same room. But, their demons in the past catch up on them, which cause tension among them. The tension peaks one day, a Palm Sunday; something tragic happens, making life or what remains of it no longer the same. 

Each of the actors has his own moment. I will not be surprised if Cinemalaya awards the Best Actor trophy to all of them. At points where each of the old men's secrets are revealed in flashbacks, the same actor is used to play their younger selves. This is a clever decision, which can suggest that each one's past is not different from the others'. 

Generally, I'm satisfied with the movie except for the technical aspects of it. I may have just ignored it but I don't spare the technical lapses of the other films in this batch pf Cinemalaya entries. So here it is. The cinematography is bleak. I'm not sure if its is made to look that way, which may be suggestive of the protagonists' predicaments. Production design is wanting. There also issues in editing as some scenes tend to drag.

Rating: 3.0/4.0

Date seen: August 9, 2016