Movie No. 19 (2019): ISKA

Iska (2019)
Director: Theodore Boborol
Cast: Ruby Ruiz
In Tagalog, with English subtitles

No doubt this is an advocacy film. The almost documentary style approach does the trick. The screenplay is rich with well-researched content: poverty, mental health, media sensationalism, and other easily recognizable social issues. Ruby Ruiz does a very good job as Iska, the grandmother of Dongdong, an autistic child her care. Her almost hand-to-mouth existence is made more complicated by her good-for-nothing husband, the threat of losing a job, intrusion of media into her life, and other things to worry.

The visuals are not pretty, which is expected in a movie with poverty in the backdrop. Sometimes the shots are shaky, can be distracting. I know this is a technique, suggesting things. 

This is one of the best entries in Cinemalaya 2019.

Rating: 3.5/4.0

Date seen: August 4, 2019