Sisa

There is honestly so much to say about the film that I can't find it in me to put it into concise words. It would take at least a couple rewatches to fully grasp everything that was given to us by this movie, but essentially, it really opened my eyes to the wonders of Filipino cinema and the whole world of it I mistakenly and ignorantly chose, deliberately, not to explore. Not to mention how it forced me to face the fact that my own conscious incomprehension with regards to my country's history and culture, my lack of appreciation and full acknowledgement of it, only feeds into the very thing my ancestors would have loathed to see the future generation of this country to have become—complacent, blind, and disloyal. Aside from the awe-inspiring message of the desperate desire for freedom and justice in a political setting as hopeless as one found in a place overrun by our colonizers, jam-packed into this delightfully poignant film, the tasteful art that it was done and portrayed with truly takes one's breath away. From the lighting (I am just such a sucker for lightings), the aspect ratio, the deliberate shots that convey plot points without making it obvious, the score, everything was done with love and a true respect for the craft and ingenuity behind it all. It could suffocate with just the right amount of discomfort that is to be expected in a film with such themes like this. 10/10 movie. Here's to more movies I can watch with friends and more movies made by my fellow Filipinos.