Dealing with the lives of the poor through narratives that are both dramatic but also quite entertaining was one of the traits of Lino Brocka, who, in this case, combines drama with exploitation in impressive fashion.
The story is based on the 1961 essay written by Nick Joaquin on the notorious 1960 Brown Derby shooting (as printed in Reportage on Crime) of Napoleon Nodecal, and revolves around Poldo, a lowly security guard in a publishing firm, who strives to provide for his mother and siblings, living in intense poverty. His life changes, however, when one night he defends the son of the owner, Sonny, from his frenemy, Direk who is enraged because the former stole his girlfriend from him. Poldo proves particularly tough, soon gaining the nickname ‘Jaguar’ and finding himself hanging out with the rich Sonny and his friends, all of whom frequently indulge in drugs and intense consumption of alcohol.
The story is based on the 1961 essay written by Nick Joaquin on the notorious 1960 Brown Derby shooting (as printed in Reportage on Crime) of Napoleon Nodecal, and revolves around Poldo, a lowly security guard in a publishing firm, who strives to provide for his mother and siblings, living in intense poverty. His life changes, however, when one night he defends the son of the owner, Sonny, from his frenemy, Direk who is enraged because the former stole his girlfriend from him. Poldo proves particularly tough, soon gaining the nickname ‘Jaguar’ and finding himself hanging out with the rich Sonny and his friends, all of whom frequently indulge in drugs and intense consumption of alcohol.
- 11/8/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Prolific Filipino helmer Adolfo Borinaga Alix Jr.’s latest big-screen endeavor “Mystery of the Night” is a supernatural folktale so beautifully atmospheric that one can almost overlook its escalating problems — for a while, at least. But this saga of an allegorical rape of Mother Nature by Western civilization, avenged by her forest she-creatures, eventually grows too humorlessly turgid to be as impactful as intended.
In the end, it’s an old-school Philippines cinema exercise in women weeping for the sins visited upon them by men, even if here the horror trappings allow for some payback. Those genre elements, as well as the film’s visual beauty, will be its major lure to non-Tagalog-speaking viewers.
After a brief flash-forward to climactic events, and opening credits that, in shadow-play style (performed by El Gamma Penumbra) illustrate the mythology of vengeful forest spirits (aka Aswang of Filipino folklore), the story begins in a...
In the end, it’s an old-school Philippines cinema exercise in women weeping for the sins visited upon them by men, even if here the horror trappings allow for some payback. Those genre elements, as well as the film’s visual beauty, will be its major lure to non-Tagalog-speaking viewers.
After a brief flash-forward to climactic events, and opening credits that, in shadow-play style (performed by El Gamma Penumbra) illustrate the mythology of vengeful forest spirits (aka Aswang of Filipino folklore), the story begins in a...
- 8/3/2019
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Carlo Enciso Catu was born in Angeles City, Pampanga, on September 26th 1993. He worked as a professional theater actor. After a series of short movies, he directed his debut feature, Ari: My Life with A King in 2015 which went on to win several awards. In 2016, he was the youngest director to be nominated for best director award at 39th Gawad Urian (The Philippines’ Oscars). His latest film, “Waiting for Sunset” won Best Film Award at Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival
On the occasion of Waiting for Sunset screening at the 25th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas, we speak with him about shooting a film about and with older people, humor, cockfighting, the Philippine film industry and other topics.
Your film was a big success at Cinemalaya Awards, how proud are you of its success and how do you think it will help you in the future?
I was very...
On the occasion of Waiting for Sunset screening at the 25th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas, we speak with him about shooting a film about and with older people, humor, cockfighting, the Philippine film industry and other topics.
Your film was a big success at Cinemalaya Awards, how proud are you of its success and how do you think it will help you in the future?
I was very...
- 2/25/2019
- by Jamie Cansdale
- AsianMoviePulse
Choices. Life is full of them, but what happens afterwards when we have made our choice and we cannot turn back time? The aftermath of this dilemma is beautifully portrayed in Carlo Enciso Catu’s “Waiting for Sunset”. Named Best Film and receiving several awards at the 14th Cinemalaya Film Festival, “Waiting for Sunset” presents the aftermath of romantic life-choices in a sensitive and original story.
“Waiting for Sunset” is screening at
Festival International des Cinémas d’Asie de Vesoul
Teresa (Perla Bautista) and Celso (Menggie Cobarrubias) are an elderly couple who live together and have raised two children. Both enjoy each other’s company, but one day Teresa receives a phone call from her estranged husband Bene (Dante Rivero) who is terminally ill. Without a doubt, Teresa goes to take care of him and Celso joins her later. As the estranged pair sees each other for the first time in more than two decades,...
“Waiting for Sunset” is screening at
Festival International des Cinémas d’Asie de Vesoul
Teresa (Perla Bautista) and Celso (Menggie Cobarrubias) are an elderly couple who live together and have raised two children. Both enjoy each other’s company, but one day Teresa receives a phone call from her estranged husband Bene (Dante Rivero) who is terminally ill. Without a doubt, Teresa goes to take care of him and Celso joins her later. As the estranged pair sees each other for the first time in more than two decades,...
- 2/10/2019
- by Sofía Murell
- AsianMoviePulse
Graceland - Drafthouse Films - Blu-ray and DVD Directed by: Ron Morales Cast: Arnold Reyes, Menggie Cobarrubias, Dido Dela Paz,Leon Miguel, Marife Necisito. Full cast + crew Graceland is like the art-house version of Taken. Instead of having an ex-cia badass tearing through a foreign city to look for his kidnapped daughter who is about to be forced into prostitution, we've got a politician's poorly paid driver who goes on a mission through hell after his daughter is accidentally kidnapped in place of the politician's daughter. That's about where the similarities end, though. I just wanted to get the attention of anyone who otherwise may not pay attention to a Filipino thriller. Graceland is a dark, unflinching movie about the limits...
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- 7/26/2013
- by Peter Hall
- Movies.com
Welcome back to a slightly revamped version of This Week In Discs! As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Graceland Marlon Villar (Arnold Reyes) is chauffeur to Manuel Chango (Menggie Cobarrubias), a salaciously corrupt politician in the Philippines who expects obedience and loyalty regardless of his actions. The two men have daughters the same age, and one day while Marlon drives the girls to school they’re stopped in an attempt to kidnap the politician’s daughter. Things go terribly awry, and the confused kidnappers take Marlon’s daughter instead having mistaken her for Chango’s child. Now Marlon’s only hope is for the politician to pay the ransom in the belief that his daughter is in peril, but maintaining the lie may lead to an even bigger tragedy. Writer/director Ron Morales‘ fast-moving and vicious little film is a fantastically economical thriller that wastes no time diving...
- 7/23/2013
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
It's a trickier process than it might seem, creating a sympathetic character whose world is imploding, mapping his internal anguish while illustrating all he's up against. Striking the right balance between interior and exterior can mean the difference between compelling drama and accidental melodrama. Writer-director Ron Morales just misses equilibrium in the visually arresting Filipino thriller Graceland. When saintly chauffeur Marlon Villar (Arnold Reyes)—devoted father, husband to a deathly ill wife—is ensnared in the bungled kidnapping of the daughter of Manuel Chango (Menggie Cobarrubias,) the pedophilic politician for whom he works, he finds himself in a race to save his own daughter even as his credibility is called into question. Good and evil are broadly sk...
- 4/27/2013
- Village Voice
The story of a man fighting for his loved ones, doing whatever it takes to better their lives or to save them from the peril they’re in, is far from revolutionary in film. In fact, some variation of that tale is at the core of almost any story. After all, what serves as a greater motivator than love? With Graceland, writer/director Ron Morales takes that story but puts a very dark and very haunting spin on it.
Arnold Reyes stars as Marlon, the driver/assistant to a powerful and corrupt congressman, Chango (Menggie Cobarrubias), who frequently solicits underage prostitutes. Marlon, though disgusted, goes along with Chango’s scummy behavior since he has little in the way of other options. Between a sick wife and a daughter he has to support, he’s barely getting by, and unemployment isn’t an option. When his daughter and the congressman’s daughter are kidnapped,...
Arnold Reyes stars as Marlon, the driver/assistant to a powerful and corrupt congressman, Chango (Menggie Cobarrubias), who frequently solicits underage prostitutes. Marlon, though disgusted, goes along with Chango’s scummy behavior since he has little in the way of other options. Between a sick wife and a daughter he has to support, he’s barely getting by, and unemployment isn’t an option. When his daughter and the congressman’s daughter are kidnapped,...
- 4/26/2013
- by Alexander Lowe
- We Got This Covered
Ron Morales’ nifty second feature Graceland centers on Marlon Villar (Arnold Reyes), driver to corrupt senator Manuel Chango (Menggie Cobarrubias). The senator’s a pedophile with a penchant for underage hookers; Marlon — struggling to raise funds for an organ transplant for his ill wife — turns a blind eye. The two men’s daughters are friends, but when Marlon’s child is mistaken for the senator’s during a kidnapping, he has to lie his way into making sure the senator puts up the ransom funds. Running around Manila at the child-snatchers’ behest, Marlon and Morales take in a broad swath of pungent …...
- 4/26/2013
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Watch 3 clips from Graceland, starring Arnold Reyes and Menggie Cobarrubias. Family man Marlon Villar is the long-time driver of Manuel Chango, a corrupt Filipino congressman. One afternoon, while driving his and Chango’s preteen daughters home from school, the three are violently ambushed in a kidnapping attempt. When the attempt goes horribly awry, the wrong girl is taken, and the driver's life takes a sudden, terrifying turn. Left as the only witness to the crime, Marlon’s loyalty is called into question. As events unravel further, he, Chango, and their families become ensnared in a downward spiral of betrayal and deceit that will ultimately leave no one innocent.
- 4/26/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Drafthouse Films does it again, scouring, quite literally, the entire planet for the very best films otherwise virtually unseen by the majority of film goers. In an ongoing effort to bring powerful, hard-hitting films closer to the forefront, Graceland caught the attention of savvy film enthusiasts and now has the opportunity to spread its wings amidst a larger audience. Will you be one amidst those many?
Graceland tells the story of a working class father, and honest and good young man named Marlon Villar, played by Arnold Reyes. Set in the Philippines, Marlon finds his world thrown into chaos when a kidnapping goes terribly wrong and he finds himself fighting for his daughter’s life. Torn between his love for his own family and the demand placed upon him by his employer, Marlon must juggle a dangerous balance between doing what’s right and doing what he must.
Written and directed by Ron Morales,...
Graceland tells the story of a working class father, and honest and good young man named Marlon Villar, played by Arnold Reyes. Set in the Philippines, Marlon finds his world thrown into chaos when a kidnapping goes terribly wrong and he finds himself fighting for his daughter’s life. Torn between his love for his own family and the demand placed upon him by his employer, Marlon must juggle a dangerous balance between doing what’s right and doing what he must.
Written and directed by Ron Morales,...
- 4/24/2013
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Drafthouse Films' Graceland directed by Ron Morales has a fresh clip called Unforseen Consequences from the crime thriller. The film stars Arnold Reyes, Menggie Cobarrubias, Dido De La Paz, Leon Miguel, Ella Guevara, Marife Necesito and Patricia Gayod. Pic finds theatrical release on April 26th, but is already available on now available on iTunes and VOD everywhere. Graceland thrusts viewers into the corrupt underbelly of the Philippines' capital, exposing a world of deceit, exploitation, and startling depravity. Written and directed by Morales, a veteran of Michael Clayton and The Departed, the film depicts a desperate man's infinite moral compromises amidst a tale of kidnapping gone horribly wrong.
- 3/29/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Drafthouse Films' Graceland directed by Ron Morales has a fresh clip called Unforseen Consequences from the crime thriller. The film stars Arnold Reyes, Menggie Cobarrubias, Dido De La Paz, Leon Miguel, Ella Guevara, Marife Necesito and Patricia Gayod. Pic finds theatrical release on April 26th, but is already available on now available on iTunes and VOD everywhere. Graceland thrusts viewers into the corrupt underbelly of the Philippines' capital, exposing a world of deceit, exploitation, and startling depravity. Written and directed by Morales, a veteran of Michael Clayton and The Departed, the film depicts a desperate man's infinite moral compromises amidst a tale of kidnapping gone horribly wrong.
- 3/29/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Check out images as well as the trailer for Drafthouse Films' Graceland directed by Ron Morales, starring Arnold Reyes, Menggie Cobarrubias, Dido De La Paz, Leon Miguel, Ella Guevara, Marife Necesito and Patricia Gayod. We've also included a soundtrack sampler download below as well. Graceland thrusts viewers into the corrupt underbelly of the Philippines' capital, exposing a world of deceit, exploitation, and startling depravity. Written and directed by Morales, a veteran of Michael Clayton and The Departed, the film depicts a desperate man's infinite moral compromises amidst a tale of kidnapping gone horribly wrong.
- 2/28/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Check out images as well as the trailer for Drafthouse Films' Graceland directed by Ron Morales, starring Arnold Reyes, Menggie Cobarrubias, Dido De La Paz, Leon Miguel, Ella Guevara, Marife Necesito and Patricia Gayod. We've also included a soundtrack sampler download below as well. Graceland thrusts viewers into the corrupt underbelly of the Philippines' capital, exposing a world of deceit, exploitation, and startling depravity. Written and directed by Morales, a veteran of Michael Clayton and The Departed, the film depicts a desperate man's infinite moral compromises amidst a tale of kidnapping gone horribly wrong.
- 2/28/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Ron Morales' dark Filipino thriller Graceland has found itself a home in North America with Drafthouse Films, who plan a limited theatrical and VOD release in 2013 before hitting physical media.Family man Marlon Villar (Arnold Reyes) is the long-time driver of Manuel Chango (Menggie Cobarrubias), a corrupt Filipino politician. One day, as he and his daughter accompany his boss' preteen daughter home, Marlon is ambushed and the wrong girl is kidnapped. The driver's life takes a sudden, terrifying turn which propels him into a horrifying downward spiral and - as events in his life unravel - Marlon, Chango, and their families become entangled in a game of deceit and betrayal that will leave no one innocent.Graceland is the second feature from acclaimed writer/director Ron...
- 8/30/2012
- Screen Anarchy
Title: Graceland Director: Ron Morales Cast: Arnold Reyes, Menggie Cobarrubias and Dido De La Paz It seems like crime, corruption and politicians go hand in hand. The idea that you are above the law is tempting to anyone who has a seat of power and authority, which is probably why it’s never shocking to hear news of a politician in trouble with the law. In the new film from filmmaker Ron Morales, “Graceland,” he explores what any man will do when his family is threatened, by severing all loyalties to protect your loved ones. “Graceland” follows the story of Marlon (Arnold Reyes), the assistant to local Congressman Manuel Chango (Menggie [ Read More ]...
- 5/4/2012
- by Rudie Obias
- ShockYa
Back in November Twitch was proud to launch the trailer for Ron Morales' intensely dark drama Graceland and with the film freshly announced at Tribeca we're equally pleased to bring you the first look at the official poster.Family man Marlon Villar (Arnold Reyes) is the long-time driver of Manuel Chango (Menggie Cobarrubias), a corrupt Filipino politician. One day, as he and his daughter accompany his boss' preteen daughter home, Marlon is ambushed and the wrong girl is kidnapped. The driver's life takes a sudden, terrifying turn which propels him into a horrifying downward spiral and - as events in his life unravel - Marlon, Chango, and their families become entangled in a game of deceit and betrayal that will leave no one innocent.Graceland is...
- 3/8/2012
- Screen Anarchy
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