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Isang Himala 2024
There’s a scene in Isang Himala (lit. ‘A Miracle’) where Elsa, played by the formidable Aicelle Santos, looks up at the heavens by her window and pleads, her voice cracking with emotion: “Madaya ka! Kausapin mo ako!” (“You are so unfair! Talk to me!”).
This moment, inspired by the original 1982 film Himala, is both familiar and profoundly new. While Nora Aunor’s portrayal of Elsa remains iconic, Santos doesn’t attempt to mimic Aunor’s performance. Instead, she reinvents Elsa for a…
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And the Breadwinner Is... 2024
Without fail, there is always one entry in every iteration of the Metro Manila Film Festival that screams "most Filipino," proudly displaying all the imperfect sincerity that has made Philippine cinema so fascinating, warts and all. Last year, Rewind took the cake. This year, Jun Robles Lana's And the Breadwinner Is… assumes the mantle.
The smart thing about this film, a dramedy about a breadwinner working as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Taiwan, is that it knows who its…
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