Magkaibigan

As someone who barely watches Filipino/tagalog films this one took me by surprise. This movie is a simple, honest to goodness depiction of friendship. The way this was portrayed is so genuine and the various interaction between the characters so spot-on it felt like I was watching real life.

The characters are genuine, and the story (even though the ending was a "dead' give-away due to narrator) wisely centered around the ordinary lives of the main characters.

No fancy stuff here, just a feel good reality movie. Estrada was a revelation and makes me watch his other movies. De Leon, although already a pillar of Philippine television and movie scene, is unfamiliar to me but now I totally understand all the critical acclaim.

Maricel and Zuelta also give authentic performances. The other "kumpares" are also well played although I wish they had more movie time. The only regrettable performances came from the sons although teenagers really are wooden in real life as well. The daughter was good though, and explains why she's still around in the entertainment scene.

Was rather surprised this was dedicated to Rudy Fernandez, was this movie based on his friendship with somebody? The director perhaps? Or one of the stars? All in all a pleasant surprise, and I would watch this again in totality as I wasn't able to catch the first 20 minutes of the movie. I actually stopped my studies because I was so gripped by the performances of de Leon and Estrada, and I had to write this review.