The Carlo Francisco Manatad disaster-themed drama film that chose to use Waray-Waray as its medium of its dialogues–may have settled the second-best picture in the recently concluded 47th edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival‘s Gabi ng Parangal; but its Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural award is enough proof that it is worth watching in cinemas.
From the 23 awards at stake during the annual awards night, Kun Maupay Man it Panahon (Whether the Weather Is Fine) takes pride in the film’s seven wins, including Charo Santos-Concio‘s best actress and Rans Rifol’s best-supporting actress, respectively.
Manatad’s depiction of the 2013 super-typhoon Yolanda (also known as typhoon Haiyan) that hit the Philippines is timely and relevant due to the devastation caused by another super-typhoon Odette (typhoon Rai) in mid-December last year.
However, what makes this film worthy of moviegoers’ time and efforts to catch in its remaining days of the MMFF-run is the story and the message it hopes to provide for the Filipino people. Though the people’s behaviors in a disaster-stricken place may be universal–it still showed three hopeful means of coping with such grief and losses.
Rifol’s character as Andrea exhibited that kind of resoluteness in her faith. Though she may have chosen a path that seemed to be impractical to most–but still she lived up to her name’s meaning as ‘strong and brave.’ The Scriptures said, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
A scene with Andrea in a huge crowd is served as a social commentary of how Filipinos resort to religion, fanaticism, or even faith amid desperate times. Her acting and her winning the actress in a supporting role is a departure from her MNL48 image. She proved that if given the right break–she can excel, even in acting.
Santos-Concio, on the other hand, is the deglamorized current ABS-CBN Corporation’s chief content officer (CCO) and ABS-CBN University’s president did not fail to deliver an award-winning performance as Norma, the mother of Daniel Padilla‘s character in the said film.
Portraying Norma, she showed what a mother is. She exercised authority. First, she is the wife of Luis Santos, then the mother of Miguel. That scene where she had to compel her son to hit her as part of her game plan to get through the rescue center was intense. Despite her son’s persuasion to leave Tacloban and start anew–she is bent on finding her lost husband. How she saw life amid that tragedy was different from Andrea and Miguel’s.
But Padilla’s Miguel is the messianic type. After he saw the hopeless situation in their town, he was determined to get out and migrate to Manila; however, he faced too many challenges.
He delivered his Waray lines convincingly. Second, he proved his capacity to do films minus his on-and-off screen partner Kathryn Bernardo. His role was far from his commercial film projects as it earned him the special jury award. It was a good move taking on the character.
In the film, Miguel is the lone symbol of a hopeful individual who seeks to escape from darkness and find the light at the end of a tunnel.
The film assumed to be poverty porn turned out to be something more. It made the experience of re-living the tragedy by trying to uplift the victims since it is an ode to the people who went through it.
The production design by Juan Manuel Alcazaren and the visual effects by Mofac Creative Works, Hue Media Quantum Post, and Ogie Tiglao succeeded in painting the tragedy and were named best in their category.
The production design by Juan Manuel Alcazaren and the visual effects by Mofac Creative Works, Hue Media Quantum Post, and Ogie Tiglao succeeded in painting a tragedy vividly. Also, the film was named best in both categories.
Manatad may not have intended to push the envelope further, but it did. Metaphorically, it challenges the moviegoers to deal with tragedy, survive, and move on after. Resiliency is about being ready when faced with such horrors in the future.
