The Zanjoe Marudo-starrer film is a reflection of a typical Filipino family that perceives raising children as an investment.
Establishing what a family is, the shots the filmmaker Law Fajardo did in his opening scenes already set the tone for what kind of family the De Dioses are as devout Catholics and devotees of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo, Manila.
The story is not about an alien trying to belong to the human race, but a man who aspires to fulfill his dreams. He seeks support from his toxic family. He is no superhero, but he is the hero in the eyes of his niece, Jing-Jing,
Painting Hypocrisy in a Family.
Perhaps, some of those who have listened to the song of the Filipino folk-punk-rock band Yano, who popularized Banal na Aso, Santong Kabayo in 1993, would easily refer to the De Dios family as an ideal reflection of what the song describes.
Behind the facade of religiosity, the family has–there are stinks or perhaps rusts that corrode the very image of them in public. The matriarch, Aurora, portrayed by the seasoned and versatile actress Susan Africa, has a strong-willed personality. But in truth, she is failing as a mother to her four children (especially to her two sons) and a grandchild.
The unannounced arrival of her younger son, Arsenio (Marudo), a chef in Dubai, shook the family she had been trying to hold together for years while the latter was working abroad. Her son decided to settle down and start a new life by making roots of his own–to start a family and venture into the restaurant business with some partners.
It strained her relationship with Arsenio, the loving, generous, and good provider for the family, after the head of the family passed away.
It Stems from a Sibling Rivalry.
Despite Arsenio’s efforts for his family, he had no idea that he was only working for his family, and that was his sole function, nothing more. He was the cash cow for his family to survive in a country with a poverty incidence among families at 10.9 percent (or equivalent to 3.0 million poor families) in 2023.
Such a sad reality that is.
Arsenio came home not to surprise his family but the other way around. He even triggered the jealousy of his older brother, Domingo Jr. (Richard Quan). That part, the moviegoers had to discover as the story progresses.
Conflict will always be part of any family, but to nurture it until it becomes toxic is unhealthy.
Teaching Families about Maturity and Accountability.
Sadly, some Filipino families who have household members or relatives who have gone abroad and are working as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) treat them as saviors or the answer to alleviate their economic status–without looking after their welfare while away from their homes.
They don’t just pick the money they send as remittances. OFWs are working their asses off to earn and send back to their families and relatives–to provide better life conditions. They are humans. Not robots. They get tired, too. They need a break from the toxicity of their families. Love them for the sacrifices they made and not for the remittances they can send.
Parents must understand that it is not their children’s duty to pay back for raising them for years. It is not an imposition for them to return the favor and feel obligated to do so. Parents must raise their kids to be mature individuals and have a sense of accountability.
Marudo delivered a sensitive performance of an OFW who is on the verge of giving up his dreams. Africa is equally great as the De Dios matriarch. Audiences will either hate or love her. Quan is noticeably good as the older brother of Marudo’s character.
Also in the cast are Sherry Lara, Lesley Lina, Keena Pineda, and Juharra Asayo, with special participation of Nonie Buencamino as the De Dios patriarch.
How to Run Away from My Toxic Family confronts the motivations of every household member about the true essence of love and what home is about. Though the denouement the writer chose was to let the audience guess what happened to Arsenio, it still left a positive note. Somewhere
The film opens in SM Cinemas nationwide on July 30.
