Larger Than Life

I can't say enough good things about this film without sounding like I wrote and produced it myself. Out of a sea of retarded, predictable Pinoy movies, out came this gem in a sea of turd cakes. If you've been exposed to as much local films as I have, you know what I mean when I say the pickings are really slim. Producers don't like veering from formula scripts, that's why it was a really pleasant surprise when Regal Films (of all film outfits!) took a chance on this.

I loved the way the "film within a film" was treated and how everything about it was so well put together. Irma Adlawan and Ina Raymundo were stellar in their roles of the real life mother and daughter who were both molested by the grandfather. And the guy who played the grandfather in the "real-life" parts of the film was so menacing, he really made my stomach turn. The contrast between the reality and the sexploitation flick makes it tragic and funny at the same time because the exaggerations are so typical of actual pinoy sex flicks. All throughout the film, It feels like a tug of war between the heart wrenching tragedy of the real life situation and the the hilarity of the sex flick.

The sad thing about this film is that the title might have gotten in the way of having it reach a wider audience as mostly, people here thought it was the cheap sex flick it had satirized in the actual film. "Tuhog" invokes nasty images of incest and animalistic f****ng. It actually turned off the intelligent people who should have seen the film and probably disappointed the guys who expected to jerk off of it in cinemas.

I gave this a 10 and hope more people get to see this.

A film I watched as a prelude to May December.

Tuhog (or Larger than Life) tells the story of a family riddled by incest and a exploitative film company who wants to remake their past lives into film. When the film was released, the screen becomes closer to life and mixes their realities with the medium's predilection for earthly delights.

I think it was a huge mistake to watch this before May December because all of the things I had expected May December will do, was done here extremely well.

A pointed satire and a well acted drama, Tuhog really rises with its wonderful script from Armando Lao that smartly uses the film within the film premise. Using a very vivid interview section and pointed 'exploitation' film section. Everything about it is so witty and deliciously comedic yet encapsulate the darkness of their situation. I also love how it points out how films demonize mother-daughter or female-on-female relationships often times, which is a nice touch.

Also kudos to Adlawan and Raymundo in their respective roles. Adlawan has been a stalwart of Philippine Television. Playing mostly loving mother roles AND I think this is possibly the best material she'd had been given. She is both a loving mother but also trapped in her situation. Then Raymundo is the perfect mix youthful innocence and like her mother's trapped knowingness. They perfectly raises the bar for the film.

I do give it some minus points for being to on the nose with how these movie's affect people's perception of the real stories. This was a pointed satire of popular Softcore films in the Philippines at time, and those never really had the critical clamor or was highly respected for the most parts. The commentary on those do not stick. I also wished the film went full on visually BUT that is too much to asked for Philippine cinema.

Otherwise, Highly recommended.