Honor Thy Father

ERIK MATTI DOES IT AGAIN! The well acclaimed director veers away from cheap love stories and shallow fantasies that consistently plague Philippine cinema. His focus on tackling real life, socio-economic issues & topics make his films worthy, with just the premise alone. In Honor Thy Father, he does just that as his no holds barred depiction of the hypocrisy and corruption within organized religion is so on point, that it is maddening. He also highlights the constant desire of desperate people to attain illusionary victories, whether through schemes or so called alms, due to the present social construct. Greed definitely has its place in the modern world, and Erik Matti reminds us of this harsh truth through fictional yet seemingly real stories of its victims. One of which, is Edgar.

In HTF, the grounded story of Edgar is THE main attraction. The drama and his struggle mirrors true plights of everyday people. As a result, his sense of desperation, was riveting, that one cant't help but anxiously cling to his every decision. JLC does a great job here but Meryll Soriano, as the flawed but well intentioned Kaye, was the standout.

This bold and well crafted picture is my pick for best (or second best?) Filipino film of the year. Give Erik Matti his flowers and hope he continuous to make films that spark controversies due to its true to life themes.

John Lloyd Cruz (Edgar) tackles a different role in this drama about a family caught amidst a scam. He sheds off his boy next door image to play a father who will do anything (including shaving his hair) for his daughter. Edgar and his wife were struggling in the urban life until they struck it good in an investment business. It was good for several months but When the business collapsed, with his fathers in law dead, their lives turned for the worst when a politician demanded their investment returned. Edgar returned to his roots, where we discovered his family background. Who else can we turn to in times of need but family? They plan on how to help Edgar to get the money they need in 2 weeks. Honor Thy Father is certainly a cut above the rest of the MMFF participants, a yearly parade of substandard films in the guise of entertainment come Christmas time in the Philippines. A film like this deserves to be watched.

Honor Thy Father is a heist film. That is all you need to know about its plot. But the movie is apparently more than just plot. It mainly explores a world of desperation, a commentary about oppression and greed, the theme of family and the reality of facing consequences. All of these are written in one very simple storyline and to be honest, it does it all perfectly and even beyond what it should be. The film takes us to this atmosphere and delivers it with a powerful effect in every moment. The filmmaking is masterful, the tension is subtle, the performances are down-to-earth tremendous; this is how you ultimately define a true great movie of the year.

The movie begins with its characters unable to escape from a serious trouble they put into themselves. We also see the ironies of this world where a person who came from a dirty past has more sense of generosity than some religious group that is supposed to be a representation of humility. But the big picture here is we live in a complex world, where you don't exactly know who is good or bad and what exactly is right or wrong. What matters is you survive. We explore these lives in total bleakness, where you felt that everything is under control by meaningless oppression, which makes you empathize these characters despite of their choices. This isn't quite a new story or lesson to tell, but its context and how the film puts these things together are what makes it brilliant. The pacing may be slower compared to director Matti's other crime thriller, OTJ, but the momentum is still felt, as the plot moves forward with a consistent slow burn.

One of the remarkable things around is the tension, like you can feel that bad things are meant to happen at every turn. It also helps that the score gets louder whenever things really get too far. The camera also shoots these moment by simply establishing the whole atmosphere of a particular sequence. But then, everything about the camera-work is strikingly terrific. The exterior shots are undeniably gorgeous, while everything else is just spot-on. The acting is no different from the quality of its filmmaking. Putting John Lloyd Cruz's talent outside from his romantic film mold proves that there is truly more to this actor than what we usually see from him. He presents whatever this role is feeling even at his quietest moments and what makes it remarkable is how natural he performs. No matter what situation he is facing, it makes the characters a lot easier to get inserted into.

There should be more local films like Honor Thy Father. I mean, the experience stands quite differently, even compared to many independent local films that you may usually encounter. How the story moves forward is expertly paced, the performances are authentic, the cinematography is obviously beautiful, the suspense is unpredictable and the themes and commentary are just powerfully represented. Yeah, the story is quite simple, but again, it just takes the advantage of true cinema and beyond, resulting a breathtaking gritty drama of which could have been just another crime thriller.

The movie begins with its characters unable to escape from a serious trouble they put into themselves. We also see the ironies of this world where a person who came from a dirty past has more sense of generosity than some religious group that is supposed to be a representation of humility. But the big picture here is we live in a complex world, where you don't exactly know who is good or bad and what exactly is right or wrong. What matters is you survive. We explore these lives in total bleakness, where you felt that everything is under control by meaningless oppression, which makes you empathize these characters despite of their choices. This isn't quite a new story or lesson to tell, but its context and how the film puts these things together are what makes it brilliant. The pacing may be slower compared to director Matti's other crime thriller, OTJ, but the momentum is still felt, as the plot moves forward with a consistent slow burn.

One of the remarkable things around is the tension, like you can feel that bad things are meant to happen at every turn. It also helps that the score gets louder whenever things really get too far. The camera also shoots these moment by simply establishing the whole atmosphere of a particular sequence. But then, everything about the camera-work is strikingly terrific. The exterior shots are undeniably gorgeous, while everything else is just spot-on. The acting is no different from the quality of its filmmaking. Putting John Lloyd Cruz's talent outside from his romantic film mold proves that there is truly more to this actor than what we usually see from him. He presents whatever this role is feeling even at his quietest moments and what makes it remarkable is how natural he performs. No matter what situation he is facing, it makes the characters a lot easier to get inserted into.

There should be more local films like Honor Thy Father. I mean, the experience stands quite differently, even compared to many independent local films that you may usually encounter. How the story moves forward is expertly paced, the performances are authentic, the cinematography is obviously beautiful, the suspense is unpredictable and the themes and commentary are just powerfully represented. Yeah, the story is quite simple, but again, it just takes the advantage of true cinema and beyond, resulting a breathtaking gritty drama of which could have been just another crime thriller.

The writing, direction, cinematography and score of this movie was amazing. And John Lloyd, oh John Lloyd god bless you. His acting was breath-taking. There is so much to love in this movie. It is not a perfect movie. It had its faults. For example It kind of dragged down in its second act. But fortunately, it picked up and ended with a bang. I can't even begin to describe how socially relevant this movie is today by discussing topics like religion, family and wealth.

This movie is what the Philippine movie industry need. It might have a strong "indie vibe", it is still very accessible to mainstream audience.