In search of good Filipino movies

I grew up in a household where movies were appreciated. My father, when he was alive, enjoyed watching war flicks. An older sister would often take me to watch American films; another sister loved Tagalog movies.

This childhood exposure turned me into a movie buff. I love foreign movies—French, Swedish, English, Chinese. I don’t mind reading subtitles.

For a while, I lived in the United States, where new movies were released every weekend, and audiences had the pick of the best.

Now that I’m back in the country, I notice, sadly, a dearth of good movies. If there’s a new release that is a box-office hit in the US, five of six theaters would show that Hollywood blockbuster. The other movie house would inevitably be showing something like… a Vhong Navarro starrer.

Spare me, please. Let us watch the likes of “Oro, Plata, Mata.”

I am afraid I am biased. Big turnoffs for me are so-called kilig  movies with English titles. And so I have been seeing more indie films. The last one was “On the Job,” a very good production.

I am always on the lookout for movies that are worth my while, especially indies—but why are so few of them released locally?

“Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan” is a case in point. I hear that foreign critics consider it one of the past year’s best movies worldwide. Hopefully, we’ll get to see more indie films like this one released locally. But I am not going to hold my breath.

Thank you for allowing me to vent. Arthur Buan ([email protected])