Patay na si Hesus Review (Opens August 16)
Today we offer our Patay na si Hesus review which is part of the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino. It stars Jaclyn Jose and is directed by Victor Villanueva!
I don’t want to bore you to death about what the film is so here’s a trailer to set expectations and all that.
A word of warning, this is set in Cebu and for most of the movie’s runtime, they speak Cebuano They’ll use tagalog at least a handful of times here. So if you’re not a fan of watching subbed movies, I suggest you get your act straight before this movie opens officially this week.
Speaking of Cebuano, Jaclyn Jose (Ma Rosa) doesn’t speak Cebuano AT ALL. She’s so dedicated to her craft and love the project so much she hired a dialect coach to help her in learning the dialect and deliver the lines properly. During the post-screening press con, we were also informed by the film’s creative team that by the end of production, she was already better than some of the native speakers.
If you’ve read or seen the William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying”, its very similar in terms of generalized plot with less old world English, less James Franco and less depression. Seriously, Patay na si Hesus in total is a fun movie to watch. There are a few twists and turns here and there and they spice things up. But take that out of the equation and it would still be a fun movie.
The plot is that Jaclyn Jose’s character together with her children needs to go to Dumaguete to attend the wake of her dead ex-husband. They take a roadtrip that makes them realize how important they are to one another and how distant they’ve grown apart in recent time. Along the way, they get to either solve their problems or improve their situation. Then get some closure.
Seryoso, napakasimple ng plot ng movie pero sobrang malikhain at interesting ang beats and dialogues na ginamit nila.
Jokes and comedic moments, marami. Para sa akin though, may hits and miss. Siguro 80% sapul and 20% parang masyado na yata akong matanda para ma-gets yun. Still, swak parin naman ang timpla ng humor lalo na yung mga scenes between Jaclyn and dun sa bunso nila.
Pretty disgusting too that guy in the first act. Watch out for that. Sobrang nag-cringe ako and made me wonder if ang character arc ba nya ay bading sya and he wants to come out kay Jaclyn. I was wrong.
While most of the cast are newcomers, I want to commend actress Chai Fonacier who plays Jaclyn’s daughter Jude or Judith Marie in the movie. She not only changed her looks for the role but also delivered a stunning work for the film. Napakagaling ng pag transition nya from hopelessly in love to broken hearted and it had gravitas too. We need to see more of her work in mainstream media sa totoo lang.
Vincent Viado who plays Bert in the movie is a darling all throughout. Ang simple yet swabe ng delivery ng mga lines nya all throughout the movie. Medyo maganda rin ang pagkakasulat sa character nya kasi may pagka chick magnet sya. Tapos ang sharp and witty din ng ibang lines. Good on-screen rapport din with his younger “siblings”.
The final act is where things seem to gel together for the characters. In hindsight, parang buhay din nating lahat yun. Saya, lungkot, saya and then repeat lang. Kahit in our family life, ganun din ang cycle. Minsan nga sa family pa nagsisimula ang problema. Pero it usually works out OK in the end.
What makes me want to give a high mark for this Patay na si Hesus review is the fact that we are being presented with a family that’s not so different from ours. Lahat tayo either one or two characters meron sa pamilya natin; baka nga isa tayo sa mga characters dito sa , di lang natin na-realize yet. Yun ang simple beauty nito. Realization lang din na nabubuo tayo pag may patay sa pamilya. That shouldn’t be the case talaga.
Anyway, Patay na si Hesus opens August 16 from Columbia Pictures Philippines.
