40 (tie) – ANG TATAY KONG NANAY (Lino Brocka, 1978)
Brocka’s landmark film on gay parenthood made viewers realize that love does not discriminate. Features what possibly is Dolphy’s best performance ever.
Voted by:
- Joey Baquiran (Member, Young Critics Circle Film Desk)
- Ray Defante Gibraltar (Director; Wanted: Border, When Timawa Meets Delgado)
- Gary Devilles (Professor, Kagawaran ng Filipino, Ateneo de Manila University)
- Coreen Jimenez (Director, Kano: An American and His Harem): “Because Dolphy is my hero.”
- Rolando Tolentino (Member, Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino)
40 (tie) – KUNG MANGARAP KA’T MAGISING (Mike de Leon, 1977)
Possibly the most romantic Pinoy film of all-time, Kung Mangarap Ka’t Magising features Hilda Koronel at her loveliest, Christopher de Leon at his dreamiest, and Baguio City before it became uncool (literally and figuratively).
Voted by:
- Gary Devilles (Professor, Kagawaran ng Filipino, Ateneo de Manila University)
- Jon Lazam (Director; Nang gabing maging singlaki ng puso ang bato ni Darna, Hindi sa Atin ang Buwan)
- Mike Sandejas (Director; Tulad ng Dati, Dinig Sana Kita)
- Joaquin Enrico Santos (Writer; In the Name of Love, The Strangers)
40 (tie) – RELASYON (Ishmael Bernal, 1982)
Bernal’s examination of the life of a kept woman and her increasingly tenuous relationship with her lover provided the template for the recent spate of mistress films churned out by mainstream cinema.
Voted by:
- Wenn Deramas (Director; Ang Tanging Ina, Praybeyt Benjamin): “Si Vilma Santos ang buong pelikula, maaaring istorya or a day in the life lamang ito ng isang kabit, pero sa sobrang husay ng ibinigay ni Vilma, lumaki ang buong pelikula.”
- Zig Dulay (Writer; Posas, Ad Ignorantiam)
- Pam Miras (Director; Pascalina, Wag Kang Titingin)
- Jose Javier Reyes (Director; Makati Ave: Office Girls, Kasal Kasali Kasalo)
- Carlitos Siguion-Reyna (Director; Ikaw Pa Lang ang Minahal, Ligaya ang Itawag Mo sa Akin)
38 (tie) – BAYAN KO: KAPIT SA PATALIM (Lino Brocka, 1985)
Banned by the Marcos government upon its release, Bayan Ko has not lost its urgency and relevance today.
Voted by:
- Adolfo Alix, Jr. (Director; Haruo, Kalayaan)
- Patrick Flores (Founding Member, Young Critics Circle Film Desk)
- Joni Gutierrez (Professor, UP Film Institute)
- Senedy Que (Writer; Mga Munting Tinig, Homecoming)
- Jerome Zamora (Writer; Bahay Bata, Haruo)
38 (tie) – OLIVER (Nick Deocampo, 1983)
The first part of Deocampo’s Ang Lungsod ng Tao ay Nasa Puso trilogy, Oliver follows a female impersonator who supports his family by performing in Manila’s gay bars during the Marcos dictatorship. The film is one of the best illustrations of the fluidity of sexuality, as well as of the power of human agency in times of hardship.
Voted by:
- Jag Garcia (Film Professor, De la Salle-College of Saint Benilde)
- Ricky Orellana (Board Member, Society of Filipino Archivists for Film, Inc.): “The crudeness and the raw quality (shot on super-8 film) of this documentary does not distract but rather underpins the truth about the subject’s double life.”
- Keith Sicat (Director; Ka Oryang, Himala Ngayon)
- Mauro Feria Tumbocon (Founder, Filipino Arts and Cinema)
- Cenon Palomares (Lecturer, UP Film Institute)
37 – AGUILA (Eddie Romero, 1980)
Aguila is epic moviemaking at its grandest, condensing 80 years (from the 1896 Revolution to the 1970s) within 3 and half hours of solid, engrossing storytelling.
Voted by:
- Gary Devilles (Professor, Kagawaran ng Filipino, Ateneo de Manila University)
- Jerry Gracio (Writer; Mater Dolorosa, Aparisyon)
- Ian Loreños (Director; Alagwa, The Leaving)
- Simon Santos (Owner, Video 48)
- Noel Vera (Film Writer, Critic after Dark): “Eddie Romero is best known for his beautifully written picaresque epic Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?; I prefer this, where history (from turn-of-the-century Philippines through the Second World War to near-recent times) is seen through the eyes of our thoughtful eponymous adventurer (the inimitable Fernando Poe, Jr.), and through the lenses of cinematographer Mike de Leon’s (a major filmmaker in his own right) quietly brilliant camera.”
36 – BAGETS (Maryo J. delos Reyes, 1984)
Probably the most enjoyable film in the list, Bagets proved to be wildly popular among the country’s teenagers, who soon began imitating the hair and clothing styles of the lead stars.
Voted by:
- Libay Cantor (Professor, UP Film Institute): “I mean come on, every generation tends to come up with their own quintessential youth flick, but really, it’s Bagets that wins ‘em over. It was really able to capture the Pinoy youth of that decade, and if you look at how it captured it, it was more honest and more daring than youth films of today. Like hello cougar ang jowa ni teen! Sankapa. Among other things.”
- Coreen Jimenez (Director, Kano: An American and His Harem): “The structure of this film is so flawed and there are so many loopholes in the script but it all makes sense in the end. Feels so much like the movie of my generation.”
- Skilty Labastilla (Member, Young Critics Circle Film Desk)
- Arminda Santiago (Professor, UP Film Institute)
- Dondon Santos (Director; Noy, Dalaw)
- Rolando Tolentino (Member, Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino)
35 – HINUGOT SA LANGIT (Ishmael Bernal, 1985)
Bernal’s biting commentary on social hypocrisy, Hinugot stars Maricel Soriano as a woman faced with a moral dilemma amidst intense social pressure.
Voted by:
- Wenn Deramas (Director; Ang Tanging Ina, Praybeyt Benjamin)
- Jason Jacobo (Member, Young Critics Circle Film Desk)
- Antoinette Jadaone (Director; Six Degree of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay, Tumbang Preso)
- Rodolfo Vera (Writer; Niño, Boses)
34 – DEATH IN THE LAND OF ENCANTOS (Lav Diaz, 2007)
Diaz’ nine-hour opus examines the value of art amidst a tragic natural devastation.
Voted by:
- Jet Leyco (Director; Ex Press, Patlang)
- Adrian Mendizabal (Film Writer, Auditoire)
- Chris Eriz Sta. Maria (Film Blogger, The One-Legged Woman is Queen)
- Keith Sicat (Director; Ka Oryang, Himala Ngayon)
- Award-winning young director who wishes to remain anonymous
33 – KUBRADOR (Jeffrey Jeturian, 2006)
Gina Pareño stars in the role of her life as a no-nonsense jueteng collector. The film marks the beginning of influential screenwriter Bing Lao’s foray into real-time mode (later seen in films such as Foster Child, Serbis, and Kinatay, among others).
Voted by:
- Ina Avellana Cosio (Senior Lecturer, UP Film Institute)
- Ralston Jover (Director; Bakal Boys, Marlon)
- Ed Lejano (Director, UP Film Institute)
- Dado Lumibao (Director; In da Red Corner, Must Be Love)
- Rianne Hill Soriano (Film Reviewer, Business World)
- Award-winning young director who wishes to remain anonymous
31 (tie) – BADJAO (Lamberto Avellana, 1957)
This is Avellana in his prime as a filmmaker, transporting mostly Christian Filipino viewers to an unfamiliar milieu (Tausug and Badjao relations in Southern Mindanao) and successfully crafting an absorbing tale of love triumphing against all odds.
Voted by:
- Ina Avellana Cosio (Senior Lecturer, UP Film Institute)
- Jose Javier Reyes (Director; Makati Ave: Office Girls, Kasal Kasali Kasalo)
- Simon Santos (Owner, Video 48)
- Nicanor Tiongson (Professor Emeritus, UP Film Institute)
- Jake Tordesillas (Writer; High School Circa ’65, Bagets): “I found this timeless when we watched it recently, more than his other masterpiece Anak Dalita that I found dated (I may be wrong on this, just a personal opinion).”
31 (tie) – PAGPUTI NG UWAK, PAG-ITIM NG TAGAK (Celso Ad. Castillo, 1978)
Castillo and co-writers successfully adapt (albeit unconsciously) Romeo and Juliet to a post-WW2 rural Philippines.
Voted by:
- Adolfo Alix, Jr. (Director; Haruo, Kalayaan)
- Jerry Gracio (Writer; Mater Dolorosa, Aparisyon)
- Jason Jacobo (Member, Young Critics Circle Film Desk)
- Nonoy Lauzon (Programmer, UP Film Institute)
- Jon Lazam (Director; Nang gabing maging singlaki ng puso ang bato ni Darna, Hindi sa Atin ang Buwan)
