Post #4498031

The visuals of GOYO: ANG BATANG HENERAL can be uneven. It has some of the best imagery in Philippine cinema, while a handful of scenes can feel clumsy and artificial. I have always put Jerrold Tarog on a pedestal, as he's one of the very few Filipino filmmakers who can carry an ambitious vision all the way to the screen without compromise, and clearly the Bayaniverse trilogy is his magnum opus to date. As a character study, GOYO feels lacking, but in its exploration of a flawed system and a national psyche shaped by patronage and hierarchy, and especially as a follow-up to the powerful and gripping Heneral Luna, it's brilliant.