Title: Good effort, that looks Filipino but doesn't FEEL Filipino.
Review: I agree with film critics that this no-budget Filipino-American indie movie works as an effective thriller and story of cultural identity. It also provides a rarely seen and unflinching view of the third world squalor and poverty in the Philippines. It is unflattering but the truth. Howver, the heart of this film is more American than Filipino.If you do not speak or understand Tagalog it would not matter but the alternating English and Filipino dialouge between the kidnapper and main character was very awkward to listen to. It diminished the authenticity of the characters.But then I do not think the mainstream Filipino is the target audience of this movie, so the story ultimately works as the filmmakers intended it to be.
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