This year’s Metro Manila Film Festival boasts of a lineup of films that—finally—have begun focusing on quality as much as commercial value. While it has received criticisms over the years for fielding in entries that cater to the moviegoing masses, critical acclaim be damned; the past few years have seen the festival slowly regaining its footing.
The films this year range from family dramas and your standard Filipino thrillers, to dramedies and musicals. Below, I write a few thoughts on Jun Robles Lana‘s comedy-drama film, And the Breadwinner Is…
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The Most ‘Filipino’ Film Among This Year’s Entries
Without fail, there is always one entry in every iteration of the Metro Manila Film Festival that screams “most Filipino,” proudly displaying all the imperfect sincerity that has made Philippine cinema so fascinating, warts and all. Last year, Rewind took the cake. This year, Jun Robles Lana‘s And the Breadwinner Is… assumes the mantle.
The smart thing about this film, a dramedy about a breadwinner working as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Taiwan, is that it knows who its target audience is: the unsung heroes who carry the weight of their family’s dreams on their shoulders, and those who are fans of the film’s lead. Indeed, Breadwinner relies on Vice Ganda‘s underrated dramatic chops, even as she sneaks in a couple of zingers during the film’s most emotional scenes.
Perhaps Vice simply can’t help making her audience laugh, or maybe it’s a fundamental problem with the screenplay’s structure. Or maybe it’s a little bit of both.
Lana—who co-wrote the story with Daisy G. Cayanan and Jumbo A. Albano—feels a little too dependent on Vice to elevate the film past its tonally uneven beats. For every short burst of effective performance from the latter (the supporting cast deserves praise as well, especially Eugene Domingo, Jhong Hilario, and Kokoy de Santos), Lana resorts to whiplash, trading our heartstrings for a few forced laughs. Neither the slapstick nor the camp blend well with the dramatic moments here, and the film’s most powerful scene in the third act is undone by a reveal that, while hinted at earlier, still never feels earned.
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Vice Ganda Shines as the Titular Breadwinner
Through all this, putting the spotlight on Vice Ganda seems like the most sensible choice, as she showcases her ability to pull off dramatic scenes without even having to resort to comedy. For instance, her wordless acting in the initial ‘happy birthday’ scene when she discovers the truth about all the money she sent her family for the renovation of their old house is a prime example.
Even so, most actors are only as good as the film’s screenplay and its direction, and Vice is no exception. As “Filipino” as the film’s sensibilities are, Lana unfortunately retains the manipulative and over-the-top schmaltz that even the most regular moviegoers have come to associate with the local movie scene.
The end result is a comedy-drama that, while respectful of the personal sacrifices breadwinners make to put their families first, is too preoccupied with preparing for the dynamics involved in its confrontation scenes. Consequently, And the Breadwinner Is… forgets to exercise nuance and discretion in its approach in order to get its main, simple message across.
A self-described cinephile who can’t stop talking—and writing—about films. Paul also moonlights as ghostwriter and editor for a few memoirs. He currently resides in the Philippines.
