646f9e108c Flashbacks encompass the history of the Philippines as well as the life story of the elderly Daniel Aguila. The Aguila family gathers to celebrate Daniel's 88th birthday, but the old man is nowhere to be seen -- he has been missing for a decade. Suspecting that his father is in Mindanao, one of his sons takes off for that region in a determined search. Along the way, his memories of the nation and his father's life tell the story of eighty tumultuous years of personal and historical development.
I am no expert movie critic and I rarely post logs on the internet, but I must make an exception for this movie. I was truly blown away by what I have seen. I have long ago dismissed local Filipino movies as crap and of the opinion that only the truly brain-dead or the truly bored would actually exert any effort to watch the local films. I find that I don't enjoy even the "classic" Lino Brocka films which we were required to watch in high school film lit classes. The current films are hell of a lot worse with plots that a 5-year old can guess, slap-stick action that defy all vulgarity, dramatic scenes so pathetic that they become comedic. The local film scene lacks good scripts, directors, and actors. I can't help but feel sorry, if not even contemptuous, of our local cinema. This movie completely turned my world around. Suddenly, I was watching a movie that is truly world class. A good script, splendid acting, and a motion picture that is bathed is SUBTLETY. I couldn't quite believe that the best movie I've seen in recent years would actually be Filipino made. I hardly saw any tears in this movie but I myself was moved to tears by just the situation presented in the movie. The actor's lines were very concise but delivered everything they needed to say. The cinematography focused on the actors with lots of close-ups. They truly made use of the visual cues to convey their message. I also found wit in here without the attendant toilet humor. This is a 3 1/2 hour movie but I guarantee that you will enjoy every moment of it. So if you have nothing better to do, check out this movie (if you can find a copy)