PAUWI NA also known as PEDICAB (R-13) 2016

The Philippines answer to MODERN FAMILY :-p

 
One of my favourite scenes
Bembol Roco(Mang Pepe), Cherry Pie Picache(Aling Remy), Meryll Soriano(Isabel), Jerald Napoles(JP) and Chai Fonacier(Pina)
Dream Sequence
The title is PAUWI NA(Going Home...On the Way Home...Homeward Bound) also known as PEDICAB(pedal pushed trike).  I read some international articles think that Pauwi Na's translation is Pedicab, though they get the story.

The story, though sort of presented in a lighter manner, is very profound.  It's based on an article in the early 2000s when a family due to lack of funds wanted to go home to Leyte using just a pedicab. Of course, that's quite impossible because the bridge at the edge of southern luzon does not exist...yet.

Having an irreverent sort of "Jesus Christ" is nothing new, but if you listen to his advices, towards the end, even if he did sort of judged all priests, you would like this Jesus played by JESS MENDOZA.  Thankfully, the priest(BIMBO BAUTISTA) he judged was not all that bad.  He just got tempted and that's why we have to pray for them(yeah, spoiler alert).

CHAI FONACIER is getting to be a favourite of mine.  Mom just hopes she gets projects with a lighter theme.  She really immerses in her role(now I'm quite sure she's the one I congratulated in the theatre and she just denied it when mom and I watched RESPETO). Here, she is Pina.  A girl who wishes to marry a foreigner or to simply have a beautiful pair of red shoes she views from window display of a certain store where her cigarette stand is.  

BEMBOL ROCO is one of the Philippines precious jewels and he is a true thespian.  Since acting is in his system he doesn't act anymore. You see his struggles, his joys and his pains in his eyes.  Whether on stage, in the boob tube or the big screen, he really gets involved in every scene.  He feels what his character feels and he conveys whatever those feelings are to the viewers/the audience.

CHERRY PIE PICACHE is a seasoned actress and has definitely honed her craft.  We are about the same age, but she can play older or younger women as if she was born to be them, even just for an hour or two or a season or two or even more.  She is also very graceful.

Meryll Soriano Revillame as Isabel, the blind daughter-in-law who envisions and talks to Jesus

MERYLL SORIANO has jumped the highest hurdle ever.  She says this is her most challenging role to date.  She plays Isabel with ease.  She knows when to shift from a seeing person(when she talks to Jesus...one on one) and a blind pregnant girl.  Her role has the deepest faith among all of them and it is good to know that she was able to influence her family.

JERALD NAPOLES is a chameleon.  He can play the role of a dunce or someone evil or someone kind.  Here, even if loves/loved to tease his little sister very much, it was obvious that he loved her dearly.  He also loves Isabel and their unborn child.  He also loves his parents and no matter how mundane the Sebastian family is, they are closely-knit.   

JACK THE DOG is a very graceful askal who plays the role of Kikay, the Sebastian Family's pet.  He/She/It is a real part of the family, but when Jesus suggested something to Remy, I was afraid of what PAWS might say, but... anyways, towards the end, Jesus "showed" a scene to Isabel and it made Isabel cry tears of joy. I think it's forgivable(Some kind of a spoiler too).

SHAMAINE BUENCAMINO appears here as a very judgmental woman who casts the first stone even when she does not have the right to do so.  As an actress, she never disappoints and thankfully in this film, she did not too.

In toto the movie is beautiful.  There were lots of tiring scenes(like we were also in the pedicab or pedalling the pedicab, catching our breaths), but there are many beautiful scenes, morals and lessons towards the end.  It truly deserves all the accolades and I am happy I was able to watch it along with my folks. 


'Pauwi Na': 10 things to know about this funny, tragic road movie


“Pauwi Na” follows a pedicab driver, his sharp-tongued wife, their petty thief son, a blind, pregnant young woman – who happens to see Jesus Christ – and a dog named Kikay. This is the story of a family on a journey from poverty in the city to an imagined paradise in the countryside.  
DIRECTED BY: 
Paolo Villaluna & Ellen Ramos
MAIN CAST: 
CAST: Bembol Roco/Cherry Pie Picache/Merryl Soriano/Jerald Napoles/Chai Fonacier/Jess Mendoza/Shamaine Buencamino

CREDITS: 
PRODUCTION:
DIRECTOR: Paolo Villlauna/Producer-Ellen Ramos
Executive Producer: Dr. Milagros Ong-How
Screenplay and Editing: Paolo Villaluna and Ellen Ramos
Cinematography: Sasha Palomares
Production Design: Maoxie Mao Fadul
Sound: Andrew Milallos
Music: Paolo Villaluna, Pike and Veena Ramirez
Contact: Paolo Villaluna (paolo.villaluna@gmail.com)

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