I and my Mom: APOCALYPSE CHILD -- A Very Personal Story

I was very grateful to be invited to have that intimate moments with the brilliant minds behind the award winning Filipino Full Length Movie last October 18, 2016 at Alliance Francaise De Manila, Makati. Directed by Mario Cornejo and written by Monster Jimenez, Apocalypse Child is not just an ordinary full length feature film... It is a very personal movie to the people behind this movie and will be a personal one too for those you would watch this in Cinemas.

Sasabay ka ba sa lakas ng alon o lalabanan mo ang bawat hagupit nito?

The Synopsis

The waves of Baler will swift your heart as you watch this movie in cinemas on how Ford, a surfing instructor who have wasted his youth waiting for something to happen.(Is he really waiting for something to happen?) Being told all his life that he has been the son of Francis Ford Coppolla, this surfer instructor has to confront his past actions, inactions, his life... As his mother petitions the director to acknowledge him as his son.. as the surfing season ends, something has to end too...

The Technical Details

This 95 minutes and 23 seconds movie was shot entirely in the Philippines with the shooting format of 4k Pro-res and screening format of DCP in 2k. The medium of language is in Filipino and English with English subtitles.

Awards

This amazing Filipino movie got lots of award such as Best Picture, Best Director, Achievement in Technical Excellence for Editing, Best Supporting Actress for Annicka Dolonius in QCinema 2015.

Applying A Story Grammar

Title: Apocalypse Child

Setting: At the fast growing tourist destination in the Philippines -- Baler, Quezon

The Characters:

Ford (Sid Lucero): a surfer instructor and a native of Baler who has been told all his life that he is the son of Apocalypse Now Director, Francis Ford Coppola who seduced his 14 year old mother that time. Ford is a some kind of a local celebrity. Before he was a charming and amazing... such an amazing surfing champ with a beautiful young mother. But as time passes by of being stuck up in this town everything slowly faded right before everyone's eyes... right before his every own eyes which I guess he refuses to see..

Chona (Ana Abad Santos): Ford's mom. Chona had Ford when she was only 14. The real close age gap made her more of a sister rather than a mom. She sought the help of Rich for the petition of having a blood test to confirm that the director is the father of Ford.

Fiona (Annicka Dolonius): Ford's really young 19 year old girl. She just came back from United States for her dying grandmother. She meets Ford while learning surfing. She may be young but she far more matured to understand people around her.

Rich (RK Bagatsing): Ford's estranged best friend who came home upon the death of his father, who was then the governor of Baler. Now as a congressman he have this power to help Chona for the petition.

Serena(Gwen Zamora): Rich's Fiancee who has this tragic past of having a kid at the young age but lost him as a baby. He has this haunted strange quality within her.

Plot

The True Story: In the 1970's Apocalypse Now was filmed in this location. As the film ended, a single surfing board was left behind and a fisherman sold this to 5 young boys who became the first surfing champs in our country.

The Story:

Beginning: The story centers on Ford, a native surfer of Baler who as in his 30's still living with her mom, Chona and who had just started a relationship with Fiona during this season of surfing.

Rising: Rich, Ford's fall out best friend comes back for his father's death. He brings his fiancee with him enticing not only to have that surfing relationship of but but also cheating on him. As Fiona watch them, everything fall into right places

Climax: As Ford and Serena loses Rich's game... Fiona loses her grandma... Chona and Rich in there awkward moment... Ford has to face everything he had procrastinate all his life.

Falling: Before the blood test, Ford has to settle something that rich and him only knows...

Ending: Fiona leaves... without turning her head back.

MY THOUGHTS

Behind that as if life is a beach thing of laughter and easiness covers certain hurt and sadness... we all have to face hose things someday..

That charming life of Ford is full of procrastination avoiding himself to grow up... avoiding to confront that certain pain and sadness... it is a roller coaster of emotions depicting life has to keep on moving on but somehow there are some people who refuse to see the truth and just sit there and live in mythological fantasy. This is a real great movie to make everyone who are stuck up in life to WAKE UP and FACE what is has to be faced with. I do want to have that period of Ford's life but not for a long time... I would want that just for a certain season in life.

It mirrors life itself in its most honest way... I have never seen such movie which would tackle in somewhat that certain deepness in dealing with the fear of being a parent.... Once my son said to me, " Ma, I know you're trying your best to be a good mom... di ka nga lang ganun kagaling. Like Ford, my son refuses to seek for his true father... he would always tell before " Ma, I have been fatherless way before... why would I be needing to meet him pa? I got you that is enough." My son is an achiever always a constant honor. I began to fear that he had focus himself too much on his studies because I was never been a good mom to him. Just now of starting him to take it easy on his studies.. taking him out for a night life, having do what he wants to do at the young age made me the coolest mom for everyone else. His friends envy him so much they would say "Sana ikaw na lang naging mama ko, Tita." This movie made me realized if a continue to be a cool mom who never gets angry with things will my son become Ford someday... But if I become like Rich's father, will he be at his best even it will cost him to much anger towards me til death...

You got to hold on yourself...Only you can do that... especially if someone who expect that to do to you refuses to do so...

I love Fiona's character in such young age she understands and knows when to walk out of that certain period of life... maturity never comes from aging... it is from your decision to grown up... know when to walk away when you need to do so... she dealt that certain pain so amazingly that I myself want to adopt... she a perfect character in this movie where when everybody refuses to let of the pain, she made that step without looking back leaving every pain behind...

My Favorite Line : HINDI KASI SYA NAGING MAGALING NA NANAY.

Kelan ba talaga masasabing naging magaling kang nanay? Kapag palagi kang naglalaba? Kapag patuloy mong hinahanap ang missing piece sa buhay ng anak mo para makompleto ang kanyang pagkatao? Kapag hindi ka ba na mamalo? Kapag araw araw mo bang pinapa alala sa anak mong mahal kita... mahal na mahal kita at pasensya na kung hindi naging tama ang pagpapakita ng pagmamahal na ito?

This movie is a very personal therapeutic movie that is going to give you the goosebumps that you need all your life... This was made with certain love and labor of roller coaster of emotions in society's standard of values as expected from us..

I would loved to watch this again and again...

Here are some picture of the Apocalypse Bloggers' Night Event. :)