7.4 /10 1 Votes
2.9/5 ClickTheCity Written by Bienvenido Santiago Cinematography Rody Lacap Initial release 4 October 2015 Production company Viva Films | 9/10 IMDb Directed by Joel Lamangan Music by Von de Guzman Production
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Starring Dennis Trillo
Bela Padilla Nominations Gawad Urian for Best Actor Screenplay Arlyn dela Cruz, Bienvenido Santiago Sr Cast Dennis Trillo, Bela Padilla, Gabby Concepcion, Gladys Reyes, Snooky Serna Similar Historical movies, Biographies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Felix manalo official full trailer
Felix Manalo is a 2015 Filipino historical-biographical film dramatizing the life of Felix Ysagun Manalo, the first Executive Minister of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC; English: Church of Christ), and the church he preached. Manalo is regarded by the members of the Iglesia ni Cristo as the last messenger of God and the restorer of the true Church of Christ, whom the INC gives the title Sugò (Tagalog, "messenger" or "envoy"). The story and screenplay were written by INC evangelism head, Bienvenido Santiago. The film was directed by Joel Lamangan. All content of the film was screened and approved by the INC.
Contents
The film broke three Guinness world records for film attendance upon release.
Synopsis
Felix Manalo (portrayed by Trillo) joins, studies, doubts, and eventually leaves both Catholicism and Protestantism before starting a church he believes to be a restoration of the Biblical church founded by Jesus.
Production
Joel Lamangan served as the over-all director of the film with Armando Reyes as the assistant director, and Glicerio Santos III as the creative producer. The production design was done by Edgar Martin Littaua, Joel Marcelo Bilbao and Daniel Red. Other members of the production team were Bienvenido Santiago (story and screenplay), Rody Lacap (director of photography), Albert Michael Idioma (sound supervisor), Von de Guzman (musical director), John Wong (film editor), and Juvan Bermil (make-up and hair design). The script was written by the head of evangelism of the INC and the church approved of all content in the film.
About 100 Philippine celebrities were included in the cast. 8,000 people were hired as extras. Scenes were shot in Metro Manila, Laguna, Subic, and Bataan. This includes the INC Chapel F. Manalo (formerly Riverside) in San Juan and the Chapel in San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City which was used in the funeral. The whole film was about 6 hours or 360 minutes in length but a shorter version of the film was used for its theatrical release.
Cast
Soundtrack
The soundtrack and music video of the film entitled Ang Sugo ng Diyos sa mga Huling Araw (English: The Messenger of God in the Last Days) was released on October 4, 2015 at the Philippine Arena. The sound track was performed by Sarah Geronimo, composed by Joan and Ryan Solitario, and arranged by Louie Ocampo.
Release
On October 4, 2015, its premiere broke three Guinness world records for the largest audience in a film premiere, the largest audience in a film screening and the largest paying audience for a film premiere with 43,624 attendees. VIVA Films set up a five-story, 22 by 40 meters high definition screen for the premiere at the Philippine Arena.
The film's cinematic release is 175 minutes in length while the 6-hour version will be included in the DVD release.
Felix Manalo was released in Philippine cinemas on October 7, 2015.
Reception
The Cinema Evaluation Board of the Philippines, the governing council for Filipino films, has given the film an "A". The film is graded based on its direction, screenplay, cinematography, editing, production design, music scoring, sound, and acting performances.
Reviewers have noted the make-up team's work on Trillo which during the course of the film age him from a young man through to age 76, and the nearly three-hour running time. The PhilStar commended the film's recreation of multiple historical time periods. The Manila Bulletin states the film " makes no qualms in its aim to preach" and that a lot of money was spent on the film because it will be " screened in several INC gatherings for many years to come."
Oggs Cruz of Rappler was highly critical, calling it an 'Epic Blunder,' and wrote, "If the purpose of the film is to enlighten, then it has failed miserably because it only persists to reinforce an image that is far too rosy and romanticized to be taken with the same seriousness one affords any other biopic with more balanced perspectives." Philbert Ortiz Dy of ClickTheCity was also critical, giving it 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "It is slow, ponderous, and focuses on things that aren’t very interesting at all." While Michael Alegre of the Philippine Online Chronicles did not give a rating, he said in his review that it suffers from "a lack of focus, excessive content, an uneven pace, some jerky editing, and a noticeable partiality towards Felix Manalo".
Fred Hawson of ABS-CBN gave the film 7 out of 10 stars, praising the film's production, cinematography, the acting (particularly of Trillo) and noted the film's educational value "to know our INC brothers better."