MONDOMANILA, OR: HOW I FIXED MY HAIR AFTER A RATHER LONG JOURNEY

Extreme / Philippines / 75 mins / HD

MONDOMANILA

UltraStar Mission Valley
November 9, 2012 10:20 pm

Description

Official Selection, 2012 International Film Festival Rotterdam

Tony De Guzman lives in a world many of us could never understand, mostly because we don’t have the mind of Khavn De La Cruz. Unsure whether he can ever survive another week, Tony only extends his teenage life a day at a time through his ability to cheat a corrupt system that at every turn is prepared to do him in. Comfort only comes in the unlikely friendships he’s formed with the colorful block-full of one-armed rappers, pimps, dwarves, and neighborhood gays. They all find different ways to cope with the inevitability that they will be cheated, abused, and perhaps killed. This chaotic paradise is all that Tony knows.

This dramatic, musically-charged, horrifically-experimental, exploitative cinematic experience is one that is not easy to digest. In fact, this may be the most socially- and politically-jarring film to come out of the Philippines in quite some time. From the opening epigraph by Claire Danes (as well as the director’s choice reaction), to the slum circus filled with dirty politicians, pedophiles, addicts, prostitutes, and other dwellers of the land called Mondomanila, the audience has little choice but to heed the ringleader.

SDAFF Extreme is pleased to present its second signature release (last year’s Cold Fish was the first): MONDOMANILA, OR: HOW I FIXED MY HAIR AFTER A RATHER LONG JOURNEY from underground king Khavn De La Cruz, known for his guerilla filmmaking and his strong beliefs about the state of the Philippines. A film nine years in the making, this rancid, gruesome, and shockingly human portrayal of a country in constant turmoil is deathly funny and a true original. –Phillip Lorenzo