It’s great to see director Randolph Longjas back to making full-length features. I remember seeing ‘Star na si Van Damme Stallone’ many years ago and being absolutely moved by the film. His latest movie, ‘Mujigae’ is his first feature-length film since 2016, and the warmth and tenderness are still there. In ‘Mujigae,’ he tackles and explores the idea of motherhood, in all its many forms, while also navigating the complex emotions around family and how the Filipino family is affected by economic factors that trigger separation due to immigration and finding better opportunities abroad.

The movie is centered on a 5-year-old girl called Mujigae (Ryrie Sophia), who is orphaned in South Korea when her mother, Rainalyn (Anna Luna) passes away. Her Korean father (Kim Jisoo) is nowhere to be found and she moves back to the Philippines to live with her grandfather (Richard Quan) and her aunt Sunny (Alexa Ilacad). 

While the film is centered on the titular character, the film’s true protagonist is Sunny. Sunny is young woman with a lot of anger in her heart. She has a strained relationship with her sister Reinalyn, and the sudden appearance and inclusion of Mujigae into her life is a stark reminder of a painful past and heavy emotions. Her relationship with her father is also strained and this weaves into everything. Her friends and workmates at a salon, played with such warmth and pitch-perfect tonality by Donna Cariaga and Kate Alejandrino, are both positive about their ideas on motherhood. Cariaga’s Sushmita has several children already and is pregnant with another. Alejandrino’s character is hoping to get pregnant after several miscarriages. On the opposite end, Sunny doesn’t want to have children, rooted on her own relationship with her family. And so, the arrival of Mujigae amplifies all these emotions.

Longjas, alongside screenwriter Mark Raywin Tome, take their time setting up the story and establishing the characters and the world of their film. They carefully build up Sunny’s character and her relationship with her father, her friends, and with her new niece and really focus on pushing every button on Sunny’s character pushing her to the brink. It can drag out quite a bit, but it is necessary because the moment Sunny finds a moment to set aside past hurts and to really reconcile her feelings about her sister does the story take a turn and Sunny and Mujigae’s new journey bring the film to a different path.

There’s a lot of twists and turns in the film, as the trailer suggests that even Mujigae’s father comes back to turn the film around all over again. Kim Jisoo’s performance, coming quite late in the movie, invigorates the film at its tail-end, adding a strong presence that adds to the complications. That third act is really the meat of the film, and I wish there was more of it. The first two acts – the arrival of Mujigae into Sunny’s life and Sunny and Mujigae forming a bond – could have been shortened so that it could really play out the third act’s more complex emotional beats. There’s guilt and remorse and regret and hope that’s found in that crucial third act and while it’s done well; I feel that it could have sped through the first two acts and really lingered in the third.

But aside from its slow pacing, what makes ‘Mujigae’ shine is how Filipino the film is – from its tone to the way it examines and questions its idea of family and family obligations – and how it is unafraid to make its statements about motherhood, which I am still 50-50 on, but I am impressed by the conviction that the film has on the matter. It’s also supported by such powerful performances. Alexa Ilacad is a star in the making. I’ve seen her captivate a whole theater in ‘Walang Aray’ and she delivers that same presence here. The best scenes are when Ilacad, Cariaga, and Alejandrino are together, just being women, and talking about their lives. It’s such a tender, intimate moment that feels natural and just right. It’s moments like these that are so relatable and honest and authentic.

‘Mujigae’ is set in the Filipino melodrama mode. It has a warm, beautiful heart that is meant to really reach out and touch the Filipino audience. It has things to say about motherhood and family and presents it in a story that is tailor-fit for the Pinoy audience.

My Rating:

Mujigae is now showing! Check showtimes and buy tickets here.