I applaud Michael Tuviera (and screenwriter Michelle Ngu-Nario) for their vision and care to reimagine our country if it was never colonized. The writing and the world building of the film truly inspires and sparks the imagination and even if the film was bad, I’d be rooting for it just for its sheer vision and bravado. But the thing is, the film is not bad. Far from it. ‘The Kingdom’ is thrilling and filled with interesting characters and a world worth exploring. It’s what makes for good speculative fiction: an image of our country that could have been and by doing so creates a commentary about our country as it is today.

‘The Kingdom’ reimagines the Philippines as The Kingdom of Kalayaan. It is ruled by a succession of Lakandulas (or Lakambini, if it were a woman) and the royal family follows the belief that their line comes from Bathala. In the contemporary world, Kalayaan is besieged by political strife. There are citizens who are calling out the family for their greed and corruption while the current Lakandula, Lakan Makisig (Vic Sotto) has yet to choose between his three children who would succeed him in the throne. His only son, Magat Bagwis (Sid Lucero) is presented as a hot-tempered man more inclined to the finer things in life and is not that interested to lead. His eldest daughter, Dayang Matimyas (Cristine Reyes), shows political savvy and will, but there is tension between her and her father. The youngest, Dayang Lualhati (Sue Ramirez) is a loving child and is set to marry a prince from Thailand, which has the people divided.

But on her wedding day, Dayang Lualhati is kidnapped and Lakan Makisig must figure out if this is the work of the rebel forces or, as the babaylan suggests, someone from within the palace. Unbeknownst to him, Dayang Lualhati is rescued by Sulo (Piolo Pascual), a farmer with a past that connects him to the family and with his own opposition views regarding the monarchy.

The film plays out like a political thriller. It has action scenes to help play with the pacing and to heighten the sense of danger. But it is at its strongest with the way it lays out the systems of this world and the intricacies of the character’s relationships and the social dynamics of this reimagined country.

The first thing I noticed was the beautiful usage of fabrics and designs from the indigenous people of the country. Without colonial rule, there’s amplification of our own local and traditional attire. Guiding the royal family are babaylans and there is an air of spirituality and mysticism that surrounds this government, and it feels so fitting and true. The second thing I noticed was the language of the script. I picked it up almost immediately that the Tagalog that was used was deeper and more unfamiliar. I realised that they were avoiding any Filipino word with Spanish origins (I did catch one, where a character references the grandmother and calls her “lola” but I wasn’t able to catch anything else). The people are marked by tattoos that help align them with a clan or tribe, which calls out to our Filipino value of family.

And what a family! Vic Sotto gives a restrained performance, showing off what carrying the weight of a whole country on your shoulder feels like on the body. He’s stiff and cold but manages a loss of that control when he’s around his children, especially Dayan Lualhati. His humanity steps out in key moments that keeps his character from being one note. Sid Lucero and Sue Ramirez is always great, though Ramirez is doing the best she can with a tired character, the naive princess. Piolo Pascual is great during the quiet parts, when he is allowed to channel the character’s anger and rage but holding it in because he’s a good person through-and-through, but he doesn’t bring that rage to his fight scenes. Iza Calzado shines in a brief role, carrying the weight of an entire backstory that is never revealed in every look and small gesture. She’s reacting to something that we are not aware of, and it implies a whole backstory in a character that is so well-written despite having such a short screentime.

But the true star here is Cristine Reyes. Her Dayang Matimyas is competent, tough, and fearless but she softens when she’s around her siblings. She’s commanding without losing any bit of her femininity and the strain of her character’s relationship with her father is evident in her longing stares and quiet moments. She also has the most convincing fight scenes in the whole movie showing off a range we all know she has.

While the performances were strong and the music by Jessie Lasaten elevates the movie into an epic scale, the action scenes could be cleaner (except for the one in the bridge, that was really good and thrilling) and I think it could have been 20 minutes longer. I just wanted to be in that world for a lot longer. ‘The Kingdom’ showcases the true power of movies: it can reinvent the world and show us perspectives and possibilities through its carefully laid out fiction, and in the process, allow us to criticize and question how things are today. Even in this fictional world, the country is torn apart by class and tribalism and the film asks us to revisit the things that we believe define us and our country: the people who govern us, the things that separate us and keep us from being united, and the laws that we hold on to that allows the powerful to abuse the weak. All of this and more are tackled in the 133-minute film, and seriously, it was so well-done that it could have gone much, much longer.

My Rating:

The Kingdom is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.