First of all, seeing my home province in a full-length film is a dream. Hearing our language is another. I would like to applaud the actors for doing their best to learn Onhan and our distinct intonation, especially Bon Andrew Lentejas who played Pido.
Huling Palabas, after all, turned out to be a coming-of-age story, leaving the mysterious depiction of its, um, synopsis (iykyk), eventually rooting out the unfocused direction of the writing from the second act on. It wouldn't have mattered but it felt like it had its main plot and subplots interchanged, resulting into underdeveloped characters and abandoned arcs.
Ryan Machado's vision, wit (mind you, there was a lot of comedic lines that flawlessly landed), and heart beat so loud in his first feature film, with local folklore on the side (FYI "Caratong City" in the film is all CGI) that could have been its strength. Theo Lozada captured the true warmth and homeyness of the town of Looc, giving us new perspectives to familiar sights. Juan was a natural act, nailing the balikbayan character, while Gomez, Bon Lentejas, and Magiliw were so into their characters you would mistake them for Loocnons in real life.
Huling Palabas was but a personal experience of Romblomanon pride and wishful thinking of what could have been.
