The best Jess Mendoza’s drama movies
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Jess Mendoza’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Jess Mendoza.
Barber's Tales
7.7/10
In the 1970s, a widow in a remote village takes over her husband’s barber shop. She becomes the laughing stock of the male-dominated community and in the process discovers freedom and liberation.
My Amanda
5.8/10
Two unusually close friends share every aspect of their lives together. As their lives evolve, their bond remains the only constant.
Bato
2.4/10
The dramatization of the life of General Ronald dela Rosa.
Empire Hotel
5.9/10
The Empire Hotel is a 30-year-old landmark in Macau's old quarter, inhabited by characters with their own stories and struggles. It is also Maria's home. One day, the burden of keeping lives together and the hotel standing falls on her shoulders. A young man who left Macau two decades ago returns, intent on revenge and reclaiming his mother's fortune – half the hotel. Inside the casino, Maria sings Fado and exotic dancers perform. It is against this illusory backdrop that the man lays eyes on Maria for the first time; they’re both mesmerized. The film cuts back and forth between film noir-style scenes of Macau’s past and present.
Purgatoryo
5.5/10
A story of Ilyong, recently-dead man killed by the police, after he was caught stealing. This is the beginning of his story, his death. Soon after, he was brought into a sleazy funeral home, run by Violet, a greedy homosexual who has learned to survive by renting out the dead bodies in his funeral home to Simon. Along for the ride is Jojo, a police officer who is under the payroll of Simon and who supplies the dead bodies for Violet to take care of and make money from. Violet has two workers, On-on and Dyograd.
Ben & Sam
6.8/10
A college heartthrob meets a college newbie - a challenge, a tension, a discovery, and a love that will change everything between them.
Baconaua
5.6/10
After a turbulent squall in the night, villagers wake up to the astonishing sight of the sea that has turned red.
Bamboo Dogs
5.4/10
This is not a film by Khavn. A crime-thriller retro-road movie based on the Kuratong Baleleng Rubout Massacre of 1995.
Once A Princess
4.3/10
A high school princess is cursed by the geek whose affections she toyed with.
Swap
4/10
"Swap" takes us to the internal conflict of a young father, torn between solving a crime and committing another crime when one day his only son is kidnapped and the criminals demand him to steal another kid in exchange of his son's life.
Taxicab
8.1/10
Set at the inauguration of the new President is the inter-woven tales of people dealing with daily lives: their relationships, desires and their means of survival. A taxi driver trying to stop his best friend from leaving for the province while his ex-wife comes back to his life; a young actor doing extra job as male prostitute; a Fil-Am trying to fill his need for drugs; and a young cigarette vendor who also act as pimp at night. All of them get through their harsh realities with hopes of a better tomorrow while their fate awaits them to cross its path in the uncaring streets of Manila.
As One
7.3/10
A thriller about a never-ending war, a town ravaged by a devastating storm, and the woman caught in between.
Historiographika Errata
7.9/10
A disillusioned and suicidal Rizal, a cross-dressing Bonifacio gripped with paranoia, an ex-Katipunero who joins the US army to save his own neck, and a widow whose sex-for-food errands lead her to become the first ever Makapili. These are the historical mosaics that will form a singular hypothesis as to why we are like this as a people and up to now still reeling from our damaged culture.
Clouds of Plague
4.6/10
A priest is caught up in a situation, which will compel him to choose between the mandate of the church and his obligations as a citizen under the law of the people.
