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‘Filipiñana’ Review: Rafael Manuel’s Riveting Feature Debut Knows Where the Bodies Are Buried
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TheWrap
Both everything and nothing happens in “Filipiñana,” the cutting, confident, and ultimately formally captivating feature debut from writer-director Rafael Manuel.
However, the film primarily hinges on the actions of Isabel as she begins to subtly disrupt the natural order of the club.
She’s a character of few words whose actions are no less critical as she increasingly takes more and more quietly radical action.
“Filipiñana” ends up being much more about displacement where the ongoing yet unseen violence has become just another part of the operations of the club.
It’s all part of the artificiality of the club that makes it feel like a simulacrum of life.