Felix Manalo is a 2015 Filipino biographical film about the life of Felix Ysagun Manalo, the first Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC; English: Church of Christ), and the church he preached. Manalo is regarded by the members of the Iglesia ni Cristo as the last messenger of God and the restorer of the true Church of Christ, whom the INC gives the title Sugò (Tagalog: "messenger" or "envoy").[4] The story and screenplay were written by INC evangelism head Bienvenido Santiago.[5] The film was directed by Joel Lamangan. All content of the film was screened and approved by the INC.[5]
Synopsis
Felix Manalo (portrayed by Trillo) studies, joins, doubts, and eventually leaves both Catholicism and Protestantism before starting a church he believes to be a restoration of the Biblical church founded by Jesus.
Joel Lamangan served as the overall director of the film with Armando Reyes as the assistant director, and Glicerio Santos III as the creative producer. The production design was done by Edgar Martin Littaua, Joel Marcelo Bilbao and Daniel Red. Other members of the production team were Bienvenido Santiago (story and screenplay), Rody Lacap (director of photography), Albert Michael Idioma (sound supervisor), Von de Guzman (musical director), John Wong (film editor), and Juvan Bermil (makeup and hair design).[7][8] The script was written by the head of evangelism of the INC, and the church approved of all content in the film.[5]
About one hundred actors were included in the cast, while 8,000 people were hired as extras. Scenes were shot in Metro Manila, Laguna, Subic, and Bataan. This includes the INC Chapel F. Manalo (formerly Riverside) in San Juan, and the chapel in San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City, which was used in the funeral. Laguna de Bay stood in for the Pasig River in the baptism scenes. The whole film was about 6 hours or 360 minutes in length, but a shorter version was used for its theatrical release.[9]
Casting
Initially, Richard Gomez, Albert Martinez and Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. were tapped to play Felix Manalo, Eraño Manalo and Eduardo Manalo, respectively.[10][11] However, Gomez and Revilla would later drop out of the project.[11]Bong Revilla, who is also an incumbent Senator at that time, withdrew after he got implicated in the PDAF scam reasoning that it would be shameful to portray a religious leader when he himself is riddled with political controversy.[12]
Martinez would then be cast in the role of Felix Manalo, with Dennis Trillo playing a younger Felix Manalo. Martinez also withdrew following the death of his wife, Liezl Martinez.[13][11] Trillo would go on to play both the young and old Felix Manalo.[11]
Soundtrack
The theme song and music video of the film entitled "Ang Sugo ng Diyos sa mga Huling Araw" (English: The Messenger of God in the Last Days) was released on October 4, 2015, at the Philippine Arena. The song was performed by Sarah Geronimo, composed by Joan and Ryan Solitario, and arranged by Louie Ocampo.[14]
Release
On October 4, 2015, its premiere broke three Guinness world records for the largest audience in a film premiere, the largest audience in a film screening[15][16] and the largest paying audience for a film premiere, with 43,624 attendees.[17] VIVA Films set up a five-story, 22 by 40 meters high definition screen for the premiere at the Philippine Arena.[9]
The film's cinematic release is 175 minutes in length while the 6-hour version will be included in the DVD release.[1][9]
Felix Manalo was released in Philippine cinemas on October 7, 2015.
Reception
Evaluation
The Cinema Evaluation Board of the Philippines, the governing council for Filipino films, gave the film an "A".[18] The film was graded based on its direction, screenplay, cinematography, editing, production design, music scoring, sound, and acting performances.[19]
Critical reception
Reviewers have noted the makeup team's work on Trillo, which during the course of the film ages him from a young man through to age 76,[20][21] and the nearly three-hour running time.[21]The PhilStar commended the film's recreation of multiple historical time periods.[20] The Manila Bulletin states the film "makes no qualms in its aim to preach" and that a lot of money was spent on the film because it will be "screened in several INC gatherings for many years to come."[21]
Philbert Ortiz Dy of ClickTheCity was also critical, giving it 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "It is slow, ponderous, and focuses on things that aren’t very interesting at all."[22] While Michael Alegre of the Philippine Online Chronicles did not give a rating, he said in his review that it suffers from "a lack of focus, excessive content, an uneven pace, some jerky editing, and a noticeable partiality towards Felix Manalo".[23]
Fred Hawson of ABS-CBN gave the film 7 out of 10 stars, praising the film's production, cinematography, and acting (particularly of Trillo), and noted the film's educational value "to know our INC brothers better."[24]
