Directed by JP Carpio
Starring: Mandy Alimon, Joy Ramirez, Lindy Osmena, Glynn Medina
Approximate running time: 180 minutes

    Part of the buzz Balay Daku generated was its being the first Ilonggo full-length independent digital movie. Now that's something. But delivering something more besides the joy of using Sony Digital 8 is something else.

    And this "something else" Balay Daku did not fail to deliver.

    Balay Daku begins when Julio Gonzales (Mandy Alimon) brings home his Manila-bred wife Stella Santiago-Gonzales (Joy Ramirez) to his Bacolod hometown for a vacation. Think "How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife" or somewhere along that line: the Gonzales family hasn't met Stella before.

    Stella's first few days in the family seem normal. The family, composed of Julio's mother Inday Carmen (Lindy Osmena) and older brother Boy (Glynn Medina), seems to accept her. But then, as the story unfolds, unresolved issues that Julio left behind begin to crop up again. Re-uniting with age-old family customs, sibling rivalry, and an old childhood sweetheart of Julio's (Riega Dioneo) all bring to a test the strength of all the characters, as they deal with emotions brewing underneath the normalcy.

    Unlike the typical Hollywood film that lasts for approximately one and a half hours, and which more often than not focuses on how a character pursues his or her goal, Balay Daku seems to drone on steadily like a ship on its way to, say, Bacolod. It's a three-hour film, and some of us with the shortest attention spans might not like it. There seems to be not much, happening. Note that the key word is "seems".

    But there really is something happening, if you pay close attention to it. Each seemingly normal act by a certain character has a corresponding subtext. And it's not that hard to figure out, really, since the actions seem all too familiar even if I am not from Bacolod and I don't speak Hiligaynon. After all, we have our share of family quirks, too, right?

    So in effect, the film does not really aim to entertain, even if yes, there are some funny scenes in the film. What it wants is to explore life, really. In particular, the family. The film really hits the heart as one gets to know the characters. They seem real-real enough for you to forget that just a while back, you were complaining about why the actors are not pretty enough, or "guwapo" enough, or why they weren't dressed well enough.

    Prior to the screening, director JP Carpio told the audience that the film we were about to see is very personal-about his experiences and childhood in Bacolod. He also cited the names of the people he worked with to make the production of his film possible: co-editor and executive producer Pepper Marcelo, Maitet Carpio, another executive producer, and co-writer Astrid Tobias. Then, as if giving us Hollywood babies a sort of warning, he told us that this is not our typical Hollywood film, that it is "almost documentary" in style. But I guess I was entertained by all that exploring.