Sheila Francisco is magnificent as a grieving mother and retired screenwriter in this delightfully meta mash-up that pays homage to Filipino action films
Writer-director Martika Ramirez Escobar’s feature film debut (after making a bunch of shorts) is a total delight. A homage to the pulpy Filipino action films shot on video from the 1970s and 80s, this extremely meta, self-referential comedy-drama-thriller mash-up stars the magnificent Sheila Francisco as not especially well-off housewife Leonor Reyes. Leonor is living with her son Rudy (Bong Cabrera), a middle manager planning to emigrate – but she was once a successful screenwriter, a force to be reckoned with in Manila’s local film industry until a tragic on-set accident took the life of Rudy’s brother Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon), who as a ghost still haunts his mother’s house, sometimes visibly and sometimes not.
When Leonor notices there’s a screenwriting competition with a large...
Writer-director Martika Ramirez Escobar’s feature film debut (after making a bunch of shorts) is a total delight. A homage to the pulpy Filipino action films shot on video from the 1970s and 80s, this extremely meta, self-referential comedy-drama-thriller mash-up stars the magnificent Sheila Francisco as not especially well-off housewife Leonor Reyes. Leonor is living with her son Rudy (Bong Cabrera), a middle manager planning to emigrate – but she was once a successful screenwriter, a force to be reckoned with in Manila’s local film industry until a tragic on-set accident took the life of Rudy’s brother Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon), who as a ghost still haunts his mother’s house, sometimes visibly and sometimes not.
When Leonor notices there’s a screenwriting competition with a large...
- 4/4/2023
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s hard to encapsulate the half-sunny, half-funeral vibe of “Leonor Will Never Die”, a touching end-of-life drama that’s also a loving homage to kitschy Filipino action cinema. Writer-director Martika Ramirez Escobar pays tribute to her title character, a fictional Pinoy genre filmmaker who, at the end of her life, wakes up inside one of her unproduced screenplays.
Escobar’s debut feature frequently shifts between sad, dimly lit conversations with Leonor (Sheila Francisco) and her concerned loved ones, particularly her adult son Rudie (Bong Cabrera), and scenes within “Return of the Owl,” Leonor’s unfinished dream project, which follows the generic adventures of tough guy construction worker Ronwaldo (Rocky Salumbides).
Some psychedelic transitions, including trippy dream sequences and photo montages, help to establish the slippery nature of Leonor’s subjective reality. A few sequences from “Return of the Owl” also seem credible, but even they ultimately feel monotonous and...
Escobar’s debut feature frequently shifts between sad, dimly lit conversations with Leonor (Sheila Francisco) and her concerned loved ones, particularly her adult son Rudie (Bong Cabrera), and scenes within “Return of the Owl,” Leonor’s unfinished dream project, which follows the generic adventures of tough guy construction worker Ronwaldo (Rocky Salumbides).
Some psychedelic transitions, including trippy dream sequences and photo montages, help to establish the slippery nature of Leonor’s subjective reality. A few sequences from “Return of the Owl” also seem credible, but even they ultimately feel monotonous and...
- 12/2/2022
- by Simon Abrams
- The Wrap
Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon) and Leonor (Sheila Francisco) in Leonor Will Never Die. Martika Ramirez Escobar: 'The presence of the ghost is inspired by a true story of my own grandma, who would say of her son, who did pass away, that she would sometimes feel his presence in her bed' Photo: Music Box Films The film within a film device is given a playful run over the jumps by Martika Ramirez Escobar in her debut Leonor Will Never Die, where even the ‘normal’ world has a touch of the supernatural. There might be a fear on the part of the viewer that Leonor (Sheila Francisco) won’t make it through the first five minutes of the film, let alone its entirety in what turns out to be a cleverly worked sight gag. She might look like your average gran but Leonor was once a famous action film director. Now,...
- 11/27/2022
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
There is a pretty good reason why Leonor’s TV is never switched off, although it might look strange that an old woman would prefer having action-packed movies playing all day long than watching, let’s say, some telenovela. This is of course the first thing coming to mind of an average person whose way of thinking is rooted in the prejudice that all that sweet old ladies are supposed to do is cook, tend to their homes, knit the pullovers that no one will ever wear, and wait for their grandchildren to come and visit. Leonor (Sheila Francisco) is not that kind of granny. The films running on the telly are her legacy. She is a retired Filipino action film scrip-writer and director, attached to the past but stuck in another life.
“Leonor Will Never Die“ is screening at Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Leonor stopped making films...
“Leonor Will Never Die“ is screening at Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Leonor stopped making films...
- 11/8/2022
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Films about filmmakers, both real and fictional, are all the rage right now. From Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Bardo” to Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” the fall movie season features some of Hollywood’s biggest directors releasing movies about the journeys that their profession has taken them on. The films cover a wide range of genres, from stark realism to the very weird, but few are as unique as “Leonor Will Never Die.”
Martika Ramirez Escobar’s feature directorial debut, which won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Innovative Spirit at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival before screening at the Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest, blurs the lines between fiction and reality while honoring the rich history of Filipino action cinema. The movie tells the story of a retired filmmaker who ends up as a character in her own unfinished screenplay after a falling television hits her on...
Martika Ramirez Escobar’s feature directorial debut, which won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Innovative Spirit at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival before screening at the Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest, blurs the lines between fiction and reality while honoring the rich history of Filipino action cinema. The movie tells the story of a retired filmmaker who ends up as a character in her own unfinished screenplay after a falling television hits her on...
- 10/13/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
"Do you think Ma will wake up if we make her movie?" Music Box Films has debuted a second trailer for the indie Filipino action comedy Leonor Will Never Die, opening in the US this November. It premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in January, and just screened at the Toronto Film Festival, too. A one-of-a-kind film about film from the Philippines!! Fiction and reality blur when Leonor, a retired filmmaker, falls into a coma after a TV lands on her head, compelling her to become the action hero of her unfinished screenplay. Starring Sheila Francisco as the amazing Leonor, with a fun cast including Bong Cabrera, Rocky Salumbides, Rea Molina, and Anthony Falcon. "An innovative blend of pulpy action homages, playful comedy, and touching family drama, Leonor Will Never Die is a wonderfully imaginative tribute to the art of filmmaking." This trailer is a slightly different cut from the one last month,...
- 10/12/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The official trailer release for HBO’s latest documentary, “A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting” arrives amid wide-spread conversation of continued anti-Semitism in the media and just a week after Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar year. But the film’s impact is intended to reach beyond the community it reflects by informing viewers about the heart-wrenching tragedy that occurred four years ago in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania.
On Oct. 27, 2018, a white supremacist attack targeted the congregation at Pittsburgh synagogue, resulting in the death of eleven people and injuries to six others — some of whom were Holocaust survivors. The unprecedented violence was considered to be the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the U.S.
“The days when synagogues just leave their doors open — I think those days are gone,” one interviewee comments in a voice-over featured in the trailer.
Both powerfully profound and deeply disturbing,...
On Oct. 27, 2018, a white supremacist attack targeted the congregation at Pittsburgh synagogue, resulting in the death of eleven people and injuries to six others — some of whom were Holocaust survivors. The unprecedented violence was considered to be the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the U.S.
“The days when synagogues just leave their doors open — I think those days are gone,” one interviewee comments in a voice-over featured in the trailer.
Both powerfully profound and deeply disturbing,...
- 10/12/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay, Michaela Zee, EJ Panaligan and Katie Reul
- Variety Film + TV
"You can't wake up someone who is not asleep." Music Box Films has revealed an official US trailer for an acclaimed indie film from the Philippines titled Leonor Will Never Die, which will be out later this year. It originally premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in January, but it's also about to show at the Toronto Film Festival this month - hence the new trailer arriving now. You've never seen anything like this!! Fiction and reality blur when Leonor, a retired filmmaker, falls into a coma after a television lands on her head, compelling her to become the action hero of her unfinished screenplay. Starring Sheila Francisco as the amazing Leonor, along with a fun cast including Bong Cabrera, Rocky Salumbides, Rea Molina, and Anthony Falcon. "An innovative blend of pulpy action homages, playful comedy, and touching family drama, Leonor Will Never Die is a wonderfully imaginative tribute to the art of filmmaking.
- 9/9/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Martika Escobar takes a playful approach to the idea of a film within her film in her freewheeling debut feature that sends up Filipino action hero tropes at the same time as celebrating family connection. Leonor (played with adorable verve by Sheila Francisco) is an ageing mum, who it turns out was once a hot-shot action film director. Her glory days are in the past, however, in a life marked by the tragedy of losing her eldest son Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon) - whose ghostly figure pops up to have a series of drily amusing conversations with various family members including Leonor's younger son Rudie (Bong Cabrera).
Rudie has a fractious relationship with his mother, not least because she keeps forgetting to pay the electric bill, but also because he is on the verge of moving out. When Leonor sees an advert for a screenplay contest, she decides to dust...
Rudie has a fractious relationship with his mother, not least because she keeps forgetting to pay the electric bill, but also because he is on the verge of moving out. When Leonor sees an advert for a screenplay contest, she decides to dust...
- 8/7/2022
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
There is a pretty good reason why Leonor’s TV is never switched off, although it might look strange that an old woman would prefer having action-packed movies playing all day long than watching, let’s say, some telenovela. This is of course the first thing coming to mind of an average person whose way of thinking is rooted in the prejudice that all that sweet old ladies are supposed to do is cook, tend to their homes, knit the pullovers that no one will ever wear, and wait for their grandchildren to come and visit. Leonor (Sheila Francisco) is not that kind of granny. The films running on the telly are her legacy. She is a retired Filipino action film scripwriter and director, attached to the past but stuck in another life.
Leonor stopped making films after her beloved son Ronwaldo was accidentally shot as a child on the...
Leonor stopped making films after her beloved son Ronwaldo was accidentally shot as a child on the...
- 1/26/2022
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
From its opening minutes, Martika Ramirez Escobar’s meta-prank “Leonor Will Never Die” aims to scramble the viewers. Leonor Reyes (Sheila Francisco), an elderly retired action film director in Manila who, the title assures us, must have some claim to immortality, pads into view from the knees-down and steps onto a trunk – the universal film cliché for suicide. Not so fast, but it is true that awful things have happened to Leonor. Her ex-husband Valentin (Alan Bautista), a former movie star, has left. Her favorite son Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon) is dead. And her least-favorite son Rudie (Bong Cabrera) is hounding her to pay the electric bill, which is three months past due and would have already been shut off if Leonor hadn’t helmed the meter reader’s mother’s favorite shoot-em-ups.
If life was one of Leonor’s films, she could write a happy ending. Instead, Leonor consoles herself...
If life was one of Leonor’s films, she could write a happy ending. Instead, Leonor consoles herself...
- 1/22/2022
- by Amy Nicholson
- Variety Film + TV
Following the success of his debut feature “Violator” in 2014, Philippine filmmaker Dodo Dayao spent several years working out the details of his hotly-anticipated follow-up. By the time he managed to secure a deal, he found himself reworking the short film “The Way the Light Falls” into a feature-length version, enhanced with a veneer of political commentary on horrors faced in local society, which has made Dayao one of the brightest names in the Philippine indie scene at the moment.
“Midnight in a Perfect World” is screening at Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival
In the near future, Manila is an almost utopian city but they still believe in ghost stories. One involves people disappearing after being caught out in mysterious electrical blackouts that happen at random parts of the city after midnight. For those unfortunate enough to find themselves out of their homes, their only refuge is special safe houses installed by the authorities.
“Midnight in a Perfect World” is screening at Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival
In the near future, Manila is an almost utopian city but they still believe in ghost stories. One involves people disappearing after being caught out in mysterious electrical blackouts that happen at random parts of the city after midnight. For those unfortunate enough to find themselves out of their homes, their only refuge is special safe houses installed by the authorities.
- 7/5/2021
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
In hindsight, it was naive on my part to think, “what could possibly be told about the lives of transgender people that has not already been explored?” or worse, “whether there was enough content to go beyond a short film?” My eyes have been opened and I am truly touched by a not so talked about section of society.
“Those Long Haired Nights” is screening at the Slovak Queer Film Festival
Tuesday, Amanda and Barbie are transsexuals living in Manila. Under the strict supervision of a pimp, they make a living by providing sexual and massage services. The story revolves around the situations the three come across in a span of two days. Tuesday has an unexpected tryst with a client. Amanda takes a break from work and visits her family in the country. Barbie on the other hand is not ready to make up her mind and even after warnings from the pimp,...
“Those Long Haired Nights” is screening at the Slovak Queer Film Festival
Tuesday, Amanda and Barbie are transsexuals living in Manila. Under the strict supervision of a pimp, they make a living by providing sexual and massage services. The story revolves around the situations the three come across in a span of two days. Tuesday has an unexpected tryst with a client. Amanda takes a break from work and visits her family in the country. Barbie on the other hand is not ready to make up her mind and even after warnings from the pimp,...
- 10/18/2019
- by Arun Krishnan
- AsianMoviePulse
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