Love and Videotapes (2023) (2025)

Popular reviews

• Review by Terence Ang 洪偉凱 ★★★★ 2

  Unang palabas ng taon.

  Isidro is FATHER, Ariel is MOTHER, and Andoy is their gay sigben son -- my pamili!

  With no synopsis to guide him, a kid from a far-flung province looks to Cinema™ as a medium to come to terms with his identity and sexuality; to queer-coding of local folklore -- mythical and enchanting creatures as found families.

  < Ang Ranking: Cinemalaya >

• Review by kennysweatshirt

  didn’t get to log this last year but doing this now just to say i’m so proud of this film’s entire team — especially my kuya. congratulations on getting into berlinale! really loved this film. it deserves all the good thingscoming its way and more.

• Review by gerald 🐢 ★★★★

  tawang-tawa ako huhu kasama namin manood sa sinehan si shun mark gomez (actor ni andoy) tapos after the screening nagpa-picture sa kanya 'yung friends? fans? niya tapos after the first photo, sabi nung photographer, "o isa pa, 'yung kita bulbol naman" 😭 iykyk

• Review by Philbert Dy ★★★

  The narrative is a little too shapeless for me. Lots of interesting stuff in here, the movie touching a bit on Philippine mythology as it explores this one kid's coming of age in a town that is changing in small, subtle ways. But it's missing structure, the movie shifting its focus between so many little things that it never achieves any real forward thrust. By the end, it feels it's trying out several endings, unable to really find some place safe to land on a dramatic level.

  Some cool stuff in here, though. At points, it reminded of one of my favorite films, Iskalawags, and not just because there is much discussion of Filipino action cinema. There is at least…

• Review by DANI ★★½

  it reminded me of so many films at the same time. the whole cinephile-y of it reminds me of cinema paradiso. the sexual awakening of it reminded me of metamorphosis. the jakol… 2 cool 2 be forgotten. pero ayun nga, it’s nice how i felt reminiscent of so many other films as a movie enthusiast just like andoy.

  yet i must say, everything was all over the place. there’s so much that’s going on. so many randomly introduced subplots but never gets properly resolved at the end. it’s a pretty little coming-of-age film with a lot of potential. that if they only stuck with a plot na mas malinis yung pagkaka-execute at di ako nalilito bilang manonood, it would have…

• Review by ejay ★★★

  There is some really good stuff situated into the movie from here and there, with all the “engkanto” references, the sexual identity subplot, and the story set around the days of VHS tapes. It just kind of fizzled out towards the end, which left some questions introduced throughout the movie unresolved.

• Review by robismore ★★★★½

  Huling Palabas ni Uncle

• Review by Kayo ★★★★★

  Ryan Machado’s coming of age flick is elevated by his unique execution. I have never seen anything like this before, from the tranquil and sensitive direction, down to its familiar yet unpredictable screenplay. Machado blurs the thin line between reality and imagination in such a skillfull way that it keeps on surprising you from one scene to another. This is a layered and intriguing film that requires multiple viewings and guess what? I can’t fucking wait to see it again.

• Review by zed ★★½

  was actually a strong start but bit confusing as it progresses. pretty much discouraged any further interest 😬 haha kasi there were good ideas that had so much potential. i felt like it wanted to tackle so many themes at oncethat's why i find it overwhelming. still had fun tho, interesting characters,, andoy was great btw but the movie around him bites off way more than it can chew.

• Review by Miguel ★★★★

  beginning: death of nintendo / ending: 2 cool 2 be 4gotten

  second film ko pa lang to sa cinemalaya pero eto na ata fave ko sa entire festival ahahaha i love surprises!!!

• Review by KIA ★★★★

  andoy, ariel, isidro joint slay 🤌🏼💅

• Review by miko ★★★★½

  Lagi't lagi talagang nakaaantig para sa akin ang mga kwento ng "found families."

  Ang ganda ng paglalatag at pag-aangkop ng mitolohiya ng mga engkanto upang magbigay daan para sa pagbubuo ng kaisahan ng mga "naiiba." Nahanap ni Andoy ang kanyang inaasam na kalinga ng isang pamilya sa katauhan nila Ariel at Isidro. Maganda rin na isa sa mga huling sandali na nakita natin silang tatlo ay sa harap ng nagsusunog na bahay, bilang pagbibigay wakas sa namamayaning pyudal na konsepto ng pamilya sa lipunan.

  Popcorn moment (favorite scene): Ang pag-uusap ni Andoy at Isidro ukol sa pagiging kasumpa-sumpang anak ng mga engkanto. Ganda ng acting. Ganda ng direksyon sa kamera. Ganda ng disenyo ng tunog. Lahat ng aspeto, swak na swak.

  Excited na ako sa mga susunod na pelikula ni Direk Ryan!