Eddie Garcia and the dog Princess in a scene from 'Bwakaw'.
Jun Lana’s acclaimed dramedy “Bwakaw” is one of the 10 must-watch movies at the 50th New York Film Festival, according to Time Magazine.
Riding a wave of glowing reviews reaped from the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, “Bwakaw” joined a distinguished list led by Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi”, which opened the festival on Friday; Michael Haneke’s “Amour”, which won the Palm D’Or at this year’s Cannes; and Brian de Palma’s “Passion”, which premiered in Venice last month.
“Truly humbled to be included in a list alongside Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, Michael Haneke’s Amour, Brian De Palma’s Passion! Happiness!” writer-director Lana proclaimed on Facebook.
The Time recommendation, written by Lily Rothman, says of “Bwakaw”: “This film, from the Philippines, stars Eddie Garcia, winner of a lifetime achievement award from the Filipino Acadamy of Movie Arts and Sciences. It’s a dramedy in Tagalog about a man and his dog living in a small town; Bwakaw is the name of the dog but the canine actor is called Princess. The main character came out of the closet as an elderly man and is resigned to being alone for the rest of his life—until something (no spoilers!) convinces him to change that fate.”
The list also includes Sally Potter’s “Ginger and Rosa”, Noémie Lvovsky’s ”Camille Rewinds”, Noah Baumbach’s “Frances Ha”, Robert Zemeckis’ “Flight”, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani’s :Caesar Must Die”, and David Chase’s “Not Fade Away”.
“Flight”, which stars Denzel Washington as a pilot whose heroism in an emergency landing comes into question, will close the two-week festival on October 14.
“Bwakaw” was recently chosen by the Film Academy of the Philippines as the country’s entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category for next year’s Academy Awards.
Starring veteran actor Eddie Garcia in possibly the greatest role of his career, the movie is about the unlikely friendship between a grumpy old gay man and a stray dog who keeps him company while he awaits his date with mortality.
