1. What is MMFF?

The Metro Manila Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Metro Manila, Philippines. The film
festival begins at Christmas Day (December 25) and ends at the first weekend of January. It all started
back in 1975, which was then held as a commemoration of the Martial Law in 1972. During the festival,
it is strictly implemented that only Filipino films should be screened in movie theatres, with the
exclusion of 3D theatres and IMAX theatres. (www.wikipedia.com)
List of Characters ( Main Ensemble only):
- Aga Muhlach, as Joselito “Lito” Gopez
- Xia Vigor, as the young Yesha Gopez
- Bela Padilla, as the present-day Yesha Gopez
- John Arcilla, as Police Warden Johnny San Juan
- Tirso Cruz III, as Defense Secretary Johnny Yulo
- Joel Torre, as Boss Sol (Soliman)
- JC Santos, as Mambo
- Soliman Cruz, as Tatang Celso
- Mon Confiado, as Choy
- Jojit Lorenzo, as Bong

2. Summary / Plot of the Movie

Yesha Gopez, a lawyer, opens up an old case in the Supreme Court, with high hopes of her client’s
acquittal. Her foster father and old friends accompany her to the court room, anxiously waited for the
judge’s final verdict.

The story goes back twenty years ago, with Joselito “Lito” Gopez, a single father with a mental age of six,
who lives with his only daughter, Yesha along the Pasig River. Despite of his condition, he works hard as
a grocery clerk in a shopping mall, in order to make his daughter happy. Both the father and his
daughter regular visit a local mall store that sells a Sailor Moon bag, whom Yesha likes, in which Lito
promises her that he’ll buy her one when he earns enough money from his salary. However, on one
particular day, the very bag Yesha eyes upon was now taken and bought by another young girl, causing
Lito to plead to the girl’s father for the bag. The man, immediately infuriated by Lito’s actions slapped
him hard and strangling him on the floor, threatening the latter about what worse could happen to him
if he ‘attempts to harass them’ again. The two goes home slightly brokenhearted, yet their routines
went on up to the following day.

Yesha, as Lito have noticed, is still affected by the purchase of the Sailor Moon bag, but Lito again
assures her that he’ll look for a new one for her. They parted goodbye, but didn’t let it pass without
dancing their ‘signature’ moves. Nearly going home, Lito is seen counting his salary, still continuing to
save money for the bag his daughter likes. But the same girl who bought the last Sailor Moon bag the
day before kindly approaches him, and tells him that she knows another store who sells the similar bag.
Excited, Lito trails in with the girl, but slips on the slippery floor, losing his sight on the girl. Right after his
slip, he continued to take the girl’s path, but to his surprise, the girl is already lying down on the
pavement unconscious. Lito attempts to resuscitate her, but a bystander views it as malice and
immediately reports it to the police.

The police arrests Lito, and due to his lack of understanding of the situation, the police officers force him
to sign papers, promising him he’ll be able to go home and see Yesha again, as what he repeatedly says
to the police. The following day, Lito is already taken to Bilibid Prison, with charges of rape, murder and
kidnapping pressed against him. The current police warden, Johnny San Juan and his cell mates initially
treat him harshly, but the latter later on softens as Lito saves Boss Sol’s life from getting stabbed by a
rival gang leader. Boss Sol then asks Lito what he wants, and promises he can smuggle anything he
requests, even a woman. Lito, who misses his daughter for days, mutters her name. On the other hand,
Yesha, who had long sought for her father, was taken in an orphanage, and remained sullen despite of
her teacher’s efforts to cheer her up.
A children’s group, which includes Yesha, performs at a Christian worship session in the prison. Mambo,
posing as a janitor, quickly takes Yesha away from the group, to avoid the immediate notice of the
spectators, especially Warden Johnny. Mambo hides Yesha in an old water drum, evades the suspicious
prison officer, and successfully delivers the child safely in the cell. The two happily met again, but their
reunion was later cut short by Mambo’s frantic warning that children are already leaving, and that he
needs to return Yesha back to the group. However, Yesha’s return back to the orphanage seemed
impossible, so she gleefully remained in her father’s cell for days, only to be hidden when a prison
officer passes by to inspect.

Johnny is then seen shuffling photos of the previous Christian worship session, noticing that a child gets
missing in particular photos. He commands his officers to conduct a cell inspection in cell no.7, the cell in
which Boss Sol and his colleagues are assigned. Yesha is later discovered, and returned to the
orphanage, while Lito is thrown in an isolated cell, spending his night praying for his daughter’s safety.
Boss Sol’s rival gang leader throws a fit and starts a fire, threatening even Johnny, committing arson,
despite of the warden’s pleas to stop it. Everyone manages to evacuate, except for Johnny, who Lito,
released from his cell, saves. The latter calls for help, until he also gets unconscious. The warden later on
recovers and learns that he was saved by Lito, who remains asleep in an opposite hospital bed. After the
incident, he invites Lito in his office, and asks Lito regarding his crimes, in which Lito repeatedly denies.
Johnny is left reconsidering his case, and eventually reinvestigates the case. Lito’s cell mates realize that
he is innocent, and helps him in memorizing his statement in his upcoming trial. Yesha is formally
adopted by Johnny and his wife, with Johnny allowing Yesha to visit his father often. A flashback scene
shows a memory of Johnny and his son playing basketball, who was later hit by a passing car.

On the day of Lito’s trial, Secretary Yulo, the little girl’s father, threatens Yesha’s safety if he does not
confess his supposed crimes. Lito, who loves his daughter so much, ends up saying that he is guilty, and
the court sets his execution date on December 23, which happens to be Yesha birthdate. Even Johnny
could not move the date, and Lito gets sadder as the date passes, yet conceals it to Yesha, who regularly
visits him.

Boss Sol, Mambo, Choy, Bong and Tatang Selo secretly works on a hot air balloon for the two to escape,
and eventually sacrifices their monthly collection of money to the rival gang leader, who agrees to bring
their needed materials.

On December 23, a group of students,including Yesha, sings ‘Payapang Daigdig’ as part of the prison’s
Christmas program. Yesha is eventually taken by Boss Sol’s group, and the two rides on the hot air
balloon the inmates have created. The rope of the balloon gets stucked on the barbed wire of the fence,
causing the balloon to get stay mid-air, with the pair enjoying the view of the sunset. Yesha pays another
visit in his cell, with his cell mates giving her gifts, most importantly, the Sailor Moon bag she always
wanted. Right after the gift giving, Lito’s cellmates wrote phrases like ‘Mabuting ama’ in his shirt,
proving that he was not guilty. The two bid farewell, with Yesha having no knowledge about her father’s
fate. Lito, then cries for help, and repeatedly apologizes for the crime he didn’t commit.

Yesha Gopez, who stands as her father’s laywer, finishes her testimony in the court, and tearfully tells
that it is never too late to reclaim her father’s dignity as part of his humanity. The judges’ then clear
Lito’s name, and Yesha’s determination is eventually paid. Yesha smilingly exits the court room, and
imagines her father with greying hair, and dances with him in their signature dance.
There are different lessons shown in the story but what touched me the most is the value of forgiveness
and sacrifice, as portrayed by Lito. How I wish humanity was always like that, including me… Lito,
despite of his deficiencies, knew how to forgive and not kindle anger, even to those who once hurt him,
or who judged him wrongly… I realized most little kids have that attitude too, and somehow I was
slightly abashed by the excessive display of pride we teenagers and adults commonly have. We usually
think for ourselves, and carry that little flame called of ‘pride’ everywhere we go, that we forget to live
for others. Lito could have remained firm on his statement, but instead chose to sacrifice himself in his
fear that his daughter will be harmed. He never thought too much for himself, and his actions are mostly
for Yesha, his only treasure. Most of us are bind together by love and commitment, but sadly, I only see
them love, but never fully commit their selves in that person. This is the true unconditional love, similar
to our Almighty Father who sacrifices Jesus for us, His children. And not only Lito loves Yesha, but he
seemingly reserves a part of his heart for others, a trait Secretary Yulo doesn’t have. Sec. Yulo loves his
daughter, but abuses his power to harm others; it isn’t love. True compassion does not end with
someone who’s family to you, it is equally distributed to every fellow you’ve met. If this is long realized
by arrogant men who lived before us, I could infer that wars aren’t imminent often.

3. What kind of Movie Genre did your movie have?

Miracle in Cell No. 7 is a combination of drama and comedy, which in my own opinion, is well blended
together. It could have been a courtroom drama too, though tensions in courtroom aren’t that
intense…I think it is also a melodrama, though exaggeration isn’t much a thing in the film.

(Melo)Drama- Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters, settings, life
situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction.

The movie, especially in its near conclusion, is heavily dramatic. The intense emotions displayed by the
cast are very moving, making each tears a reason for my increasing empathy for them. The first moving
scene involved Warden Johnny and Secretary Yulo in a tearful conversation about losing a child, in which
Johnny, alone in his office recounts his last day with his son, holding his basketball tight, crying hard…
And obviously, the scene of Lito’s last day, how can’t it be dramatic?

Comedy- Comedies are light-hearted plots consistently and deliberately designed to amuse and provoke
laughter (with one-liners, jokes, etc.) by exaggerating the situation, the language, action, relationships
and characters.

There are several short comedic scenes in the movie, but one scene that made the whole cinema laugh
is a scene with JC Santos (Mambo), who happens to sneak Yesha to their cell with a water drum, but
ends up being cornered by a prison officer. His pretension of being gay in front of the prison officer
provokes the audiences to laugh, especially his ‘Sailor Moon’ dance performance in the cell, where he
sang and dance the theme song with some newly-invented steps. Another funny scene involves Boss Sol
struggling to write his name (Soliman) right after he was being taught by Yesha how.

What kind of Movie Theme did your movie show?

The most palpable theme is obviously love. Love for your child, love for your father, love for your
fellows, and yes, love for Sailor Moon! The father-and-daughter bond throughout the movies spells a
genuine love story for viewers, and the growing friendship of Lito’s cell mates are evident as the story
goes…
Another movie theme of the story worth mentioning is what others call, “The Noble Sacrifice”. Before
the trial, Lito is seen reciting his statement in a room, in which Secretary Yulo confronts him, threatening
Yesha’s safety if he does not confess his ‘crimes’. The former ends up telling the judges he is guilty, for
the sake of his daughter’s safety. Others could have continued to stand up for the truth, but because of
his lack of judgement (by his mental age of six), he decides to sacrifice his own life for his Yesha.

4. Describe the movie/theater house you went to. (audio, video, inside and surrounding area - from
ticketing to comfort rooms). Make intelligent criticism.

Cinema 3 in SM Taytay is a good place to watch such movies like Miracle in Cell No.7. Not too cold or
shockingly loud –it gives you just the right aura to munch in some chips and empathize with the movie
characters. I once developed a certain disliking on watching movies on movie houses because of the
freezing temperatures and deafening sound systems, that I chose to wait for months for a clear DVD
copy available in our neighborhood. Now that certain dislike was apparently gone for two hours when I
watched the movie. As advertised before the film, the cinema uses the Dolby Surround technology, and
even though I was pretty aware of it before, that was the only time I appreciated it because of the well-
modulated sound systems.( I honestly felt like I was listening on an 8D track with all the sound popping
all over me .) Good thing we already have our seats reserved, and seat-hunting was never a hassle for
us; well, we have picked a good spot, situated at the elevated section of Cinema 3, almost at the middle
of the screen… The ticketing area was quite small, but I think it is enough to cater the fairly small
population of moviegoers… The comfort rooms, similar to the ticketing area isn’t big either, but it is
justified by the size of the humble movie house itself. If compared to other movie houses, the SM Taytay
branch is a recommendable spot for small groups of movie watchers like our family (we are only four),
and I tell you, you’re experience will be better if you have reserved your seats online.

5. If you were the director of the movie, how would you end the story? (Be creative. Let your
imagination soar. Do not answer me with a one-liner explanation.)

The ending of the movie honestly left me a bit dumbfounded for minutes. ‘So Lito is still alive?’, was my
initial thought, but it was waved off by my own father, who assured me it’s all her in her mind. Though
the Philippine remake’s ending was altogether heartwarming, the original South Korean movie was of
more depth and heart-wrecking. Both movies did show justice to Yong-gu/Joselito, but I wished the
story pushed on a little bit further. The story of Johnny, the then-stern warden of the prison Joselito was
thrown off was opened up during the movie, and effectively added up more sympathy to his character.
Meanwhile, I have to admit, Sec. Yulo’s presence was not that enough to the film, having fewer
appearances than other important characters in the film. Here is my envisioned screenplay of the
ending.

Yesha smilingly exits the court, escorted by her foster father, Johnny, and Lito’s former cellmates.

Yesha: Ito na po iyon, sana masaya si Tatay ngayon.

Johnny: Lagi iyong masaya kapag nakikita ka, Yesha.

Yesha smiles, and continues to walk down the stairs.

Choy: Aba, teka, hindi ba si Yulo iyon?

Mambo: Sinong Yulo na naman iyan?

Bong: Ayun o, iika-ika. sniggers

Former Defense Secretary Yulo, who happens to visit the Supreme Court at the same day, sees Johnny
and his adopted daughter, Yesha. He averts his stare and pace at the two, but is greeted by Yesha, with a
smile.

Yesha: Good Afternoon, ho.

Yulo: Ah, Good Afternoon din, iha.

He continues to walk, but eventually pauses after overhearing a conversation by the group behind him.

Sol: Tignan mo siya, grabe ang pag-iiwas sa atin. Guilty ata.

Selo: Balang araw, mapagtatanto niya rin ang lahat ng pagkakamali niya.

Yesha: Huwag na po tayong magalit, ang mahalaga, kahit na dalawang dekada ang nagdaan, hindi pa huli
ang lahat para makamit ang hustisya.

Yulo then gazes back to the now-departing group, and now shows his face with contempt and extreme
guilt. Yesha exits the main building, and looks for the violet balloon attached in the building. She watches
the balloon get flown away of the wind, with a heart now filled with peace and contentment.
Individual Output
for Arts 10:

MMFF 2019 Film Review

Lita, Alessandra Orange P.

Grade 10- Rizal
Mrs. Lorelei B. Ramos
MAPEH 10 Teacher