Christopher De Leon Movies

Five Filipino-American friends living in New York City deal with love, sex, friendship, careers, and cultural identity in this romantic comedy-drama directed by veteran Philippine actress Laurice Guillen. Tere Sanchez (Cherry Pie Picache) is an accountant who is in her early forties, single, and not especially happy about it. Tere is an excellent cook, and often throws dinner parties for her friends, and the arrival of her old friend Lorna (Sol Oca) from Manila is all the reason she needs to invite her friends over for a feast. Mike (Christopher De Leon) is a former political journalist who is now enjoying the fruits of a lucrative career as a newspaper editor, but he wonders if he left his principles behind along the way; he's also feeling unfulfilled in his marriage to Gigi (Susan Valdez-LeGoff). Gerry (Ricky Davao) is a advertising copywriter who is afraid to tell his friends and family that he's gay, though circumstances may well drive him out of the closet. Raul (Paolo Montalban) is a good-looking ladies' man who prefers to date Caucasians, and lacks a certain amount of emotional maturity. And Marissa (Dina Bonnevie) is on the surface a well-to-do social butterfly; however, deep inside she's woefully insecure, and is afraid to confront her boyfriend Sam (Randy Becker) about his constant infidelity. Meanwhile, Lorna confesses that while she's married to a wealthy man in Manila, she's terribly unhappy, and is considering staying in America as an illegal alien. American Adobo was the first American-Philippine co-production to open in three major American cities at once (New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco); incidentally, adobo is a spicy chicken or pork dish popular in the Philippines. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Set during the terrifying reign of Filipino despot, Marcos, two upper caste but very different strangers team up to try and survive the physical and mental torture they undergo after they are suddenly jailed. Geny is the conservative businessman while Serge is more sensitive and outgoing. Both of the young men's parents give all of their money, but the government refuses to free them. Even a mutual hunger strike fails to move their jailers. In desperation, Geny and Serge begin plotting their escape. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The mayor of Manilla has been carrying on an affair with a formerly famous local movie star for years. He has supported her and her family with public funds. His wife has been aware of the set-up all along, but as long as it didn't threaten her cushy and powerful position at the center of power, she allowed it to continue. However, the mayor is coming up for re-election, and it's becoming clear that his little secret (which everyone who is anyone knows) is about to become public property and may cost him the election. Steps must be taken. At the same time, the fading star, no stranger to the fierce political winds within the movie industry, is attempting to stay afloat somehow. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Ellis (Christopher de León) and Lorens (Phillip Salvador) are two quarreling brothers set to inherit their large ranch one day from an overbearing mother. The older brother Ellis is an errant womanizer who long ago turned his back on schooling -- and whose main pursuit in life is incidentally fathering the offspring that result from his seductions of various housemaids, while remaining married to his wife. His younger brother is also married, but he is not of the same profligate temperament, and he certainly does not share his brother's streak of cowardice. Events conspire to get each brother involved in local gangs, and if they continue on their collision course, their future may be much shorter than their mother's. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A young Filipino living at the end of the 19th century has his own agenda for his life -- he wants to travel and experience new places. His agenda is cut short when he inadvertently gets involved with a whole underground of marginal characters, including one priest who is a father in both the clerical and secular sense of the term and needs to find his son. Both the young man and the priest gain in following and power as the Filipino revolt against the Spaniards grows. Complicating everything is an attractive woman, and the young man will soon have to decide which direction he really wants to take -- that of a revolutionary leader, or the solitary wanderer that still resides somewhere inside him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Flashbacks encompass the history of the Philippines as well as the life story of the elderly Daniel Aguila (Fernando Poe, Jr.) in this three-and-a-half-hour drama. The Aguila family gathers to celebrate Daniel's 88th birthday, but the old man is nowhere to be seen -- he has been missing for a decade. Suspecting that his father is in Mindanao, one of his sons (Christopher de Leon) takes off for that region in a determined search. Along the way, his memories of the nation and his father's life tell the story of eighty tumultuous years of personal and historical development. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Schoolteacher Teresa Abad's husband has been rendered liable to fits of insanity due to a brain injury. Bing is an unhappy young adolescent in Teresa's class, and his mother is having an affair. Teacher and student meet for the first time, and become lovers. But after Mrs. Abad's husband kills his mother-in-law during a fit, Teresa decides that her life is a mess and it's time to leave the country altogether. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This comedy informs viewers in great detail about methods of birth control while telling the story of a couple who are to have a baby somewhat less than nine months following their marriage. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi