Elizabeth Oropesa Movies

A family fights an uphill battle against poverty and the cruelties of fate in this drama. Lauro Pajaron (Joel Torre) has fallen on hard times after leaving the priesthood to have a family and start his own business. Bankrupt and with few options, Lauro and his emotionally fragile wife Clara (Elizabeth Oropesa) move back to their hometown to scrape together a living making charcoal. Uncle Domeng (Richard Joson), who is mildly retarded along with being unable to hear or speak, helps watch over Lauro and Clara's two daughters, Lerma (Klaudia Koronel), whose chronic sleepwalking led to her being sexually abused by a strange man, and Agnes (Isabel Granada), who stands witness to her family's trials. Hubad sa Ilaim ng Buwan was an entry at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The Philippines' most cerebral filmmaker, Marilou Diaz-Abaya, ventures into the realm of instinct and emotion in this unusual story about a male midwife. In a remote fishing village during the American occupation, young Pepito grows up with no choice but to learn the trade of his mother, despite obvious embarrassment and prejudices. The real test of maturity comes when he ventures from the island (the nest, the navel) to the mainland (the real world). The script, which won the prestigious literary award Palanca, relies heavily on first-person narration to give the film a lyrical tone which, at times, lets the narration do the work of telling the story. However, Diaz-Abaya manages to get outstanding performances from her actors with her economical, understated direction. Despite its rather slow pace, In the Navel of the Sea is an important film for the career of Diaz-Abaya, reflecting her determination to seek the challenge of new directions. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

In this Filipino-made supernatural tale, a man is chosen by his dead uncle to battle the forces of evil. He fights a being called "The Prince of Magic," who shoots rays from his hands, makes heads spin around and hypnotizes people. He finally faces Satan himself and engages him in a battle of magic. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi

A love triangle between a man and two well-bred women provides the laughs in this Philippine comedy. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Three separate stories, united by their shared use of vulgar sex humor, are contained in this Philippine film. In the first episode, a professional shoplifter gets into all sorts of predicaments because of her preferred place of concealment: between her legs. The second and third are of a like nature, though the third episode does tell a tale in which poor lovers must each marry rich suitors, and suffer the jealousy of their spouses. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

After her first husband, who was her first love and the father of her child, has been declared legally dead, Amelia (Elizabeth Oropesa) marries a mature Chinese millionaire (George Estregan) whom she comes to love. When the first man reappears on the scene expecting Amelia to come back to him, conflicts multiply. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A courageous stick fighter takes on a wicked Spanish governor to fight for the rights of oppressed Filipinos in this martial arts adventure. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi