Upcoming movie: Ulan

By: Lorrianne Aryenz V. Valdecantos

Mystic Folks
Ulan, Ulan,
Ano ang iyong
Hatid sa akin?

Source: http://www.cinemabravo.com

When was the last time the Philippine folklore was depicted in a mysterious and beautiful way? When was the last time that the proper kind of spotlight was shone to this part of the Philippine culture?
We all grew up in that period of time when the ‘engkantadas’ and ‘kapres’ roam about the mountains and fairies are guarding our waterfalls. We grew up hearing about them through our ‘lolas’ as we plan this one day trip after school in the hunt for this mystical creatures.
But lately, mainstream media has been labelling them as the bad guys in your typical horror movies, where the ‘kapre’, the horse-headed human takes children in the middle of the night, where ‘tikbalangs’ awaits in the dead of the night in that old tree, the red tip of his cigar and his sharp yellow eyes are the only visible parts of him.
Let’s not forget about this lady, the ‘diwata’, crowned in flowers, forever weeping of water, her hands black like the soil, her face angelic but her eyes dead, hunters are always weary of her, careful to not disturb her peace or else they might not get out of the mountains alive.
The ‘nunos’ guarding their stumps, wishing ill of those mortals who dared to destroy their houses. They have the power of the Earth, to make anyone grow or lose that one part of their bodies that touched the stump.
Normally, these creatures are portrayed as the monsters of films, always the unexplained ones, and always the blood-thirsty but here, in the new film written and directed by Irene Emma Villamor, these creatures are showcased by their true identities.
The trailer for Ulan dropped last February 8, the 3-minute video harnessed a mysterious aura, with a tinge of magic. These creatures are showed in different parts, and all exceeded expectations on how to properly acknowledge their beauties whilst maintaining their integrity considering that they are one of the oldest foundations of the Philippine culture.
People are craving for new formats of films, new ideas and new angles, by the look of Ulan, they are ready to serve the Filipino cinema-goers a new taste of Philippine Cinema.