Mano Po

Mano Po (Chinese: 吻手; pinyin: Wěn shǒu; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bún chhiú; lit. 'Hand Please') is a 2002 Filipino drama film produced by Regal Entertainment, and an entry to the 2002 Metro Manila Film Festival. The film's title refers to the "honoring-gesture" used in Filipino culture as a sign of respect to elders. The film focuses on the lives of the Chinese Filipino community. Mano Po stars an all-star cast headed by Maricel Soriano, Richard Gomez, Kris Aquino and Ara Mina. Eddie Garcia and Boots Anson-Roa play the patriarch and matriarch of the Go clan respectively.

This article is about the film. For the gesture, see Mano (gesture). For the film series, see Mano Po (Filipino film series).

Mano Po
DVD cover
Directed byJoel C. Lamangan
Screenplay byRoy C. Iglesias
Story by
Produced by
  • Lily Y. Monteverde
Starring
CinematographyLeslie Garchitorena
Edited byTara Illenberger
Music byVon de Guzman
Distributed byRegal Entertainment
Release date
  • December 25, 2002 (2002-12-25)
Running time
133 minutes
CountryPhilippines
LanguageFilipino

The film won the most major awards in the film-awarding bodies, including 12 awards in the 28th Manila Film Festival in 2002. It was named Best Picture, Best Actor (for Eddie Garcia), Best Actress (for Ara Mina), Best Supporting Actress (for Kris Aquino) and Best Director (for Joel Lamangan). Mano Po was among the top-grossing films in time for the Metro Manila Filmfest.

The film's success was followed by a sequel, Mano Po 2: My Home and a spin-off, Bahay Kubo: A Pinoy Mano Po! that was released in 2007. The film was the first entry into what would become a franchise.

Plot

Richelle and Raf narrate on a videotape the history of her family. Don Luis Go is a Chinese immigrant who married a Filipina named Elisa. In 1949, the young Luis brought Elisa to China. There Elisa suffered discrimination and misunderstanding from Luis' parents. She decides to go back to the Philippines and Luis joins her. Luis became a cook and Elisa a laundrywoman. Their hard work pays off and they become one of the most prominent Chinese businessmen in the country.

In the present day, the elderly Gos celebrate their wedding anniversary when they are interrupted by their granddaughter Richelle, a delinquent who scandalizes them by wearing revealing clothes, bringing her disreputable boyfriend as a guest and giving them a porn video as a present. Richelle is later arrested on drug charges by policemen led by Raf, who convinces Richelle to turn witness in return for withholding the news of her arrest from her family. Richelle is scorned by the family after she names a family friend as a major drug dealer and her delayed arrival at Elisa's deathbed. Later, Richelle and her sister Juliet are abducted and her other sister Vera's fiancé Emerson is killed. Raf, who develops a romantic relationship with Richelle, rescues her, but Richelle is shot while shielding Juliet and nearly dies. Upon her recovery Richelle reconciles with her family, who give their blessing to her relationship with Raf and to their marriage. The film ends with a presentation of famous Chinese Filipinos in history.

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Minor cast
  • Allan Paule as Antonio "Tonyo" De la Madrid
  • Jim Pebanco as Mike De la Madrid
  • Richard Quan as Joey Yang
  • Carlo Maceda as Jimmy Go
  • Nanding Josef as Gen. Dioscoro Blanco

Awards
Year Award-Giving Body Category Recipient Result
2002 Metro Manila Film Festival[1] Best Picture Mano Po Won
Best Director Joel Lamangan Won
Best Actor Eddie Garcia Won
Best Actress Ara Mina Won
Best Supporting Actress Kris Aquino Won
Best Cinematography Leslie Garchitorena Won
Best Production Design Tatus Aldana Won
Best Editing Tara Illenberger Won
Best Original Story Roy Iglesias and Lily Monteverde Won
Best Screenplay Roy Iglesias Won
Best Musical Score Von de Guzman Won
Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Awards Mano Po Won

See also

References
  1. "Metro Manila Film Festival:2002". IMDB. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
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