Virgilio Lorenzo Jr

Cinemalaya review: ‘Hand of God’, ‘Ganggang’ find children caught between two sides

Article (news)

Fred Hawson

<p>Lt. Edgardo Reyes (Ruru Madrid) and his men were assigned to a small settlement called Pusong-pusong in Basilan, under the leadership of Pah Ismail (Ronnie Lazaro). Their mission was one of community service — to teach the children there the sport of football. While they were assembling  the goalposts, the residents paid them no mind. The soldiers played ball among themselves. Soon, curious children went to watch and play. </p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1786842767085image1786355830.jpg" style="width:500px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>One of the boys was Khaleel (KD Omalin), who had been taken in as a child warrior by a Muslim rebel group led by Omar (Jhong Hilario). When Omar allowed Khaleel to go visit his mother Farida Kapeng (Iza Calzado), he was convinced to stay and learn how to play football with his friends, specifically as the goalie. One day, Lt. Reyes proposed that the kids be allowed to go with him to Manila to join a football tournament there. </p><p>Ruru Madrid played the ideal idealistic military man Ed, while Sue Ramirez played his ideal supportive wife Fatima — both looked and felt very good as the kids&#x27; surrogate parents going over and beyond the call of their duty.  Iza Calzado had the perfect face for tragedy, Ronnie Lazaro for leadership, and Jhong Hilario for ruthlessness. New child actor KD Omalin held his own in the company of these veteran actors and shone as the heart of the whole film. </p><p>This film is the directorial debut of TV and film writer Mark Duane Angos. The story was based on Angos&#x27; personal experience 12 years ago when his Manila-based youth football team were able to play with a team of kids from Mindanao. Angos brought both the glorious and the grim aspects of that memorable intercultural interaction of his to the big screen. Seen in this light, his seeming bias, which can be felt while watching the film, can somehow be rationalized. </p><p>I watched this film right after watching &quot;Ganggang,&quot; another film in competition in this Cinemalaya 2026. Both films basically told the same story of children playing in the warzone between the military and rebels.  The major difference was the point of views of the respective filmmakers on which group they portrayed as the good and as the bad. </p><p>In &quot;Ganggang,&quot; Mel (Raine dela Cruz) was a new kid in  Brgy. Sidhaya, a remote community in rural Bulacan. He came with his father Sarge Medaro (Brian Arda), an officer who had been assigned to oversee the military checkpoints clamping down on NPA rebels operating in that area. At school, he became friends with Tenten (Don Rishmond Cerbito) and Ilay (Kenneth &quot;Butchoy&quot; Vincent Mendoza), who were frequent victims of class bully, Anton (Prince Espana).</p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1786842789902image1786198746.jpg" style="width:500px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>Tenten lived with his farmer father Arman (Anton Nolasco) and his presently pregnant mother Connie (Pau Benitez). Ilay lived with his grandfather Lolo Omeng (Richard Mata) and Lola Rosing (Tabs Sumilang) who raised him after his parents passed away. Anton was the naughty son of their barangay captain Kap (Jers Diwa), himself an uncouth, ill-tempered man who was of a violent nature, and engaged in illicit activities with kickbacks. </p><p>This film was written and directed by JL Burgos, who made waves in Cinemalaya XX with his last film &quot;Alipato at Muog&quot; (2024). In that award-winning documentary film, JL Burgos reflected upon the 2007 abduction and disappearance of his own older brother — political activist Jonas Burgos, supposedly in the hands of military personnel. Knowing this personal crusade of this filmmaker would clarify the spirit upon which &quot;Ganggang&quot; was built around. </p><p>The story was told through the eyes of impressionable young boys living in the countryside. Despite the clean fresh air, scenic mountain views and simple rustic lifestyle around them, this was also where the decades-long unfortunate conflict between the military units and Communist rebel factions held sway. As it would happen among the three friends, one of the boys was a son of a military man, and the other was the son of a suspected NPA man. </p><p>The three child actors in the lead roles were charming and believable, with Don Cerbito most outstanding in his more challenging role as Tenten. Burgos and his cinematographer Mac Cosico were able to stage some pretty suspenseful scenes, with the highlight being that climactic secret spider hunt which the boys did before dawn, enhanced by the editing of Mona Nieva, sound design of Drew Millalos and Anna de Dios, and musical score by RJ Mabilin. </p><p>Burgos pushed his nationalist agenda in the lessons of teachers Rebelyn (Elora Espano) and Anding (Hershey Neri). Jose Lacaba&#x27;s &quot;Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa&quot; set to music by Ding Achacoso and sung by Chikoy Pura was turned into a funeral march song. There were additional scenes which will make you stay behind to watch the closing credits in full, accompanied by &quot;Isang Minutong Katahimikan,&quot; composed by Ericson Acosta and Renato Reyes, Jr., and performed by Aldus Santos, RJ Mabilin and Janine Samaniego. </p><p>Watching both &quot;Ganggang&quot; and “Hand of God” would seem to give us a more balanced overview of the tense situation from both sides. </p><div><br/></div><p>This review was originally published in the author&#x27;s blog, “<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2026/08/cinemalaya-2026-review-of-hand-of-god.html">Fred Said</a>.”</p>

<p>Two Cinemalaya 2026 films put children at the center of stories shaped by armed conflict, but “Hand of God” and “Ganggang” approach the military-rebel divide from strikingly different perspectives.</p>

Two Cinemalaya 2026 films put children at the center of stories shaped by armed conflict, but “Hand of God” and “Ganggang” approach the military-rebel divide from strikingly different perspectives.