The Ten Best Filipino Films of 2013 (Put Down Your Guns, Our Humble Opinion Only)

Facilitated by Rob San Miguel

Updated: January 17, 2013. Closing date for voting from our resident and guest critics, and selected readers.

Many critics have declared 2013 as a very productive year for Philippine cinema and so choosing the top ten best films of the year proved to be difficult even to jaded film critics.  As always, the bulk of quality films were independently produced but, sadly, majority of them were not widely seen and some films were even strictly confined in film festivals. Thus, while many critics and film aficionados relish this “golden year” in Philippine cinema, the rest of the movie-going public may still consider “My Little Bossing,” “Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy,” “Pagpag,” and “10,000 Hours” as the benchmark for quality Filipino films.  Judging from the record-breaking earnings of the 2013 Metro Manila Film Festival, things are not about to change drastically this year. Money still rules the industry and majority of Filipino moviegoers still encourage commercialism as opposed to film as an art form. Period.

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Brun Philippines Critics’ and Readers’ Choices

The critics and some selected readers of Brun Philippines have chosen their top ten best Filipino films of 2013. I have to admit that I only watched eight out of the 10 films, and wrote only six reviews because I still have a day job. Film criticism for most of the resident critics of Brun is a labor of love. We are not paid for this. That being said, once we added all our votes, these are our final top ten choices.

As always, criticism is a subjective exercise, and no matter how knowledgeable you are about filmmaking, you cannot please everyone. A critic’s choice and credibility will always be questioned, and rightly so. We are just arbitrators of taste. 

[Links: Director of the Year / Best Performances]

Do you agree with our resident critics? If not, please let us know. Leave a comment. We will greatly appreciate it.

In alphabetical order

“Ang Huling Cha Cha ni Anita” (Directed by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo)

“Badil” (Directed by Chito Roño)
“Debosyon” (Directed by Alvin B. Yapan)

"Iskalawags" (Directed by Keith Deligero)

“Mga Anino ng Kahapon” (Directed by Alvin B. Yapan)
Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan (Directed by Lav Diaz)

“On the Job” (Directed by Erik Matti)

“Quick Change” (Directed by Eduardo Roy, Jr.)

“Sana Dati” (Directed by Jerrold Tarog)

“Transit” (Directed by Hannah Espia)

(This list will also be included in Pinoy Rebyu's 2013 Critics Poll. 
Pinoy Rebyu is the Philippines very own metacritic site.)

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Brun Philippines invites movie lovers and film critics who do not have their own blogs to join our family. If you have a film review or criticism about a new or old film (local or foreign), you may submit your work for consideration.  We only have a few requirements: (1) your work is original; (2) the piece is well written, in Filipino or English; (3) you want to do it for charity. Yes! Since Brun Philippines is a charitable publication, we donate all our earnings to various charities and so we cannot pay you. All our contributing writers publish out of love.  If you are interested, please e-mail us at robdpchair@gmail.com.  

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