Big Night!

This movie criticizes , but not overly, the government's program in identifying drug abusers and pushers in the barangay level (called tokhang) and the consequences of such a careless plan. Dharna, a gay beautician, gets exploited by all sorts of people, as he tries to find a way on how to remove his name from the list to be submitted to the police.

His fear is not unfounded, as people do get killed with allegations of drug use, so he exerts all means necessary to clean his name.

The movie has some funny moments, the acting are all natural, with good support from actors like Ricky Davao, Gina Alajar and Eugene Domingo.

I am also satisfied with the ending of this movie, I was afraid the writers will go lazy and kill the protagonist at the end. The movie is fast paced , logical and realistic.

First off - if you think it won just because of it's drug war related theme - you are wrong. It is 'entertaining' and it's more than just a social/political commentary film. But i have to be honest, I watched this because I heard it won the best picture award in MMFF 2021. Though i did not have high expectations as i thought the critics loved it partly because of the 'theme', i was surprised I was hooked every minute of it... It has some satire elements, comedic plots, social and political commentaries wrapped around the drama that ends with that "Big Night". Though an exaggeration (in my opinion) and a criticism of what's going on with the drug war in the Philippines - I attest that it actually provides a hint of truth around politics, power, drugs, culture and poverty in the Philippines. I grew up in a depressed area and a lot of the scenes in this movie mirrors that of the place where I grew up. Yes, including the politics, poverty and the drugs part. It was well written and yet very enjoyable. The humor were subtle yet it was effective in my opinion. Highly recommended.