Award-winning scriptwriter Roy Iglesias, known for 'Baler' and 'Asiong Salonga: The Manila Kingpin Story', penned what could have been a sweeping epic but ended up as a long-winded dramedy instead. It may not have been perfect as movie, but Joel Lamangan's direction which encapsulates his lifelong crusade against social ills is evident here.
The movie is about Alex dela Cruz' (Iñigo Pascual) search for his long-lost father (Allen Dizon), which involves astral projection and an encounter with land grabbers, goons, and corrupt politicians. Along the way, he loses his original companion (Ara Davao), and gains two, his long-lost half-sister (Bo Bautista) and an NGO worker (Kazel Kinouchi).
The strength of the film lies in Allen Dizon being game in portraying three different roles which do not make sense if taken literally, somehow do if one views his character as a metaphor for the Philippines. Like our nation, Allen first loses himself and his family because of capitalism (networking), tries to find solace in religious fundamentalism, and ends up as a queer in a queer situation of dirty local politics led by a parody of Alice Guo (Cherry Pie Picache).
What could have been improved is the storytelling, as the main character is actually Alex, and we do not know anything about him except that he is very much empathic about the situations he astrally projects in, and that he was kidnapped by his mother and taken abroad as a child.
My favorite scene is the vice-mayor (Mercedes Cabral) getting "poked" by a dipper by the mayor. It is refreshing to watch a light-hearted scene in the midst of all the chaos and misery.
The greatest lesson learned from 'Fatherland' is that you may lose your identity and memory, but the heart wants what it wants and there is a kind of love that exists which cannot be forgotten.
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