Cinema
This Is How We Were Before, How Are You Doing Now?
Ganito kami noon, paano kayo ngayon?
Eddie Romero · 1976
Synopsis
Kulas, a naive village boy set on the road by his mother's death, lives through the last years of Spanish rule and the first of the American occupation. Along the way, he falls in love with Diding, a zarzuela actress, learns the manners of the gentlemen of Manila, earns money and loses it, and discovers that everyone around him calls himself Filipino without knowing what the word means.
Context
The director wrote the story with Roy C. Iglesias, produced it under his own banner and released it on Christmas Day 1976. Christopher de Leon, twenty years old, played Kulas; Gloria Diaz and Eddie Garcia surrounded him. The narrative borrows its form from the apprenticeship tales of Voltaire and Mark Twain, whose moral it reverses, and was shot under martial law. The ABS-CBN archives produced a restored copy in 2013.
Who it is for
Two hours and a quarter in Filipino, Spanish and English. The comedy carries an explicit political message: the title puts a question to the spectator of 1976, and the answer is not given.
Prizes and reception
Six awards at the 1976 Metro Manila Film Festival, including best film, best actor and best screenplay, and best film of the year for the critics.