Kinatay is topbilled by the prince of Indie movies, Coco Martin (Masahista, Serbis, Daybreak). He has a supporting cast which includes Jhong Hilario, John Regala, Julio Diaz, Lauren Novero, Maria Isabel Lopez, Mark Meily and Mercedes Cabral.

Synopsis: A young newlywed policeman-in-training makes ends meet by doing odd jobs for the corrupt police chief and his crew. One night, he’s asked to help out with an overnight job. It turns out that the job entails the murder of a woman.

Although “Kinatay” was tagged as the worst film to ever compete at the Cannes International Film Festival, its director Brillante Mendoza was awarded the Best Director trophy for the film (some say it’s because of his “French connection”.

You can catch Kinatay at Robinsons Manila Midtown Cinema 2, Robinsons Galleria IndieSine Cinema 7 and Robinsons Pioneer Cinema 4.

VIDEO LINK: A Clip from Kinatay

Here are some stills from the movie:

Manila is a two-part indie film inspired by Ishmael Bernal’s 1980 film Manila by Night and Lino Brocka’s 1979 film Jaguar. It is divided into a “Day” and “Night” episode directed by Raya Martin and Adolfo Alix, Jr., respectively.

Manila was first exhibited at the 61st Cannes Film Festival and the 31st Moscow International Film Festival and it is set to be screened in 6 more international film festivals.

Now, Filipinos will finally have the chance to watch this black-and-white film at the following theaters, released by Star Cinema: SM North Edsa, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, SM Manila, SM Fairview, Robinsons Ermita, Robinsons Galleria, Gateway, Trinoma, Glorietta 4, Sta. Lucia, SM Davao, SM Cebu, SM Pampanga, and SM Taytay.

An MJM Production and Bicycle Pictures production, Manila also stars Rosanna Roces, Jay Manalo, Alessandra de Rossi, Baron Geisler, Iza Calzado, Angelica Panganiban, Jiro Manio, William Martinez, Anita Linda, Marissa Delgado, Menggie Cobarrubias, John Lapus, Katherine Luna, Aleck Bovick, and Jon Avila.

VIDEO LINK: Manila – Full Trailer

The White Ribbon is a story about a small village that is rocked by a series of mysterious and cruel crimes with a group of young children as prime suspects.

This is the second Best Picture award that was won by Austria in Cannes, the first was “The Last Chance” in 1946.

Here is the complete list of winners for Cannes International Film festival 2009:

Palme d’Or (Golden Palm):
“The White Ribbon,” by Michael Haneke (Austria)

Grand Prix (runner up):
“A Prophet,” by Jacques Audiard (France)

Jury Prize:
“Fish Tank,” by Andrea Arnold (Britain) and
“Thirst,” By Park Chan-wook (South Korea)

Special Career Prize:
Alain Resnais, director of “Wild Grass”

Best Director:
Brillante Mendoza, “Kinatay” (The Philippines)

Best Actor:
Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds” (United States)

Best Actress:
Charlotte Gainsbourg, “Antichrist” (Denmark)

Best Screenplay:
Feng Mei, “Spring Fever” (China)

Camera d’Or (for debut film):
“Samson and Delilah,” by Warwick Thornton (Australia)

Best short film:
“Arena,” by Joao Salaviza (Portugal)

The winners were chosen Sunday night by a nine-member Cannes jury headed by French actress Isabelle Huppert, which included actresses Robin Wright Penn (Forrest Gump) and Asia Argento and director James Gray.

Although Mendoza’s movie split the critics, he was able to beat Oscar bigwigs like Jane Campion (The Piano), Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain), Pedro Almodovar (All About My Mother) and Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction). Mendoza was recognized for his determination to portray the social reality around him.

“Kinatay” (meaning “butchered” in Tagalog) notably features corrupt cops hacking a prostitute to pieces with blunt kitchen knives. It stars Coco Martin with a supporting cast that include Mercedes Cabral (Serbis), Maria Isabel Lopez, Lauren Novero (Troika) and John Regala.

Last year was the first time since 1984 the Philippines had a film competing for the top prize at Cannes, the Palme d’Or. And this year is the first time that a Filipino had won in Cannes.

Check out what the critics say about Kinatay HERE.

Aside from Kinatay and Taking Woodstock, competing films that were booed by the critics include “Spring Fever” by Lou Ye from China, “Enter the Void” by Gaspar Noe and “Map of the Sounds of Tokyo” by Isabel Coixet. Even the well-hyped “Inglorious Basterds” by the Academy Award-winning Quentin Tarantino starring Brad Pitt received mixed reviews from the audience.

Although there are clear “losers”, there are no clear winner this year that may be considered as the front runner for the Best Picture. But among those who received positive reviews are the prison drama “The Prophet” from France, Michael Haneke’s “White Ribbon” from Austria, Jane Campion’s “Bright Star” from New Zealand and Pedro Almodovar’s “Broken Embraces” from Spain. Also considered as contenders are “Vincere” from Italy, “Looking for Eric” and “Wild Grass.”

It is interesting to note that Jane Campion won the Palm d’Or in 1993 for the movie “The Piano”, the film which was rated X by the MTRCB in the Philippines.

Here’s what Variety has to say about the Philippine entry “Kinatay” by Brillante Mendoza:

Acolytes convinced Brillante Mendoza is ready for his second Cannes competish slot will dwindle following “Kinatay,” an unpleasant journey into a brutal heart of darkness. Mendoza strengthens his gift for describing space with inquisitive cameras, but as the helmer’s star rises, his subtlety wanes, resulting in obvious statements made banal by heavy-handed ironies. This noirish tale of an innocent guy drawn into a dark world of torture and dismemberment understands that an unwilling accomplice is still tarred by fate, but the pic’s graphic nature does realism no favors. Fest life may linger, but theatrical won’t survive long.

But the Daily Telegraph and Screen International have something nice to say about “Kinatay”.

Sukhdev Sandhu of The Daily Telegraph said:

Frankly, most people will find Kinatay either unremittingly tedious, harrowing or vile. Possibly all three. Mendoza is no gore-hound. He’s more serious than Noe. This is a fiercely moral and horribly unforgettable denunciation of societal corruption.

The Daily Telegraph, a British news website, gave an above average score of 4 stars for Kinatay (Butchered).

And Mike Goodridge of Screen International said:

Showing the kidnap, beating, humiliation, rape, murder and dismemberment of a young prostitute, Brillante Mendoza’s new film Kinatay (which means “butchered” in Tagalog) is a nerve-shredding exploration of crime which is both repellent and grimly compelling. Offering audiences no relief or redemption, it is perhaps most notable for its daring in attempting to capture the moment a young man crosses the line into irrevocable evil.

Kinatay revolves around the story of Peping (Coco Martin), a freshly-married policy-academy student who helps a drug-gang acquaintance to collect outstanding payments. He only wants to help his family, but his first operation involves an unforgivingly protracted and wicked assault on a prostitute.

Kinatay is the third Filipino film to have entered the main competition of the most prestigious film festival in the world. The first was “Jaguar” by Lino Brocka in 1979. The second was “Serbis” by Brillante Mendoza last year.

This poster of Serbis showing lead actor Coco Martin standing in an empty cinema house receiving a b-job from a kneeling person was banned from public exhibition by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board or MTRCB. Director Brillante Mendoza plans to darken the “kneeling” man for the second assessment.

Even the trailer was rated-X by the MTRCB for the following grounds:

1) A love scene showing Coco Martin and Mercedes Cabral kissing.
2) A scene where Jaclyn Jose is walking in the dark
3) A scene where a man is puffing a cigarette

Serbis – Movie Trailer:

Serbis is expected to open in selected Metro Manila theaters on June 18, 2008.

Winners in competition:

PALME D’OR
“The Class” (France)

GRAND PRIZE
“Gomorra” (Italy)

SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE 61ST CANNES FESTIVAL
Catherine Deneuve (“A Christmas Tale”) and
Clint Eastwood (“Changeling”)

JURY PRIZE
“Il Divo” (Italy)

DIRECTOR
Nuri Bilge Ceylan, “Three Monkeys” (Turkey)

ACTOR
Benicio Del Toro, “Che”

ACTRESS
Sandra Corveloni, “Linha de passe” (Brazil)

SCREENPLAY
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, “Lorna’s Silence” (Belgium)

Brillante “Dante” Mendoza, known for award-winning indie movies like “Masahista” and “Foster Child”, has a new movie to give honor to the country. “Serbis“, a story about a rural family that decides to run a prostitute service based in a fake theater, has been nominated for competition in “Cannes”, the most prestigious international film festival in the world.

The first and only time a Filipino director had a film including in the competition category of the Cannes Filmfest was in 1984, when Brocka’s opus “Orapronobis” was accepted.

The film stars award-winning actress Gina Pareño (Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo, Kubrador) and RP’s prince of indie movies Coco Martin (Masahista, Daybreak, Tirador).

Following is the list of this year’s contenders and directors competing for the prestigious Palme d’Or award on May 14 to 25, 2008:

“Uc Maymun” (The Three Monkeys)
by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey)

“Le Silence De Lorna” (The Silence of Lorna)
by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Belgium)

“Un Conte de Noel” (A Christmas Tale)
by Arnaud Desplechin (France)

“Changeling”
by Clint Eastwood (United States)

“Adoration”
by Atom Egoyan (Canada)

“Waltz With Bashir”
by Ari Folman (Israel)

“La Frontiere De l’Aube” (The Frontier Of Dawn)
by Philippe Garrel (France)

“Gomorra”
by Matteo Garrone (Italy)

“24 City”
by Jia Zhangke (China)

“Synecdoche, New York”
by Charlie Kaufman (United States)

“My Magic”
by Eric Khoo (Singapore)

“La Mujer Sin Cabeza” (Woman Without A Head)
by Lucrecia Martel (Argentina)

“Serbis”
by Brillante Mendoza (Philippines)

“Delta”
by Kornel Mundruczo (Hungary)

“Linha de Passe” (Line of Passage)
by Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas (Brazil)

“Che”
by Steven Soderbergh (United States)

“Il Divo”
by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy)

“Leonera”
by Pablo Trapero (Argentina)

“The Palermo Shooting”
by Wim Wenders (Germany)

Out of competition:

“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
by Woody Allen (United States)

“The Good, The Bad, The Weird”
by Kim Jee-Woon (South Korea)

“Kung Fu Panda”
by Mark Osborne, John Stevenson (United States)

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”
by Steven Spielberg (United States)

Just recently, Dante Mendoza’s “Tirador” has won the grand prize in Singapore International Film Festival.