This is the first film by director Mike De Leon, who has been working since the 1970s and has released numerous controversial works, in 18 years. As Francis Joseph A. Cruz mentioned, apart from the fact that “The most obvious thing is that it is a Mike de Leon film,” it is quite different from De Leon’s previous works, which are “completely incomplete” and “clearly political.” The film takes the form of statements about the strange incidents a journalist, Jake (played by real journalist Atom Araullo), experiences in the Philippines several months before the local elections. Alternating between Baguio, the resort area where traces of dictator Marcos are left physically, and Manila, where his legacy is intangible political remains, “Citizen Blogger” Jake conflicts with his father, a corrupt politician. Jake’s Messiah Complex leads the film in a melancholy and desperate direction. Jake is wandering the hell of the political detestation era, where only the fall of politics and individual defeat are left. Though its name is the Philippines, it could indicate any other place at the same time. (Park Jinhee)