Puregold CinePanalo’s 'Mono No Aware' is this Year’s Best Filipino Film Yet

BC Amparado’s Mono No Aware shows a bicultural life-affirming story amidst grief. It has a cinematic language that is Japanese and a dramatic sensibility that is Filipino. The film not only took Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival 2026’s top prize but is also a contender to be this year’s best local release. There’s Ichi (Juan Karlos), an OFW in Japan striving to provide for his pregnant wife and daughter. And then there’s George (Perry Dizon), an elderly widower with roots from Davao. One day, their paths crossed and ultimately veered each other’s fates for the better

Ichi is a kodokushi cleaner, someone who cleans the remains of elderly people who died alone and whose bodies remain undiscovered for days to months. From the get go, the film is unshy of showing the unpleasantries of decay. Ichi scrapes off tatami mats heavily stained by decomposition only to see marks of a previous death beneath still there on the other side of the floor. A decomposing carcass of a bird serves as a motif throughout the film. The message instantly registers: this will not be a light watch. 

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This is why Juan Karlos’ casting works. He exudes comedic cadence from the first frame he appears in. He brings smiles in an otherwise morose film. Karlos has a quality of being the endearing goofball you can’t help but root for when life batters him. He won the festival’s Best Actor award; although my gripe is that Karlos’ acting works less when it’s time to do tears and drama. Ichi’s work places him in the orbit of George. They are opposites. George is glum, the temperament of an old man. As much as I’m happy with Karlos’ win, Perry Dizon portrays George with such mastery that I can’t help but see him as the better lead in the film. 

The main plot of the film sees George asking Ichi to help with the aftermath of his suicide scheduled on a Wednesday, the same day his Japanese wife died years before. George offers Ichi compensation for this, which the latter accepts for his premature daughter’s surgery. Waiting for the date, the two unexpectedly form a bond through the Bisaya language. This is something only the two are privy to themselves, excluding George’s caretaker Mori (Momoko Kobayashi) in their banter and providing some of the chuckles in the film.

Besides the main plot, there’s Ichi stealing from the dead. His co-worker Ken (Paolo O’Hara) covered for him when their boss grew suspicious, leading Ken to be terminated. There’s Ichi finding bits of George’s past: his mangled hand resulted from a work accident. And then there’s Mori opening up to Ichi after he rescued George from a fire—a scene that earned Kobayashi the Best Supporting Actress. It turns out that a young Mori finding the corpse of her grandfather led her to her career path as a social worker now. There’s the Japanese cook in the local eatery, the Filipina cashier in the Filipino store, Ichi’s wife, which we only see through Ichi’s phone screen, and Ichi’s other co-workers. Their idiosyncrasies, temperament, warmth, and flaws allow them to be human. These characters (consisting of the festival’s Best Ensemble) make the village feel alive.

A turn for the worst happens near the fateful Wednesday when Ichi learned terrible news from his wife. Ichi, in a fit of uncontrollable emotions, also commits suicide coinciding with George’s.

And when it’s obvious that the film would end in pessimism, the film extends beyond what the audience thinks is the closing black frame. Another five minutes happen, swerving the film into optimism. George recognizes the warmth Mori and Ichi have been giving him. Ichi bounces back from deep sleep. He cleans his vomit in a poetic scene mirroring him cleaning the remains of the dead in the beginning. Both have prevented themselves from attaining lonely deaths. Both have realized the value of their and each other's lives.

With over 2 hours of running time, I don’t think length is an issue. Best Director winner BC Amparado allows his scenes to breathe, demanding the audience to let emotions within them simmer. Amparado may have been influenced by Japanese cinema in his approach. The film also won Best Sound Design and Best Cinematography. I do, however, think that there’s an editing problem—an irony for a film that won Best Editing. The timeline does not add up. Succeeding scenes do not cohere to continuity, or at least it’s hard to mentally follow. Sometimes, the plot says it should be morning the following day, and yet we see nighttime.

Structure is a detriment to the film. It sticks out like a sore thumb. But it cannot nullify what Mono No Aware achieves. Filipinos sticking with each other in a foreign land. Two cultures in conversation with the resulting dialogue of hope. 

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