Woman in the Woods

Just hear me.... If you put aside the fact that the official cover has literally nothing to do with the movie (no, there are no gorillas, nor a plane on fire, or any fire in this movie, and also the lady on the cover is definitely not Mercedes Cabral), I could have made something better in Photoshop in less than an hour.... Put that aside and give this (estimated) 1million dollar production a chance. A chance to talk about Philippines folklore, to tell the story of someone who's roots were strong but not native to where he was transplanted. This is not a story about what most people want to hear about, it's a story about what is known in the Philippines but that not many people outside of the Philippines know. It's a story about a strong culture that has many resident living abroad who have kids that have never been "back home". To me, it is very interesting. Is it a great movie? No. Is it a bad movie? Not really. I thought the movie was confused, but peeling a few layers off made me appreciate it a little more than what I felt at first: First, don't have expectations, forget the gorilla. Second, the movie is Filipino folklore lived through the main character's own story in the present. It's a bit confusing, but I can't see it done any other way. It would have either been a Fight Club type scenario, or a movie like Apocalypto. They chose this hybrid, which is fine for a small production. It's not gonna blow your socks off, but if you're opened to have a glimpse at folklore, it's decent enough.

Either way beautiful nature footage and scenery of Sorsogon/Bulusan Philippines, including a mysterious native tribe and (according to Attenborough) one of the last, incredibly rare local cyclops! A tough hard-as-nails pretty hardnut chubby sparsly dressed djungle queen on a mission and a sort of wimpy canadian traveller on a quest for his birth roots facing his mental deamons from the past..in a way it reminded me of Apocalypse-Now. Without helicopers and wagner though. I suppose it must be based on some ancient philippino folklore tales, which there must be many on such an ancient mystic archipelago, would make sense in a way - just wish there would be more explanation for viewers not-in-the-know of these tales to appreciate the surely well meant story-telling. And yes, dont watch if you're after the skinny sixpack babe and the gorilla, they are nowhere to be seen. It must a another metaphor as there are many in the story.

When I saw the title I thought maybe they captured Pollyanna McIntosh roaming the wilds and set her free in Africa like Elsa. There is no gorilla in the film. It takes place in the Philippines. Jason is from Canada and is visiting the home his father loved so dearly. He goes camping in the woods and comes upon a woman (Mercedes Cabral) who was a princess in ancient times. Because of his "third eye" only he and other with the gift can see her, as well as the other forest denizens. Jason gets involved in her life and everyone tells him, it will end badly as it always does. I enjoyed seeing the folklore of other nations. Interesting tale. Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

Granted, I sat down to watch the 2020 movie "Woman in the Woods" and I was expecting it to be maybe something in the likes of the old "Tarzan" movies, given the fact that the movie had a scantily clad jungle lady and a gorilla on the cover. Right, well you can forget about the gorilla entirely, because there are no apes in the movie at all. So why that gorilla was on the cover at all just makes absolutely no sense. In fact, the woman on the cover wasn't in the movie either. So I have no idea what the people making the cover were thinking, much less trying to pull. Yet, I must say that "Woman in the Woods" was actually a rather surprisingly nice movie when it comes to it, you just have to ignore the cover entirely as it had absolutely nothing to do with the actual movie. The storyline told in "Woman in the Woods" is based on a Philippine legend. Now, I happened not to be familiar with the legend that the movie is based on, so I have no idea how true the movie was to the actual legend. But regardless, the movie proved to be an interesting and entertaining movie nonetheless. In order to enjoy a movie like the 2020 movie "Woman in the Woods" from writer and director Kevin Ang, then you must have a healthy interest in Asian folklore and legends, or at the very least an interest in Asian culture and movies. The movie has a relatively small ensemble of actors and actresses on the cast list, so those performing in the movie had a bit more resting on their shoulders in terms of carrying the movie with their individual performances. And I must admit that both Mercedes Cabral (playing Magayon) and Brian Sy (playing Jason) actually did just that. While "Woman in the Woods" is hardly a movie that warrant more than a single viewing, then it is actually a movie that I would recommend you sit down to watch, should you find yourself given the opportunity. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and my rating of "Woman in the Woods" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Despite the obvious bait and switch, the scenery was gorgeous, especially the waterfall. There was no outlet for rating this "movie" less than one star, so I was generous. One star.

Fans of franchise films like Fast & Furious will find the Woman worth watching, but won't find much else in the Woods. Except for a few underwhelming action sequences, Woman in the Woods is a mild-mannered movie. That's not a bad thing. The scenery is beautifully filmed, the music is dreamy, the characters are delightfully quirky, and the story is heartfelt. There are some surprisingly funny moments like sprinkles on a buttercream frosted biscuit. Speaking of buttery biscuits, did I mention the Woman? My goodness. Before you succumb to another soul-sucking streaming-service "original," visit the Woman in the Woods and feel better about yourself and the world.

The plot for this movie should read: Ignore everything on the cover. It's a lie. When Jason's father dies he makes a homage to his father's homeland of the Phillipines. After eating the same mushrooms his father must have eaten before telling him all the myths of his homeland, Jason experiences the most interesting hallucinations taking him on a life changing journey where he cannot tell what is real and what is not.

Guess I'm lucky, my wife can understand bikol, so she translated. Which is spoken widely throughout the film without subtitles. That is frustrating. And anak is spelled wrong consistently. There's some continuity issues, some dodgy CGI and the action sequences weren't great but I really enjoyed this fantasy romp through Bicol folklore. Mercedes Cabral is fantastic.

First, allow me to begin by saying up front the acting was great. Not your typical leading man and women but that was refreshing and they were fantastic. Having said that.... The subtitles could not translate the foreign language, only the English. A bit frustrating not knowing what half the cast was saying. If you speak Tagalog you may get a few words here and there but then you're lost. Also, too many unexplained events, creatures and scenes. Spoiler Warning: How did the giant die? What was the creature in the caves? What was the creature by the river? Where did 2 of the 3 main characters disappear to in the end? And finally.... WHAT WAS WITH THE BACKPACK?????

Got this for a $1, and it's not great, Philippino Folktales combined with limited CGI. It's nice that the star isn't a super geek hacking the matrix or a martial arts master, he's just a regular guy. Lady who plays the goddess seems to be a decent actress, which is why she got the part, the young lady on the cover, maybe she's a bad actress, or too expensive. He goes on the journey, survives, the end, worth a check out from a library.