Ang Tanging Ina

Wenn V. Deramas's 2003 Filipino film follows Ina, with twelve children by three husbands, trying to support them all. She works several jobs at once; but as the sacrifice grows, so does the distance between her and her children. The film was among the biggest successes at the Philippine box office and sequels followed. Ai-Ai delas Alas's comedy is physical and high-tempo; the excess is what the genre expects. What makes it interesting is not simply exalting a mother's sacrifice but also showing the children feeling it as a debt. The story slides into melodrama in the second half and the resolution comes too easily. Who it's for: viewers who like Philippine popular comedy and family films. Who it's not for: anyone wanting measured humour, or put off by heavy melodrama.