Jesus Is Dead

Victor Villanueva's 2016 Filipino film begins when Iyay learns that her estranged husband has died and drags the whole family to the funeral. The journey from Cebu to Dumaguete packs every unresolved family matter into one van. The film was shot in Cebuano, at a moment when regional production outside Manila was gaining visibility in Philippine cinema. The humour is black and local; most of the jokes about death, religion and family shame rest directly on cultural context. The family members are not one-dimensional: a trans daughter, a son with autism, a sibling who changed denomination. The film makes none of them the joke and lets each bring their own matter into the story. Jaclyn Jose plays the mother. Who it's for: those who like black comedy and road movies. Who it's not for: viewers troubled by irreverent humour about religion; the film does that from the title onward.