Cinemalaya Backlogs: ICU Bed #7 (2005)

I managed to dig up this gem from the very first Cinemalaya festival: way back when there were no "established directors" and everything went down only in CCP. Today we talk about one of the more well known films of this festival: ICU Bed #7, directed and written by Rica Arevalo.

Joseph (Eddie Garcia) is a cantankerous old man who drinks, smokes and gambles. His extended family consists of his two daughters Beth and Cely, and their respective families. One day Joseph gets really sick and gets admitted to the ICU. Thanks to this, all of the emotional baggage the family has been holding in begins to unravel. Thankfully, it happens to everyone's benefit.

ICU Bed #7 is a simple family drama that doesn't try to overdo itself with the material it's given. It could have been made into a statement about right-to-life. It isn't. It could have been made into this statement about DNR or end of life treatment. It isn't. It's a simple drama where one major shakeup in the structure of the family affects everyone else.

Eddie Garcia has the role of the loveable old asshole down pat. He's really good at making his characters likeable even if they aren't the best of people. I'd have wanted a more solid conclusion to his character arc, but the movie seems to say, the more people change, the more they stay the same. Irma Adlawan and Angel Aquino portray Joseph's two daughters, and they are also quite good. Each daughter has their own issues to iron out with their own family members and with Joseph.

For an independent film made in the Philippines in 2005, the production values are decent. It's a far cry production wise compared to more recent productions, but for the time, this would be considered par for the course. The story goes on a lot of threads, but not all of them are completely resolved by the end - which is, I guess the point. Life goes on.

I'd say give it a try. In particular, I can't get enough of Eddie Garcia, the man's a great actor.