''Sandakot Na Bala'' () is a 1988

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

action drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-ge ...

film directed by Jose N. Carreon, who co-wrote the script with

Ricky Lee Ricardo Lee (born as March 19, 1948) is a Filipino screenwriter, journalist, novelist, and playwright. He was conferred the Order of National Artists of the Philippines for Film and Broadcast Arts in 2022. Starting in 1973, he has written more ...

, on his

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

. The film stars Rudy Fernandez alongside

Gloria Romero Gloria Romero may refer to: *Gloria Romero (actress) Gloria Anne Borrego Galla (born December 16, 1933), known professionally as Gloria Romero (), is a multi-awarded Filipino actress, regarded as the “Queen of Philippine Movies”, her care ...

Eddie Garcia Eduardo Verchez Garcia (; May 2, 1929 – June 20, 2019), known colloquially as Manoy, was a Filipino actor, television personality, film director and producer. With almost 600 film and television roles and a career spanning seven decades, he ...

, Nadia Montenegro, Monica Herrera, RR Herrera,

Billy Joe Crawford Billy Joe Ledesma Crawford (born May 16, 1982) is a Filipino actor, musician, singer, dancer, comedian and television host who released 7 studio albums and has had a number of singles, notably " Trackin'", " When You Think About Me" (a remake o ...

, and

Melanie Marquez Mimilanie Laurel Marquez-Lawyer (; born 16 July 1964), popularly known as Melanie Marquez, is a Filipino personality development coach, actress, film producer, author, celebrity endorser, former supermodel and beauty pageant titleholder who was ...

. ''Sandakot Na Bala'' is the first action film produced by

Regal Films Regal Entertainment, Inc. (formerly and more commonly known as Regal Films) is a Philippine film production company based in Pasig. It was founded by Lily Monteverde on August 19, 1962. It has produced movies of all genres; and is the oldest ...

, and was released on October 13, 1988. The film received a positive reception from critics such as

Lav Diaz Lavrente Indico Anciro Diaz (born December 30, 1958) is a Filipino independent filmmaker and former film critic. Frequently known as one of the key members of the slow cinema movement, having made several of the longest narrative films on recor ...

, who praised its focus on the adverse psychological effects of gun violence on individuals.

Cast

* Rudy Fernandez as Emil ** RR Herrera as Young Emil *

as Elena *

as Daniel *

as Claudia *

Nadia Montenegro Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: ...

as Melissa *

Monica Herrera Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

as Alicia *

as Jun Jun * Subas Herrero as Rico *Zandro Zamora as Rigor *Gil de Leon as Paras *Mario Escudero as Bino *Robert Talabis as Rolly *Romeo Rivera as Renato

Production

Rudy Fernandez chose to star in ''Sandakot Na Bala'' before starring in ''Ang Bala at ang Rosaryo'' (), as he wished to prove something first. ''Ang Bala at ang Rosaryo'' was supposed to be his first film for

, and

Snooky Serna Maria Milagros "Snooky" Sumayao Serna (born April 4, 1966) is a Filipina film and television actress. Regarded as the “''Eternal Star''” by local media, she is best known for her portrayals in Anak ni Waray, Anak ni Biday (1984); Blusang It ...

would have been his love interest, though the project did not come to fruition. Though

served as distributor of a few action films in the past, ''Sandakot Na Bala'' is the first action film to be produced by the studio, with the personal supervision of executive producer

Lily Monteverde Lily Yu Monteverde, nicknamed Mother Lily (born August 19, 1938), is a Filipina film producer and businesswoman. She is the first and many Filipina Movie producers who produced the boom of blockbuster films in different genres in the 70s and 80 ...

Release

''Sandakot Na Bala'' was released on October 13, 1988.

Box office

The film grossed ₱1.8 million on its opening day.

Critical response

, writing for the ''

Manila Standard The ''Manila Standard'' is a broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines. , it is owned by the Romualdez family. The Romualdezes, through incumbent speaker of the House Martin Romualdez, also own Journal Publications, Inc., the owner of tabloid p ...

'', gave ''Sandakot Na Bala'' a positive review, commending the film's thematic focus on the adverse psychological effects of gun violence on an individual. He also gave praise to director Jose N. Carreon for handling action sequences well in his directorial debut. Justino Dormiendo of the ''National Midweek'' also applauded Carreon's "impressive" initial directorial effort for being "an insightful look at the culture of violence and its debilitating effects on the young mind."

Accolades

References

External links

* 1988 films 1980s action drama films 1988 action films Philippine films about revenge Philippine action films Regal Entertainment films Cockfighting in film {{Jose N. Carreon