Produced by APT Entertainment, MQuest Ventures, and MZet Television Productions, it was part of the first batch of the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).[1]The Kingdom won the Best Production Design and the Best Visual Effects award in the 50th MMFF.
Plot
Makisig is the widowed king of Kalayaan, an uncolonized version of the Philippines in 2024[a]. As he prepares to retire from the throne, Makisig is unsure which among his children should succeed him; Bagwis, his short-tempered but politically inept son, or his eldest daughter Matimyas, whom he had previously groomed to be his successor before she eloped with the son of a political rival.
A third child, Lualhati, is married off to a Thai prince in a diplomatic maneuver. On her way to the wedding, she is abducted by gunmen who shoot Matimyas. At a stopover, Sulo, an outcast banished for a crime committed by his father, notices Lualhati inside her kidnappers' truck, leading him to rescue her. Both hide in the hut of Sulo's former girlfriend Rosa. The next day, the kidnappers attack Rosa's hut but are fended off by Rosa and Sulo. As Sulo and Lualhati flee, Rosa and her son Kiko are killed by a gunman who reports back to Matimyas, revealing her as the mastermind of Lualhati's kidnapping.
Wigan, the leader of the secessionist group Tiwalag, says he is holding Lualhati captive and demands that Makisig grant independence to the north of the kingdom in exchange for her release. Silay, the chief babaylan, warns Makisig of a betrayal by his children. Makisig suspects Bagwis, but allows him to negotiate with Wigan in the latter's base. Bagwis makes a concession to Wigan in exchange for him presenting a bracelet from Lualhati, prompting the surprise appearance of Makisig. However, both Makisig and Bagwis realize the bracelet as fake, leading to a battle between Kalayaan and Tiwalag forces and Wigan fatally stabbing Bagwis. Enraged, Makisig kills Wigan and orders his army to massacre Wigan's warriors.
At a checkpoint, Lualhati sees a royal servant, Tarek, who sneaks her and Sulo to the royal palace. Lualhati reunites with Makisig and is informed of Bagwis's death, but Matimyas falsely accuses Sulo of shooting her during Lualhati's kidnapping. Makisig orders Sulo arrested, but Sulo reveals himself to be the son of Sigwa, a Royal Guard executed by Makisig himself when he was a prince. Invoking customary laws to avenge his father, Sulo challenges Makisig to a duel, which Makisig cannot refuse. Makisig visits Sulo in jail and reveals that Sigwa was his friend, whom he was forced to execute under customary law after he injured Makisig's brother while protecting Makisig. Makisig reveals that Sigwa absolved him as he died and expresses remorse. Before leaving, Makisig thanks Sulo for saving Lualhati and asks him to protect her should he die. That night, Matimyas' son, Felipe, hands Makisig a drawing of the person who shot her. Realizing the truth, Makisig confronts Matimyas, but the latter vents her resentment at how he shuns her for her elopement.
At the duel, Sulo fatally stabs Makisig. As Makisig's funeral is held, Sulo is released, while Matimyas becomes Queen. However, Lualhati stumbles upon Matimyas and Silay talking about how they conspired with Wigan to kidnap Lualhati and inadvertently eliminated Bagwis in the process. Lualhati confronts the two, but Matimyas reveals her desire to seize the throne and blames Lualhati and Sulo for thwarting her intention to have Makisig crown her. Matimyas also chastises Lualhati for her marriage, saying that it would have put Kalayaan under foreign control, and reveals her jealousy at Lualhati for being Makisig's favorite. After a scuffle, Lualhati is overpowered by Matimyas and Silay, but as Matimyas prepares to kill her, Felipe, overhearing the commotion, arrives and shields Lualhati. Matimyas and Silay are then arrested by the Royal Guards. With Lualhati becoming the new queen, Sulo asks for her hand, saying that her love had made him overcome his desire to avenge himself on Makisig. The film ends with Lualhati's enthronement, with Sulo as her consort.
In a mid-credits scene, Tarek visits Matimyas, who sits down and smiles menacingly in her prison cell.
Cast
Vic Sotto
Piolo Pascual
Vic Sotto as Lakan Makisig Nandula, the ruler of the Kingdom of Kalayaan,[4] an alternative timeline monarchy in the Philippines. A descendant of Lakandula, he is the second son of Lakan Diwa and the father to Magat Bagwis, Dayang Matimyas, and Dayang Lualhati. He used to be a benevolent king who changed after his spouse Lakambini Hiraya died in childbirth.[5]
Cedrick Juan as a young Makisig. Juan is billed to have "special participation" in the film.[6]
Piolo Pascual as Sulayman "Sulo" Tagum, a Tinatwa (outcast) and a farmer,[7][6] who is also a son of a disgraced Kalasag Royal Guard. Unlike the free people or the Malayas, he has no tattoos. Due to his social stature, he was denied decent education and livelihood. He condemns this injustice and questions the Kingdom of Kalayaan. Despite everything, he remains a good man who can't turn a blind eye to wrongdoing. Through his journey with Dayang Lualhati, he learns to let go of his hatred.[8]
Cristine Reyes as Dayang Matimyas Nandula, the middle child and responsible daughter of Makisig.[7][9]
Sue Ramirez as Dayang Lualhati Nandula, the younger daughter of Makisig who was to marry a Thai prince but is abducted by men who Matimyas alleged to be from the secessionist group Tiwalag.[9]
Sid Lucero as Magat Bagwis Nandula, the eldest child and sole son of Makisig, known for his temper.[9]
Flag of the Kingdom of Kalayaan, the main setting of the film.
The Kingdom is a co-production between APT Entertainment, MQuest Ventures, and MZet Television Productions. Michael "Mike" Tuviera of APT serves as the film's director,[12] while Michael Ngu-nario is the writer.[1] Tuviera first pitched the story to Jane Basas of MQuest during a story conference for Padyak Princess.[12] He described it a "non-political film about politics" which centers around family.[6] The film was originally conceived as a television series for the TV5 network. However, Tuviera decided to produce it as a film for the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival.[13] It was among the first five entries of the 50th MMFF announced on July 16, 2024; all of which were submitted as scripts.[14] Pre-production in February 2024, while filming began in July and took four months. Typhoons during the filming period flooded the filming sets several times and affected the filming schedule.[15]
The Kingdom is noted for not heavily featuring comedy, despite the casting of Vic Sotto, an actor who has starred in mostly comedic projects.[16] Sotto told Tuviera that his children wanted him to act in a serious film akin to The Godfather.[13] For Sotto's role, temporary whole-body tattoos had to be applied for three hours, which serves as a status symbol for his character. Sotto also had to undergo Filipino martial arts training in preparation for the role.[17] Sotto remarked he had to change his voice for the role, departing from the usual tone he uses while hosting Eat Bulaga!.[7] To accurately depict his role as a monarch, Sotto avoided interacting with co-actors as he found it difficult to do dramatic scenes with actors he befriended.[18]
For the plot about the marriage of a Thai prince to Dayang Lualhati, business tycoon and co-producer Manny V. Pangilinan was approached by Tuviera for a speaking cameo. Thinking it was a joke, Pangilinan was reluctant, having only appeared in one other film, the 2010 biographical film Rosario, about his grandmother. After being convinced to appear, he expressed to Tuviera and Sotto his nervousness. To calm him down, Tuviera asked if he met a king, and Pangilinan discussed his experience meeting with the late King of ThailandBhumibol Adulyadej, which helped inform the production of the sequence.
Tuviera mentioned the opening sequence, involving a Kalayaan warship, to be the most difficult to execute, requiring four to five months of planning. It was shot in June, on the last day of filming.[6][13] The production team reached out to the Philippine Navy, who loaned them the BRP Jose Rizal for use in the film.[6]
The film was also scheduled to premiere at the Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) in Los Angeles on January 30, 2025,[19] but was postponed to March 4 to 7 due to the 2025 California wildfires.[20]
Reception
Box office
The film was cited by the MMFF as one of the three top-grossing entries for its 2024 edition.[21]
Critical Reception
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The Kingdom received positive reception for its visual effects and effective acting.[22] The Philippine Entertainment Portal's Ingrid Puache mentioned a drone shot of the Guadalupe Bridge with edited billboards that praise the monarchy of Kalayaan as an example of the film's "blending [of] familiar landscapes and the imagined kingdom".[23]Rappler's Mia Magdalena Fokno found Cedrick Juan and Iza Calzado's short appearances impactful and inferred that the production team consulted historians and anthropologists for the film's props to use cultural material respectfully. Reviewers also contrasted Vic Sotto's role in The Kingdom to his other comedic performances in a positive review.[22]
Several reviewers commented that the film could have been longer or presented as a series to explore dynamics among characters and their motives. Although "the story's many weaves does a lot for the movie that runs just over two hours", a longer screentime would have allowed the film to explore the dynamics of Makisig's family and interaction between Sulo and Lualhati, Kristofer Purnell of The Philippine Star explained.[24] Reviewers who align with Purnell' comment include explanations for Matimyas's conspiracy and motives[25] and the royal family's perception on Bagwis.[23] Adrian A. Eva from BusinessWorld says that the multiple plot lines of the film compromised character development.[25]
The Philippine Daily Inquirer's Hannah Mallorca recognized that in spite of limitations in its length and challenges in executing the film's premise, The Kingdom provided "potential to expand into a variety of stories" with balance.[26]
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