Watching: Anak

Overview

Masculinity, race and boyhood simmer in this stylish slow-cinema debut about a Filipino-Australian father and his six-year-old son, who are navigating a family divorce. Exploring the complexities of family, society and culture that shape young Filipinos, this feature debut from rising filmmaker Caleb Ribates depicts the tender relationship between an immigrant father and his young son as they deal with being abandoned by the boy’s mother. With its evocative black-and-white cinematography, long takes and naturalistic dialogue, Anak follows in the footsteps of slow-cinema masters like Lav Diaz and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, while finding an intimacy and tonal register that is all Ribates’ own.