Kristo | |
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Directed by | Ben "M7" Yalung |
Written by |
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Produced by | Benjamin G. Yalung "M7" |
Starring | Mat Ranillo III |
Cinematography | Larry Manda |
Edited by | George Jarlego |
Music by | Lutgardo Labad |
Production company | Cine Suerte Productions |
Distributed by | Cine Suerte Productions |
Release date |
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Running time | 152 minutes |
Country | Philippines |
Language | Filipino |
Kristo is a 1996 Filipino biblical drama film depicting the life of Jesus Christ.[1] Produced by Cine Suerte Productions, Fallout Studios and Oasis of Love Movement (by Fr. Sonny Ramirez, OP, host of the telemagazine Sharing in the City), Kristo stars Mat Ranillo III in the title role,[2] together with Rez Cortez (Judas Iscariot), Ruel Vernal (Peter), Michael Locsin (John), freelance model and then college student Charmaine Rivera (in her first and only film appearance as the Virgin Mary), Amy Austria (Mary Magdalene).
The film also includes an all-star cast in their cameo appearances playing various characters. Among them are Gabby Concepción (John the Baptist), husband-and-wife pair Rudy Fernandez and Lorna Tolentino (as Simon of Cyrene and Veronica respectively), Aga Muhlach (the demon-possessed man), Rachel Lobangco (the Temptress, in which Satan is in a female form in the temptation of the desert scene), Sylvia Sanchez (the adulteress), Ang TV star and singer Lindsay Custodio (Salome), and Christopher de Leon (as Dimas as credited in the film).[3]
The film started on a prologue, "if the story of the New Testament replaced the setting from the Middle East to the Philippine Islands, what would the image and culture of the New Testament look like?"
The narrative of Kristo is based on the combined Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but imagined as occurring in Classical Filipino society with ethnic elements and some aspects of Ancient Rome and first-century Judaea. Kristo was shot in various locations such as Intramuros, Lawton and Luneta in Manila, as well as in Laguna and Pampanga.
The film starts with an open book presenting the Nativity of Jesus in the form of illustrations. Live action scenes or the flow of the story follows the next page 30 years after, beginning with the preaching of John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. Kristo cycles through the various episodes in Christ's ministry, his death, and resurrection, ending with his ascension and its illustrated version on the last page with a Biblical message, and upon closing the book, it found out that Jesus Christ is the one opening the book, reading about his life on Earth.
A door prize will be raffled during the premiere night