This Stunning Teen Drama Has Echoes of 'The White Lotus,' but Struggles to Pick Up the Pace — Review

Shows and movies about class disparities have never been more popular. The past decade alone has brought us The White Lotus, Parasite, Triangle of Sadness, The Menu, and Knives Out — and that’s just scratching the surface. Filipiñana explores these themes against the backdrop of a golf course in the Philippines. Every shot looks like a painting, but the pacing is so slow that it does, unfortunately, feel like watching paint dry at times, too.

What Is ‘Filipiñana’ About?

Filipiñana begins with chaos, placing the audience in the shoes of tourists on their way to a luxury country club. They’re crammed on a bus, suffocated by the sounds of the city as locals desperately clamor to gather the water allotted for their family during a sweltering summer day. The sequence is followed by a shot of a 17-year-old named Isabel (Jorrybell Agoto) lying on a quiet, tranquil golf course as tons of water is pumped through sprinklers onto the grass.

Isabel’s peace, however, is short-lived. She works as a tee girl at the club, doing menial, mind-numbing tasks like setting golf balls in front of rich golfers at the driving range so they don’t have to crouch down and set them out themselves. Isabel is drawn to a wealthy golf CEO company named Dr. Palanca (Teroy Guzman), who is trying to convince his young niece Clara (Carmen Castellanos) to move from the US to the Philippines to work at his company. (Clara, however, clearly isn’t sold on the idea, suffering from some culture shock.) Isabel’s affection for Dr. Palanca stems from the fact that they both have Ilocano roots, though her feelings gradually begin to fade from adoration to something more suspicious the more she learns about his business methods and intentions.

Every Shot of ’Filipiñana’ Belongs in a Museum

Filipiñana is aesthetically stunning. Writer/director Rafael Manuel and cinematographer Xenia Patricia are a match made in heaven, composing impossibly gorgeous shot after impossibly gorgeous shot. It’s not an exaggeration to say that quite literally every frame is a work of art. Colorist Vlad Barin also deserves credit for the dreamy palette he paints with, creating an almost fantastical vibe.

This fantasy element continues with the soundscape. In addition to several actual musical performances, from the employees greeting the tourists with a welcome dance to one of the guests performing a song himself, there are subtle moments of rhythm and choreographed performance, like when the golfers hit balls in unison while at the driving range. It’s undeniably beautiful, but it’s also a facade — something too perfect that’s hiding something much messier and more sinister underneath.

Production designer Tatjana Honegger also deserves her flowers. As stunning as the direction and cinematography are, it would be nothing without its alluring setting, with each detail intricately, breathtakingly designed. The walk with Isabel through the sprawling golf course and vast club is immersive, and it easily transported me from the freezing cold of Utah, where I was physically, to the stifling heat of the Philippines. It’s impossible not to be mesmerized despite knowing there’s something menacing lurking underneath the surface, like the golf balls waiting to be fished out by the caddies dressed in Easter pink.

’Filipiñana’s Pace Requires Patience (Perhaps Too Much)

The first thing that will strike you about Filipiñana is how visually astonishing it is. The second thing you’ll quickly notice is its unhurried pace. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a movie that takes its time — in an era where attention spans are at an all-time low, they’re arguably more important than ever — but at a certain point, Filipiñana begins to feel more indulgent than intentional. There are so many long pauses when characters are speaking with each other that it’s almost like things are playing out in slow motion, with conversations moving at a painfully sluggish rate, even when it doesn’t feel additive for any other reason beyond giving us more time to soak in the sun-soaked frames.

There’s very little variety in the types of shots, with nearly every frame a wide one that lingers. Because of this, the experience begins to get repetitive and flat, losing some of its effectiveness. Combined with the fact that the film is pared back in terms of its messaging — flirting with themes of misogyny, gentrification, and racism in subtler, more implicit ways rather than deeply commenting on and more overtly engaging with them — can make the movie feel more static than meditative. The physical and emotional distance we have from the protagonist means it’s challenging to fully connect with her, which is crucial in a piece that’s so sparse in terms of plot.

The actors do well working in Manuel’s specific directing style — one that’s characterized by unhurried dialogue — it’s just that the style doesn’t always resonate, tamping some of its power instead of enhancing it. Filipiñana is a feast for the eyes, but you’ll likely still leave hungry due to the punishingly slow pacing.

Filipiñana premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.