One Two Bato, Three Four Bapor | |
Director: | Ben Feleo |
Music: | Boy Alcaide |
Cinematography: | J.R. Peterman |
Editing: | Renato de Leon |
Studio: | Seiko Films |
Country: | Philippines |
Language: | Filipino |
One Two Bato, Three Four Bapor is a 1988 Filipino comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Ben Feleo and starring Sheryl Cruz, Romnick Sarmenta, Eddie Garcia, Sylvia La Torre, Romy Diaz, Ian Veneracion, Harlene Bautista, Michael Locsin, and child actors Richard Gutierrez, and Raymond Gutierrez. Produced by Seiko Films, it was released on December 14, 1988. Critic Lav Diaz gave the film a mixed review, commending its honest focus on street children in the Philippines, while criticizing its commercial tendencies and implausible situations.
One Two Bato was rated "B" by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), indicating a "Good" quality.[1] The film was released by Seiko Films on December 14, 1988, with free Seiko Wallets handed out to early first-day viewers.[2]
Lav Diaz, writing for the Manila Standard, gave the film a mixed review; though he commended the film's truthful focus on street children in the Philippines, he criticized it as leaning excessively into commercialism and fantastical situations. Giving examples, Diaz was displeased with a scene involving the child actors doing a Hawaiian dance, which he noted was well liked by audiences ("you understood why there are so many crazy people in our midst"), and he questioned how the separated twin brothers in the film were able to convincingly switch places and fool their families when they were only five years old.[3]