Pacquiao as ‘Kid Kulafu’
Who can blame the sports media if none of them is too excited over the prospects of another Manny Pacquiao bio flick?
Personally, I’ve seen a couple of these films—one produced by an American, the other produced locally. None of these movies on Pacquiao’s life turned out to be a box-office hit. Whoever invested in these two films must have lost money.
When I was asked for a critique by the producers, I said the ordinary moviegoer and Pacquiao fan might actually enjoy the movie, directed by Paul Soriano, because it would remind them of the Pambansang Kamao’s moments of greatness.
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Last Monday, during the press conference for “Kid Kulafu,” Soriano said, as if in answer to a question I wanted to ask, “What makes the film different from the others is that the boxing icon will be shown in a different light.
“This is the untold story of our People’s Champ, way before the fame, fortune, championships. It goes way before the time he started to wear boxing gloves,” Soriano added.
“It is not about his career as a professional boxer, it is an in-depth look into his early years, from his birth up to his teenage life.”
Portraying Pacquiao’s parents Dionisia and Rosalio are Alessandra De Rossi and Alex Medina. In the trailer, Mommy D is the third wife of Rosalio. The two later separated, with Rosalio opting to live in the mountains.
Mommy D never wanted his son to be a boxer. She wanted him to be a priest, would you believe?
She would give him a good whipping everytime she caught him roughing it up with the other boys in the neighborhood.
“Viewers will discover in the film how hard life was for Manny as a kid in General Santos. They will get to know a young boy who had nothing but attitude, passion and a strong fighting spirit to face every challenge head on,” said Soriano, who, incidentally, is set to marry actress Toni Gonzaga this year.
“You be the judge of the film,” said Soriano who worked on the film for three years.”
“Kid Kulafu,” starring Buboy Villar in the title role, will be shown in cinemas starting April 15.
Pacquiao got this monicker as a young boy because he collected bottles of this dark-colored, extremely bitter alcoholic drink also known as Sy Hoc Tong (syoktong, in local parlance) to sell.
Kulafu is also said to induce women’s monthly period.
