HABANG NILALAMON NG HYDRA ANG KASAYSAYAN (2025) Review
Directed by Dustin Celestino
The film might be fictional, or as they claim, but the characters, conversations, and situations all feel real. It’s as if it was my story, I am one of the characters in the film. That’s the biggest takeaway from the film, this isn’t just any other story, it’s our story.
‘Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan’ as a title can be quite mouthful, but the title, with all of its literal and metaphorical meanings and translations, perfectly encapsulates the film. The film dissects a phenomenon – how to move on from an election campaign that gave hope. Using Greek mythology to liken the situations of the characters in their political climate, both educates and provokes thought to the audience. It’s actually ingenious, Celestino, in a way, even makes Greek mythology characters easier to understand as he has them compared with the film’s characters’ situations.
Like his previous films, writer and director Dustin Celestino assembles an ensemble to represent individuals or groups of people going through what we are as a society is experiencing but ‘Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan’ is more personal. You can feel Celestino pouring out his pain, anger, and disillusionment into every frame. It’s a film that feels less like a narrative at times and more like an emotional outburst — raw, reflective, and unafraid to confront the monsters that history keeps birthing.
There’s a scene in the film that can be considered a masterclass in tension building. Dolly de Leon, Jojit Lorenzo, Zanjoe Marudo, and Mylene Dizon sit around one table, peeling back layers of their characters’ pasts. The conversation unfolds naturally — beginning with subtle unease before gradually exposing the secrets lurking beneath. Also worth mentioning is Paulo Protacio’s musical score, which amplifies the tension in the scene excellently; its deep, resonant bass seems to crawl under the skin and into the bones.
But while the film often dwells on the darker emotions its characters endure, it never loses sight of hope, offering the audience a lighter finish. That hope does not need to come from other people; every individual has the opportunity to give hope, especially for themselves. And the first step is to accept the truth. Our history will always remain, but we can still change the course of our lives and the fate of our country by extension, in the present.
4 OUT OF 5 STARS
‘Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan’ is now showing in select cinemas as part of Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. Rated PG by the MTRCB.