One of the greatest war films ever made by a third world auteur. Important and imposing. Very formally prodigious you can't help noting, even as you dissipate all emotional and moral stake. Acute meditation on religious and racial paradox. O'Hara as a footnote on great Filipino filmmakers. A

A troubling and morally compromising romance. To be completely honest, I didn’t think I would like this at all, my expectations were very low. But in the end I was pleasantly surprised. There is clear craftsmanship in its guérilla, low-budget filmmaking. It kinda reminded me of a Filipino Gone With the Wind. The composition and editing are really well done here. Overall, it’s a solid feature that definitely deserves more attention, even if I didn’t totally love it. That is all.

Last October 2018 my mother died.

Which to the world at large may not mean much. But it was with her in mind that I saw the digitally restored version of Mario O'Hara's Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos (Three Years Without God, 1976), recently released on iTunes.

Not an inappropriate choice. I was in a dark mood and the film--well the title says it all: three years so awful the people felt abandoned by God.

More: criticafterdark.blogspot.com/2018/12/three-years-without-god-tatlong-taong.html

“Sa palagay mo kaya’y naiiba ang Amerika sa bansang Hapon? Iisa lang yan. Dahil ang digmaan ay para sa mayaman lamang.

Kung gusto nyo ng kalayaan ay lumaban kayo para sa inyong sarili.” 

A twisted story of a twisted life where nothing is black and white. No one is completely right.

"Yet for all its harsh pessimism, what is there to gain from Mario O’Hara’s magnum opus? It may at first glance be a product of the times, a seemingly despicable call to abandon devotion in the face of dictatorial rule, but it cannot be. If anything, O’Hara may have offered to us a warning sign. In the efforts to refuse adversary, the conditions that were forced upon us can transform us into the very “animals” we despise..."

Read the full review here: jmcthefilmystan.home.blog/2020/04/19/tatlong-taong-walang-diyos-1976-a-review/

Malungkot kasi ang hirap pumili. Malungkot kasi ‘di mo alam kung sa’n ka lulugar. Malungkot kasi tama. Malungkot kasi totoo.

Brave and intelligent, confused yet dedicated. Tatlong Taóng Walang Diyos is not afraid to show the viewer the realities of a dark time, whichever side may it be interpretated from.

To shortly describe the film, it's a well-made mixture of a twisted love story brought by the characters' twisted fates, an emotional reminder of a past so corrupted, a question of patriotism, and an overarching inquiry on faith especially Catholicism.

"In a war, one should never think, one should never fear God, one should never be human. Only an animal lives long."

One of the most excellent and thought provoking period drama films to ever grace the silver screen. Three Years Without God is Mario O'Hara's magnum opus, a timeless classic and a strong testament to the unbelievable things a filmmaker can create when there is passion.

An apology: I saw this with extremely spotty English subtitles, and so, when I read some reviews after watching it, learned I'd misinterpreted quite a few plot details, which really sucks, because this is a helluva film. The ending especially--what had been a strictly fact-based work of realism gets lifted into transcendent theatricality, ending (after all the horrors we've witnessed) on the quiet, simple miracle of faith.

A perfect potryal of how one adapt to the changing climate of war.

“Sa palagay mo kaya’y naiiba ang Amerika sa bansang Hapon? Iisa lang yan. Dahil ang digmaan ay para sa mayaman lamang.

Kung gusto nyo ng kalayaan ay lumaban kayo para sa inyong sarili.” 

A twisted story of a twisted life where nothing is black and white. No one is completely right.

Ask any "Noranian-kino" and they'd probably say this was her best film.

"Yet for all its harsh pessimism, what is there to gain from Mario O’Hara’s magnum opus? It may at first glance be a product of the times, a seemingly despicable call to abandon devotion in the face of dictatorial rule, but it cannot be. If anything, O’Hara may have offered to us a warning sign. In the efforts to refuse adversary, the conditions that were forced upon us can transform us into the very “animals” we despise..."

Read the full review here: jmcthefilmystan.home.blog/2020/04/19/tatlong-taong-walang-diyos-1976-a-review/

A troubling and morally compromising romance. To be completely honest, I didn’t think I would like this at all, my expectations were very low. But in the end I was pleasantly surprised. There is clear craftsmanship in its guérilla, low-budget filmmaking. It kinda reminded me of a Filipino Gone With the Wind. The composition and editing are really well done here. Overall, it’s a solid feature that definitely deserves more attention, even if I didn’t totally love it. That is all.

Malungkot kasi ang hirap pumili. Malungkot kasi ‘di mo alam kung sa’n ka lulugar. Malungkot kasi tama. Malungkot kasi totoo.

Going through my dad's collection today and so happy to have seen this again. An absolute must watch when it comes to war movies.

Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos is a well-made amalgamation of a twisted love story brought by the characters' twisted fates, an emotional reminder of a past that is corrupted, a question of patriotism, and an overarching inquiry on faith especially Catholicism.

ang digmaan ay para sa mayayaman lamang

where has dramas like these gone to?