Ipagpatawad Mo

Ipagpatawad Mo is a 1991 Philippine family drama film directed by Laurice Guillen from a story and screenplay written by Olivia M. Lamasan. Starring Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon in their 16th film together, the film revolves around a couple who try their best to make their marriage work while they struggle with their firstborn who has autism. The film co-stars Charito Solis, Delia Razon, Bing Loyzaga, Amy Perez and Joonee Gamboa.
Produced and distributed by Viva Films, the film was theatrically released on 23 October 1991.

Plot

Celina and Mike's marriage encounters turbulence when they learn that their first-born child, Mike Jr., has autism.

Production

ABS-CBN's resident writer and producer, Olivia Lamasan, was tasked by director Laurice Guillen to write a screenplay after the latter discovered her great efforts and contributions in rewriting the scripts.
The lead stars, Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon prepared and tackled their roles as the parents of an autistic child by visiting a school for special needs, reading materials related to the subject matter, watching a film with the related themes, and speaking to the parents whose children have autism.

Release

The film received a television premiere on 22 April 1993, as a feature presentation for GMA Network's movie block, Viva Sinerama.

Reception

Critical reception

Butch Francisco of The Philippine Star gave praise to the cast's performance, stating it is "a major film event of the year, with quiet and restrained performances by the cast that erupts in emotional outbursts only periodically and judiciously". Elvira Mata of Manila Standard gave a positive review, stating that she is glad that the film's story talks about a "more sophisticated subject", rather than the ones about romance and affairs. Nena Z. Villanueva, also from Manila Standard, stated that the film "should be an eye opener for such doctors and parents".