Mistah (film)

Mistah is a 1994 Philippine action film directed by Ricardo "Bebong" Osorio. The film stars Robin Padilla, Roi Vinzon, BB Gandanghari, Rommel Padilla and Ana Roces. Mistah is a military slang meaning "schoolmate" within the Philippine Military Academy.

The film is streaming online on YouTube.

Plot
Sgt. Mario Cariño's squad, along with a platoon of Army Scout Rangers led by a lieutenant, is seen chases Muslim rebels across a forest, and is trapped and forced to retreat when an ambush is sprung, losing some of his squadmates. Returning to the camp, he is scolded by his superior Lt. Duterte for his insubordination, which he accepts begrudgingly. His squadmates heckle him, which he answers. Camp life is always tense, with rebel snipers taking out sentries, and being bombed and retaliated upon by regular patrols in the area, but they never forget why they are there. Sometimes they go to the nearest town where they buy supplies and treats for Muslim kids, and on one occasion Mario spots a beautiful storekeeper, Linda. They do charitable work, like Mario saving a drowning kid. A rebel Emir is in the same village but is prevented by an Ulama from harming them; the Emir confronts the latter and turns out to be the uncle of a child Mario saved.

A sniper takes out a sentry, alarming the platoon while Mario gets his regular taste of scolding from Lt. Duterte. Days later, they welcome several privates led by a hot-headed private and his batchmates. Some older soldiers extort the newbies. When a soldier is heckled for being in love with a woman, a brawl starts among the other soldiers until an explosion interrupts them, forcing them to lie down; they are later punished by Lt. Duterte, and the soldier commits suicide when he finds out the girl broke up with him. Mario later gets a leave to visit his family in Manila; his father is sick, his friend's wife is blind, and he himself has a fiancée, Brenda. Days later, he returns to camp, giving goods to his fellow soldiers.

Back in town, Mario tries to court Linda, but is stopped by a group of fellow soldiers from another unit. He counters by deploying his comrades and APCs to chase them out. He later receives a letter from his parents telling that his father had died; he requests leave but Lt. Duterte declines. He snaps, and in a drunken stupor he shoots at Duterte's bunker and is reprimanded by their colonel. Duterte is replaced by another officer, Lieutenant Flavier, whom Mario is forced to obey. As Flavier makes Mario organize a patrol, the new soldiers join him. When they patrol the forest an ambush is sprung, killing some, including the three newbies, and they are forced to retreat again. Flavier blames Mario, who punches him; a brawl starts, which is stopped when another explosion is heard. He later brings Linda into the camp, but then Brenda arrives. The soldiers help Linda escape while Mario distracts Brenda.

The platoon is later tasked to meet up with the rebel Emir, but their talk is unproductive. As rebels disagree with the Emir's decision, they abduct and kill a soldier from the unit, along with his wife. The ringleader is executed by the Emir himself, angering some rebels, who ambush Flavier's batchmate's unit. Mario rescues the unit, while his squad also rescues a patrol unit from another ambush. The rebels use the incident as an excuse to attack the camp. Mario receives his Officer Promotion exam results and prepares to return to main base when the rebels fire upon the camp with mortars and grenade launchers, killing some of them and putting the rest in their defensive position. They defend and repulse the attack. They send some runners, who are killed by the rebels, who also bomb and kill the rescue unit. The rescue unit's leader is captured and tied on a tree and Mario's unit, short in ammunition and outgunned, is forced to watch as rebels slash the hapless officer, forcing Flavier to euthanize him. Romy tries to rescue the commander; but a rebel shoots him in his M203 grenade launcher which detonates. Another juramentado attack by the rebels kills Mario's partner, but is repulsed with heavy casualties. Mario, Flavier, the squad's sniper, the newbie soldier, and three others prepare themselves in a last stand when government backup arrives and fires upon the rebels with mortars, rockets and air support, inflicting heavy casualties and forcing them to retreat. The soldiers retrieve the dead, with Flavier untying his batchmate's corpse as the rain falls while Mario kneels and cries.

The film ends with Mario quoting that "Nobody wins in a war."

Cast

 * Robin Padilla as Sgt. Mario Cariño
 * Rustom Padilla as 2nd Lt. Flavier
 * Roi Vinzon as 1st Lt. Duterte
 * Daniel Fernando as Cpl. Daniel Aquino
 * Joko Diaz as New Recruit
 * Ana Roces as Linda
 * Rommel Padilla as Cpl. Remy De Jesus
 * Bomber Moran as Alih
 * Dindo Arroyo as Kumander Ratari
 * Jun Hidalgo as Kumander Malik
 * Royette Padilla as 2nd Lt. Dela Cruz
 * Lilet Goldberg as Brenda
 * Bebong Osorio as Lt. Col. Salgado
 * Liezl Sicangco-Padilla as Brenda
 * Eddie Infante as Old Man
 * Maritess Samson as Daniel's Wife
 * Marissa de Guzman as Junar's Wife
 * Jun Aristorenas as Willy Santos
 * Boy Roque as Roque
 * July Hidalgo as Hidalgo
 * Val Iglesia as Drunk Man in the restaurant

Production
Mistah was announced by BB Gandanghari at a press conference in December 1993.