MANILA, Philippines—The contentious movie Bones and All, which tells a story of romantic love and cannibalism, will eventually make its nationwide debut on November 23 with a favorable R-16 rating from the Movie & Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) after playing to packed theaters during the QCinema Film Festival.

The MTRCB explained in its decision that “the film contains graphic but non-gratuitous depiction of violence and gore, themes of cannibalism, that may not be suitable for children below sixteen (16) years of age.”

In the US, Bones and All also received an R rating from the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) “for strong, bloody and disturbing violent content, language throughout, some sexual content and brief graphic nudity.”

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The New York Times has described the film as “Gory, ridiculous and curiously touching,” while the Los Angeles Times found it “unsettling and heartbreaking in equal measure.”

Bones and All is “difficult to watch, but looking away is harder still,” says The New Yorker, as Bloody Disgusting raved that “It’s as elegant as carnal and carnivorous, and it’ll take a bite out of your heart if you let it.”

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

From Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures comes Bones and All, a movie about love, directed by Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name), who recently won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the 2022 Venice Film Festival for the film.

In Bones and All, Taylor Russell plays Maren, a young woman learning to survive on the periphery of civilization, while Timothée Chalamet plays Lee, a passionate and disenfranchised drifter… as they meet and join together for a thousand-mile odyssey which takes them through the back roads, hidden passages and trap doors of Ronald Reagan’s America. But despite their best efforts, all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts and to a final stand that will determine whether their love can survive their otherness.

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Bones and All stars Taylor Russell (Waves, The Heart Still Hums), who won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor at this year’s Venice Film Festival; Timothée Chalamet (Oscar-nominated for Call Me by Your Name, Dune); Michael Stuhlbarg (Call Me by Your Name, The Shape of Water); André Holland (Passing, Moonlight); Chloë Sevigny (We Are Who We Are, American Horror Story); David Gordon Green (Halloween Ends, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent); Jessica Harper (Suspiria, Minority Report); Jake Horowitz (Adam Bloom, The Vast of Night); and Mark Rylance (Oscar winner for Bridge of Spies, Wolf Hall). 

The screenplay, which is based on Camille DeAngelis’ novel, was written by David Kajganich (Suspiria, A Bigger Splash).

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Watch this featurette on the film:

Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Discovery company, is currently distributing Bones and All in theaters all throughout the Philippines. To participate in the online discussion, use the hashtag #BonesAndAll.