The Search for Weng Weng

Andrew Leavold embarks on a big search for one of the world's smallest film stars in this enjoyably offbeat documentary. Plucked from poverty and measuring just 2ft 9in tall, Weng Weng became an unlikely icon in a series of spoofs made in the Philippines during the late 1970s and early 80s, most famously as Agent 00 in the loopy James Bond rip-off For Y'ur Height Only. It was this cult favourite that inspired Aussie former video-shop owner Leavold to spend seven years trying to track down the diminutive action man, along the way providing a fascinating insight into the Filipino film industry, which in its heyday was reckoned to be one of the largest production centres in the world. Rumours abound regarding Weng Weng, blurring the line between fact and fiction. Was he really a womanising lothario? Did he actually work for the secret police? Or was he just a childlike innocent who was exploited by the husband-and-wife producers who adopted him? Leavold attempts to answer all these questions, only to get bizarrely sidetracked when he is granted an audience with ex-First Lady Imelda Marcos on her 83rd birthday. The director intersperses the film with badly dubbed clips from Weng Weng's cheesy movies, but he also shows a lot of affection and respect for his subject, and his enthusiasm ultimately proves to be infectious.