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Filipinas (2004)

moral contradictions.

FILIPINAS tells the story of a family separated by

The domestic drama and its allegorical implications have been so intricately interwoven by Roy Iglesias' screenplay that even as one is emotionally caught up in the dramatic confrontations within the family, one is effortlessly made aware of their social and political references. The outcome is that rarity in the local film industry-a "relevant" film that spares us from preachiness but frankly alludes to vital issues of the day, indeeda a truly cinematic rendition of its multi-faceted social content.

rifts and conflicts. Florencia Filipinas, the matriarch, summons her children in an effort to unite the family once more. The plan backfired, unfortunately, for her children still holds resentment against each other. Past hurts and grievances then surface, a tense atmosphere of conflict hangs in the household. Things get worse when the matriarch’s health fails and she slips in a coma. Now, for the first time, the siblings become one in praying for health. A typical clan with a striking last name. Set in the backdrop of social economic turmoil, the family reunites for the wedding of the youngest daughter. There is a family caretaker, an immigrated son, a military man, a rebellious son and a religious matriarch. Troubles plague the family and all seems hopeless as they turn on one another. A study of contemporary society, as it is seen through the perspective of a family heavily affected by the problems that beset the country. 'Filipinas' relevant without being preachy Posted: 9:38 PM (Manila Time) | Dec. 30, 2003 By Bien Lumbera Inquirer News Service Dramatic narrative "FILIPINAS," Viva Films' entry for the Metro Manila Film Festival, is Joel Lamangan's dramatic narrative about a disintegrating contemporary Filipino family that leaves no doubt that the director has intended it to be read as also the state of the Filipino nation as it is wracked today by economic difficulties, political squabbling and

Lamangan and Iglesias tell us about a provincial upper-middle class family ruled by an ailing matriarch (Armida Siguion-Reyna as Florencia) with six children in disparate occupations and situations: an ant employed in the US (Richard Gomez as Samuel), an idealistic soldier seeking reforms within the military (Wendell Ramos as Narciso), an activist in full-time dedication to the labor movement's aspirations for social justice and liberation (Victor Neri as Emman), a nurse employed in Israel as a caregiver (Dawn Zulueta as Gloria), a trader engaged in the family's agribusiness (Aiko Melendez as Vicky). Holding the family together is a home economics graduate (Maricel Soriano as Yolanda) serving as a nurse to her mother and surrogate mother to a niece. Risky project The script provides each member of the family with a sub-plot, and the interplay of the various plots unfolds a narrative of ideals, aspirations, frustrations and resentments that mirrors the national situation in our time. In the tradition of purposive theater of the 1970s, the film addresses issues beyond personal drama and makes the of the family representative of political positions currently at work in society at large. Only a director with Lamangan's background in the activist theater in Martial Law years and cinematic craftsmanship acquired through sustained experience in the industry would have

the daring and the vision to undertake such a risky project as "Filipinas," that could very well drag him down in the estimate of profitconscious Filipino film producers. With its multiple plots, the movie could have sprawled in many directions, and the diversity of the talents featured in each story could have allowed many irrelevancies to slip through the director's control. Lamangan has proved himself equal to the challenge of his material and cinematic form, and we are made aware in no uncertain that we have in him an artist who has earned the right to stand on his own, no longer simply a Brocka wannabe that was his image when he began making serious movies like "The Flor Contemplacion Story," "Death Row" and "Hubog." Domestic explosion Yolanda is the central sensibility of the narrative, drawing the various strands of the story of the Filipinas family into a tight unity. She is the archetypal dependable old maid of the family who has sacrificed her youthful days nursing an ailing mother. Samuel the eldest having migrated to the US with his family, Yolanda finds herself charged with the responsibility of keeping the family intact. All the siblings have a life of their own except Yolanda. As a young woman, she was in love with a youth from the lower classes but she had to give him up. In the aftermath of a violent incident that would have endangered Samuel's getting a visa for the US, the boyfriend found himself taking the rap and going to jail, when the family insisted that Yolanda suppress the truth about her lover's innocence. Although it is Gloria who has a degree in nursing, it is Yolanda who has to nurse Florencia, because Gloria has taken a job as a care-giver in Israel. And when Samuel and his wife go to the US, leaving behind a sickly daughter, Kathlyn (Sarah Geronimo), again it is Yolanda who plays mother to the girl. And now that the businesswoman of the family (Melendez) is getting married to her

Indian boyfriend (Raymond Bagatsing), the economic burden weighs heavily on Yolanda's shoulder, for the two other males in the family are in the service of causes larger than familyone (Narciso) in the military and the other (Emman) in the labor movement. In the season of Christmas, when the family gathers for a reunion, a domestic explosion is bound to break out, with Yolanda confronting her siblings with their sins of commission and omission. Deserving performance As Yolanda, Maricel Soriano has taken on a role carefully drawn by a sensitive scriptwriter and molded by an expert director, and she makes the complexities and the nuances of characterization work for her as an actress, delivering a performance that fully deserves recognition for its power and insight. To be sure, she gets excellent from the actors playing her brothers and sisters (notably Gomez, Neri, Zulueta, Ramos and Melendez), the rapport building up in a series of confrontations that is quite mesmerizing. Viva Films has not spared anything to give "Filipinas" superior production values. Cinematography by Rolly Manuel, editing by Marya Ignacio, and musical scoring by Jesse Lucas have been most responsive to the intentions of the director, giving audiences a film memorable for going beyond gripping the emotions toward engaging their minds on issues confronting Philippine society today. As an allegory testing the foundations on which our society stands at present, "Filipinas" has distinguished antecedents in Philippine theater and filmmaking. Gerardo de Leon's "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" in film and Aurelio Tolentino's "Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas" and Severino Reyes' "Walang Sugat" in theater readily come to mind. What distinguishes Lamangan's movie is its timeliness and unapologetic advocacy for a nationalist view of contemporary Philippine society. At the same

time that we follow the situations within the Filipinas family, we are asked to face up to the realities of the anti-Bush protests, the rumblings of rebellion within the military, the depredations on the national economy by global capitalism, the OFW phenomenon of Filipino professionals taking menial jobs abroad, and the rankling of resentments over remnants of feudal values and practices even among families that have been liberalized by modern education like the Filipinas family. Colonial vestiges At the conclusion of "Filipinas," Florencia is rendered comatose by a bad fall when her remaining sons exchanged blows over matters of principles after the death of Narciso in Mindanao. Samuel as a name for the eldest Filipinas suggests the vestiges of the colonial and feudal values in the family while Emman memorializes a young poet-turned NPA warrior as a liberative force. It is uncertain how long Florencia will remain alive. Yolanda, symbolic of the citizenry that made personal sacrifices for the country in hopes of keeping the country in shape but felt betrayed and unappreciated by our leaders, vents on the Filipinas her grievances and resentments that have made her a ive, even imive, member of the family. When a group of military men call on the Filipinas to make inquiries about Narciso's complaints about the armed forces, Yolanda wrathfully turns them away without answering their questions, in her defiance uniting herself with Emman who, at this point, has ed the guerrillas in the countryside. Indeed, Lamangan's MMFF movie is testing the festival's announced bias for films that seek to make the film industry a partner in the building of the nation. BY GIGI JAVIER-ALFONSO Filipinas is a significant film Tuesday, 12 30, 2003 Filipinas is a must see film. Although I have

comments that may suggest I didn't like the movie, let me clarify that I liked the film for many reasons. I'd like to delve first on points that I thought were wanting and weak. There are only a few films that makes an effort or even attempt to go beyond the text that it presents on screen. Although, in the case of this movie, there were times when lines tend to explain too much. I suspect the makers of the film fear that viewers will probably miss the point. Director Joel Lamangan and writer Roy Iglesias were so careful in making sure that we understand that the Filipinas family is the Philippines with all the problems that it has. I felt that in a way the film was lecturing and literally explaining its points to the viewers. Since there were so many characters in the film, there was no time to chew and delve on the things that were happening or to feel for the characters themselves. It seems that Joel was afraid that he will wind up with a slow-paced melodrama if he did not have short sequences instead of long takes. That is also probably why there were few moments to give the little nuances that slowly reveal the characters without blatantly showing it or directly saying it. Probably, it would have been more effective should the family was given a more common name instead of Filipinas. Here we are forced into one interpretation of the text. It would have been healthier to simply stimulate the viewers' imagination and let interpretations of the viewers bloom. Here we are forced into taking the Filipinas family as the representation of the Philippines. And the problems of the country are then acted out and lived by its characters. There are many stories within a story. For instance, the movie talks of Filipinos leaving the country to work abroad. It also touches on the existence of diverse cultures and marriages whose stability are threatened by discrimination. There is also the problem of clashing ideologies of brothers that put the family (and therefore the

nation in this case) into a retarded mode and literally, in a comma in of development. The main characters are: Flor (Armida Siguion Reyna), the mother who was trying to keep the family together; Yoly (Maricel Soriano), the woman who never marry because she had to handle many responsibilities in the family; and Gloria (Dawn Zulueta), who worked abroad to her family but was never appreciated by her daughters. Other of the cast are: Samuel (Richard Gomez), who was a domineering father to his children and eventually, lost his wife and job when he was in America; Emman (Victor Neri), who was very vocal about the way government has been handling the problems affecting Filipinos; Vicky (Aiko Milendez), the business woman whose business barely copes with the country's economic instability; Ramesh (Raymond Bagatsing), the husband of Vicky who is of Indian descent; and Emman (Wendell Ramos), the idealistic military man who was critical of the army because of the way the army has treated the soldier. The plot revolves around the return to his home country of a son and his children. It is later on revealed that he has left behind a young daughter who feels left out and disappointed. The family is intact because of the matriarch who everybody wants to please. It then turns into time of revelations that the characters have been quiet all along and suddenly everyone now starts to have their voices. Then a tragedy puts the family together again and reveals their strength. I am a little bothered about the film highlighting the family as the only stable institution in the country and that it is saying that we should not count on the institutions but rather rely on your family for the . Our leaders are mandated as well as our institutions to be strong. I couldn't see any reason why the family should be burdened to create a secure and progressive nation.

What makes this film significant? The performers did very well with mature and competent performances. Armida is endowed with screen presence and I was rather happy that there were no hysterics but there were certainly sensitive acting. Dawn was very effective in her role and her eyes do speak. Maricel is always credible in the roles that she plays. Here, she came out with a very sensitive portrayal of a character that was slowly revealed and she must be cited for being able to sustain the interesting and consistent good performance through out the film. Filipinas is significant because finally there is a film that carries with it a view that workers abroad are so tired and are fed up in serving other people in other countries. It also articulates the ideology that pushes a more progressive view of the country's situation. There are many varied reactions that Filipinas brought to discussions, this alone, makes it a significant film. Joel Lamangan's 'Filipinas' Byline: WALDEN SADIRI If you are saddened and affected by the heavydrama-riddled movie trailer of Filipinas, then thats only the tip of the iceberg as they say as to what the official entry of VIVA Films has to offer moviegoers starting this coming Dec. 25 when the 2003 Metro Manila Film Festival opens. A film by Joel Lamangan and penned by Roi Iglesias, Filipinas is about the Filipinas family led by its matriach, a retired principal portrayed by Armida Siguion Reyna. In the movie she has six children played by Maricel Soriano, Richard Gomez, Dawn Zulueta, Aiko Melendez, Victor Neri and Wendell Ramos. It tells the familys plight the conflict among siblings in of

beliefs and principles in life, authority and their bid to unite their torn family. It all started when the Filipinas family had their reunion one holiday season despite family having squabbles in the past which has burdened their mother ever since. Then the family falls into a tragedy which opened the opportunity for each and everyone in the family to unite to save each and everyone in the end. Filipinas is also more than just a family drama as its director Joel Lamangan emphasized that it mirrors the countrys trying and tumultuous times pulled down by strife and rebellions. And like the Filipinas family, it is also about how conflicts should be resolved for a better Filipinas. He added that moviegoers could learn a lot from the film since the problems tackled by the Filipinas family are the same socio-political and economic problems that are prevalent now in the country. It also stresses how a family should be in todays crisis! Filipinas, 2003, Joel Lamangan, Director

Filipinas (2003) by Joel Lamangan is about our country the Philippines as explicitly conveyed in the title of the film. The movie revolves around the story of the Filipinas family on which the siblings represent various sectors of our society. The film had won six major awards and had been nominated in seven others. Given the highly commercial nature of the film as an entry to the MMFF of 2003, it weakens the ability of the film to convey its political messages. The story is narrated through the eldest child Yolanda. The story builds on by showing the different lives of the now grown up children. Their individual narratives did not unfold

continuously as they were creatively woven together to make their individual stories appear very interrelated. As the movie progresses, the difference in orientations, beliefs and experiences between the siblings now become more apparent and problematic. It shows how these conflicting perspectives resulted into misunderstandings. The movie continues to show the problems experienced by the family and the death of one member even exemplified it. The movie persists and reaches a point where in their mother ended up into what was diagnosed as an irreversible state of comatose by being caught up in the melee involving Samuel and Eman. Given the cynical propensity of the circumstances, Yolanda asserted that they should not lose hope and muster everything they’ve got to keep their mother alive. At this point the movie suggests very explicitly that no matter how dire the situation maybe we should not lose hope and do everything in our capacity. Yolanda, representing the next generation took the lead.

The central theme of the movie was the Filipino family. The usage of the family in Filipino movies has been very common and is nothing new. The film tried to elevate the affections we feel for our family into the national level by using it as a representation of the whole country. One of the good things ing the family is that everyone can relate to it since everyone has a family of his/her own. However one weakness of this is the absence of “suspension of disbelief” since the family is something we have extensive knowledge about, when something is wrongly presented we will out rightly mark it as wrong and will not give it a benefit of the doubt as opposed to something we have limited or no knowledge at all. The movie showed even the peculiarities of the Filipino family one of which is being extensive. The extensive nature of the Filipino family was highly demonstrated in the movie by showing that their neighbour was being treated as a family member. In this regard, the idea of using the family as a representation

of the country’s problematic state could have been good if not for the movie’s overwhelming explicitness and ambitious intent of the inculcating everything in one movie. The movie was very explicit in giving out its message. The thing I didn’t like most about the film was that the family in the movie was blatantly called Filipinas. It was like spoon feeding, not giving the viewers the luxury of figuring out the meaning of the movie themselves. It was very explicit to the degree that it suggests that the creator of the movie viewed the audience as to people cannot comprehend sophisticated movie making. However I cannot truly blame them since this film’s primary intention was to rake in pesos. On the other hand the movie tried very vainly to include everything into the movie. From Overseas Filipino Workers’ to immigrants, from business to household, from activists to military personnel, the movie sure talks about a lot. It also includes the church and the satire of the priest being depended upon by their mother to have a funky looking child. It now results to a very unbelievable setting. The one portrayed in the movie is really one hell of a family. In the process of trying to consider everything, having limited screen time, the messages being conveyed become compromised. It is similar to the catch-all thesis that is being adopted by politicians to earn a lot of voters. But in this context it is being used to earn a lot of viewers.

Having a star-studded movie contributes a lot to the number of viewers and into the gains of the movie. However having such kind of actors and actresses talented as they are has its own drawbacks; viewers will find it hard to think of them as the people they are portraying. It is very difficult to perceive them as they are the “real” character, we can’t erase in our minds that they are just acting. Maybe due to their over exposure into the show business or we have very vivid pre-existing knowledge about them which are very contrary to the characters they

are espousing. Another thing that makes the movie very unrealistic is the dialogues. Some of them are very unrealistic and are made in that way just to make the movie fancier. One notable err is on the conversation between Yolanda and the nurse attending to their mother. The nurse’s way of answering and the content was uncalled for. In the end, the movie is weak in promoting is political messages. Weak not in the sense that the message are hard to comprehend but weak in the sense that the messages being evoke won’t last long.