MARTIAL LAW AND CINEMA. On todays commemoration of declaration of martial law by Philippine dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, I have often asked how well did Filipino cinema depict the period - one of the darkest in history, its legacy of murder and plunder remains unequal - how well did it explore the depth of human pain and agony, how well did it inquire into whys and wherefores of its origins, in the line of how the worlds citizens continue to condemn the tragedy of the Holocaust. A tentative survey of Philippine cinema reveals a startling paucity of materials, outside of the generic actioners, melodramas that only touch the surface of social realities. Of these few works, those which I have been able to see, I include six of the most powerful films that ever dramatized the martial law period: > Mike de Leons allegories of abuse of power, KISAPMATA (1981) and BATCH 81 (1982). KISAPMATA, a story of incest, shows the twisted mind of a retired policeman-father (Vic Silayan), BATCH 81, a story of a fraternity initiation, the initiate-turned-abuser (Mark Gil), both films evoking the tragedies under an of autocratic rule; Gils and Silayans performances turned out to become two of the best performances in history of our cinema; > Lino Brockas BAYAN KO, KAPIT SA PATALIM (1985), about the oppressive conditions of laborers and workers, specifically in a printing press; > Gil Portess ANDREA, PAANO ANG MAGING ISANG INA (1990) and Sari Dalenas KA ORYANG (2011), about women revolutionaries; > and Lav Diazs EBOLUSYON NG ISANG PAMILYANG PILIPINO (2004), a ten-hour chronicle of a Filipino family during the martial law - the anguish of separation, of loss, is memorable in its telling. Of late, there appears to be more initiatives to continue telling the Filipino experience during martial law - unfortunately, it may take a while for me to see - notably, Sari and Kiri Dalenas THE GUERILLA IS A POET; Jun Lanas THE BARBERS TALES; and Lav Diazs Locarno winner, MULA SA KUNG ANO ANG NOON. It is always incumbent upon our film artists to continue depict the martial law years in cinema, so that Filipinos will never forget and not fall into cynicism and apathy, or else, we pay the price of forgetting. NEVER AGAIN! - Mauro Feria Tumbocon, Jr., FACINE Director
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 03:34:24 +0000
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