along with the world's best

Reaffirming itself as the year's most internationally acclaimed Filipino film, "Sinapupunan" (Thy Womb) will soon be shown in Poland for the 8th Cinema Festival World Edition  as one of the selected movies from Latin America, Asia, and Africa that have had their world premieres at major international film festivals. It will be held in five major Polish cities--Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Poznan, & Wroclaw--from November 22 to December 3, 2012. 

Unofficial Fan Poster: BERNIE PLACIDO

The announcement from Poland came in the heels of an official news from the 9th Dubai International Film Festival where Brillante Mendoza's film is set to compete for major awards.  (Click for the link to the news.) 

Also scoring historic nominations for best actress (Nora Aunor) and best director (Mendoza) at the 6th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), the film about the Bajau sea gypsies in southern Philippines has been officially selected either in competition or exhibition at various international film festivals in Venice, Toronto, Busan, Bologna, Vienna as well as in Brisbane and in the Indian city of Goa (official news to be announced soon). 

Meanwhile, the European tour of the Aunor-Mendoza collaboration continues in Slovakia for the 14th International Film Festival of Bratislava.  More invitations to other international filmfests to be announced soon. 

living up to the legend

Cruising through a high tide of critical acclaim, "Sinapupunan"(Thy Womb) continues to make waves with the force of nature embodied by its legendary lead actress. "Nora Aunor's performance is spectacular in 'Thy Womb'. It is a very very beautiful film," raves Maxine Williamson, the artistic director of the 6th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) where Aunor and Brillante Mendoza have made history as the first Filipinos to be nominated for best actress and best director, respectively. Awards night for the most prestigious cinematic accolade in the region (comprising 70 countries) will be on Nov. 23 in Brisbane, Australia. (Click the link to access the Williamson's interview.) 

“Nora Aunor is a Filipino screen legend. She’s also a hugely popular singer with unprecedented record sales, and a television host and actress. She has to date appeared in over 170 films, including the multi-award winning films Bona (1980), Himala (1982), The Flor Contemplacion Story (1995) and Naglalayag (2009). In 1999, Aunor received the Centennial Honour for the Arts awarded by the Cultural Centre of the Philippines.” So goes the testimony for Aunor at the APSA website. (Click the link to access the nominee's tribute page)  

“I don’t think there could be anyone who would be able to portray her role in 'Thy Womb.' I only had her in mind when I thought of the film. The role is very intense and character-driven. There is not much dialogue. Nora’s eyes are very expressive that words become useless when she projects the emotions needed…” affirms Brillante Mendoza. (Click the link for the full article.)

Humility and artistic ferocity become her, adds the director who says that Aunor refused preferential or VIP treatment for her at the set. Moreover, her much-heralded acting prowess is matched only by her creative courage in pushing herself to the limit despite the dangerous conditions during the shoot--leaping off a boat onto a shark-infested water, ushering in a real birth of a baby, etc.-- to fulfill the requirements of her role as a self-sacrificing Bajau midwife. Mendoza has been quoted profuse with praise for the Superstar: "I know she’s good but I never thought she’s this good. My God, grabe!” (Click the link for the full article.)

Citing her down-to-earth attitude as well as her exemplary contribution to Philippine culture and arts, Mendoza affirms Aunor as deserving to be conferred the long overdue National Artist award. "Para sa akin si Nora Aunor ang epitome ng pagiging artist," explains Mendoza, who is the first Filipino to win the best director prize at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2009. Regarding his first time to work with Aunor, he swears: "Other actors of her time, of her generation parang...I can't see them doing or delivering what she has done in this film..." (Click the link for the full article.) 

The winning streak of the Mendoza-Aunor collaboration started when it was officially selected for a world premiere (in competition) at the world's oldest international film festival in Venice where the critics honored Aunor as best actress. The film also won two other special awards for "giving voice to the Bajau community in a respectful and involved manner...Ethnographic, the film goes beyond naturalism and turns into poetry..." and succeeds in expressing "authentic human values." (Click the link for the full article.) 

good vibes in Vienna

True to its triumphant reception at other international film festivals (Venice, Toronto, Busan, and Bologna) where it was previously showcased either in competition or exhibition, the Austrian premiere of "Sinapupunan" (Thy Womb) at the 50th Vienna International Film Festival remains a reviewers' delight. Consider the following articles from a major Austrian newspaper and a Mexican daily as well as from the festival website:

"Brillante Mendoza designs a moving melodrama about a couple torn between love and social traditions...not without pain, renunciation and self-denial. The faces of Nora Aunor and Bembol Roco pull it off subtly... Mendoza's Sinapupunan succeeded... in an impressive way." (Click the link for the original text  in German.)

“Brillante Mendoza manages to show a play between fiction and documentary, with images that flow (with) interweaving human feelings on a canvas  of colors. Brillante Mendoza brings his camera into an ocean of images that present a dazzling and exotic part of cultural traditions very few know.” (Click for the link of the original Mexican text.)

"Mendoza does not focus on telling an emotionally charged story about a childless couple with the desire for offspring in a very dramatic way. Rather, rituals, gestures and cultural codes are at the center of attention and convey, without judging, the image of a remote society." (Click the link for the original text  in German.) 

Among the Filipinos in the audience was Val Esposo whose impression was no less enthusiastic than the critics' reaction: “Sold out tickets for the first first day of Thy Womb screening, and watching Nora Aunor on the big screen with appreciative Austrian audiences with thunderous applause who never left the theater until the last credit of the film has given me goose bump."

a powerful performance: the critics' consensus

A round of international acclaim  for Ms. Nora Aunor's portrayal in "Sinapupunan" (Thy Womb) echoes unanimous along the line of this forecast from a French cinema website that considers her the winner of the Volpi Cup for best actress at the 69th Venice International Film Festival. (Click the link of original text in French.)

Likewise, many Italian reviewers have been consistent in choosing Aunor as the likely winner. One critic sums up the sumptuous effect of her performance: “The film is her and she is the film. In the midst of many nonprofes-sionals, authentic faces and bodies from southern Philippines, her expressionless face moves with extraordinary mimesis until the hasty finale where a few, minor variations open the heart of every viewer.” (Click the original text in Italian.) 

Expectations for Aunor to get the Volpi Cup went high after the Premio della Critica Indipendiente, an independent group of European film critics covering the festival, awarded Aunor's performance with the Bisato d'Oro (Golden Eel) prize. In validation of the critics' prize, here are more variations on the same theme of upbeat forecast: 

“Una candidatura certa al Leone e, per la straordinaria attrice Nora Aunor, alla coppa Volpi.” A leading candidate for the Golden Lion (prize) and the Volpi Cup for the extraordinary actress Nora Aunor, a critic's view concurred by other reviewers. (Click the link of the original text in Italian like this other upbeat assessment.)

Affirming Aunor's thespic preeminence as "one of the best actresses in the world," an Italian critic cites the "magnificent visual sublimation" of her performance, frankly calling the jurors' decision as "bullshit" because another contender--Israel's Yadas Haron--eventually won the Volpi: "Giving the girl the best actress for the insignificant ‘Fill the Void’ is bullshit…especially considering the candidacy of Nora Aunor , one of the best actresses in the world…in a magnificent visual sublimation in the film by Brillante Mendoza…”(Click the link of the original text in Italian.)

In agreement, a Dutch film critic also commends Aunor's acting: "She is totally believable in "Thy Womb" as a warm-hearted, modest, everyday woman who loves her husband that she searches a wife who can give him the child that she owed him. A melting interpretation!" (Click link of original text in Dutch.)

"Deserving of greater consideration" for the best actress award. Thus avers an Italian critic's citation of Aunor who is the only actress mentioned in the summary review of all films in competition at the recent 69th Venice International Film Festival: “Film ispirato e solido con una sceneggiatura che non disturba troppo la visione decisamente vivida, pregio assai raro. Nora Anour e la sua levatrice sterile ed emancipata avrebbero meritato maggiore considerazione in sede di premiazione.” (Click the link of the full review.) 

Yet another Italian critic praises the grandeur of  Aunor's acting or how she achieves "anonymity" for her role with such "very strong presence" (“interpretata da una stella filippina di prima grandezza, Nora Aunor, che ha qui accettato una sorta di anonimato attoriale… un attrice dalla presenza molto forte.”) His appraisal may as well raise the roof of the Venice fest: "This is the coolest film of the competition, maybe the whole selection." (“È questo il film più fresco del concorso, forse dell’intera selezione.” (Click the link of the original Italian text.)

A Spanish critic is just as enthusiastic in his impression of "Sinapupunan" (Thy Womb) as a "beautifully naturalistic film" even as he describes Aunor's performance as "fantastic" worthy of the honor for best actress: “Su actriz, fantástica Nora Aunor, también podría encontrar hueco en el palmarés.” (Click the link of the original Spanish text.) 

Raving that Mendoza’s film has some of the most beautiful sequences seen in this edition of Venice, calling it  a “portrait of a rural apocalypse,” another Spanish critic hails Aunor as “outstanding in the title role” “(“de la actriz Nora Aunor, sobresaliente en el papel protagonista…”  (Click the link of the original Spanish text.)  

Another Spanish critic is so moved over what she sees to the extent of waxing poetic under the spell of Aunor's brilliance: "The brightness of the moon in the eyes of the protagonist, Nora Aunor, delicately beautiful..." (“El brillo de la luna en los ojos de la protagonista, Nora Aunor, delicadamente maravillosos en el mejor plano de la película…")  Aside from going lyrical about Aunor's acting, she also sounds seduced by "the tenderness of the characters...the beauty of the images...and the depth of the story." (Click the link of the original Spanish text.)  

Obviously under the spell of the Aunor-Mendoza collaboration, another Italian critic rhapsodizes at the film's poetic power: “Il regista filippino colpisce con una storia di estrema sensibilità e delicatezza. L’interprete femminile, Nora Aunor, è in stato di grazia… Naturalistica e credibile l’interpretazione di Nora Aunor, l’agnello sacrificale, immagine commossa e appassionata dell’amore, di una maternità mai consumata, una straordinaria performer alla quale Mendoza affida tutto il peso del film." ("The Filipino director strikes with a history of extreme sensitivity and delicacy. The actress, Nora Aunor, is in a state of grace... Naturalistic and credible interpretation of Nora Aunor, the sacrificial lamb, provides emotional and passionate picture of love and motherhood…an extraordinary performer on whom Mendoza relies for the weight of the film."(Click the link of the original Italian text.)

"Fantastica!" Such an exuberant description of Aunor's exquisite interpretation, as voiced out by the reviewer in the video below, aptly sums up the superlatives. 

from Venice to Vienna and everywhere

Making a splash as a showcase of world-class cinema, "Sinapupunan" (Thy Womb)  rows further ahead to foreign shores as it braces for the global spotlight once again with its Austrian premiere at the 50th Vienna International Film Festival. Since its world premiere in competition at the 69th Venice International Film Festival last September, the rave reviews have been consistent in other exhibitions at the festivals in Toronto, Bologna, and Busan.

Up next is another chance to win the awards for best actress (Nora Aunor) and best director (Brillante Mendoza) at the 6th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA)  in Brisbane, Australia come November. Aside from being one of the films selected to be showcased at the 8th World Cinema Festival (set in five major cities in Poland) from the last week of November to early December, "Sinapupunan" (Thy Womb) is also set to compete at the 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa as well as at the 9th Dubai International Film Festival before the year ends. An official entry at the 2012 Metro Manila Film Festival,  the Mendoza-Aunor collaboration is definitely going places. 

from Italy with love

Among all the 55 films both in competition and in the Orrizonte sections of the recent Venice International Film Festival, only two films--Paul Thomas Anderson's award-winning "The Master" and Brillante Mendoza's "Sinapupunan" (Thy Womb)--scored the highest 5-star rating in the critical evaluation of a prestigious Italian cinema foundation. (Click the link for the summation of ratings for all films shown in the festival, and read the review of Mendoza's film and the "immensity" of Aunor's dramatic interpretation.)

Italian critics continue to be enthralled by the latest masterpiece of Brillante Mendoza who "found a perfect ally in his star Nora Aunor, with whom he has an artistic relationship. This underscores the equal contribution of the star, Nora Aunor, to make Thy Womb the powerful film that it is." (Click the link for the original text in Italian.)

"Heartwarming and heartbreaking…A film that deserves a prize,” according to a renowned Italian critic charmed by its “modesty, grace, fluidity and lightness admirable…the ways of the best ethnographic film..." (Click the link for the original Italian text.)

"Moving toward brighter latitudes...amazing...the wonders of this liquid landscape of indescribable beauty... Nora Aunor, intense and very good..."  So gushes another.. (Click the link for the original text in Italian)

"The most intimate and poetic film in competition at the Venice Film Festival," according to the Italian edition of the magazine Vanity Fair. (Click the link for the original text in Italian.)

Calling it "high cinema, (with) images freighted with emotion and poetry," another critic lavishly praises Mendoza's film, especially "the interpretation of sumptuous Filipino diva Nora Aunor. A jewel that shines in a film that touches the heart." (Click the link for the originaltext in Italian.)

review: the ironies of Thy Womb

Irony is written all over Dante Mendoza's 'Thy Womb'.  Shahela, the main character (played by Nora Aunor) happens to be a Badjao midwife who can't give her man Bangas-An (Bembol Roco) a child of their own. 

She savors the joys of childbirth through the eyes of another.  Those sad, sad eyes light up at the sight of a newborn and at the sound of its first lusty cries.  The rows and rows of umbilical cords  Shaleha keeps in her simple home remind her of newborn babies she held in her hand, but can never call her own.

And the sea where she and her husband get their living from is no different.  The miles and miles of tranquil blue stretching as far as the eye can see hide sharks —  natural and man-made. The natural ones are quiet.  It's the man-made variety that shakes husband-and-wife's peaceful world and threaten their survival.

This is the setting of a woman's journey  of love and sacrifice. Make that a traditional Filipina's journey of love and sacrifice.  For rare is the  woman of modern times — especially the Western ones --  who can bend backwards for her man the way  Shahela did.

Nerves of steel

For her man, Shahela can be outwardly meek and mild but all nerves of steel inside.  That's the third irony of the film.  Only Nora's eyes can change from unquestioning one instance, and uncertain the next.  Only she can manage a forced smile and convey a riot of emotions without uttering a single word.

Nora's dialogues are few; her scenes quiet.  But their very strength lies in their stillness.  You don't have to drop kilometric lines to convey love.  You don't have to lash out at someone to show how green with envy you are.

The hush-hush mood is temporary. The film brightens up  --literally and figuratively — every so often. The bold colors of Badjao mats and  clothing, the gaily-painted boats and carefree  children jumping into the sea or flying kites, mirror a life of simply joys.

Festive wedding scenes break the monotony of day-to-day scrimping and coaxing a living from the sea.  Life goes on despite the occasional gunshots that sow fear in the middle of  a happy wedding.  And oh, that's irony number four.

Life-giver

The final, and the best kind of irony comes at the end of the film, which is so thought-provoking it's a shame to reveal it here.  Suffice it to say that it can bring Shahela close to the precipice,  where  she plays life giver once more .  It's no coincidence that the closing scene of the film is strikingly similar to the one that opens it.

Mendoza doesn't spoon feed by showing how things  turn out to be.  He resorts to  clues -- the body language, the one-liners.  Draw your conclusions from there.  Mendoza respects the viewer so much he won't spoonfeed him or her.

And you leave the movie house feeling like a demi-god— your opinion on the final scene as vital as the director's. It makes you wonder, should 'Thy Womb' have a sequel or not?

Judging from the  rave reviews the international community heaped on the film, the answer is a resounding yes.

--  MARIDOL RAñOA-BISMARK 

making history with more honors for the country

After copping the critics' prizes at the recent Venice International Film Festival, Ms. Nora Aunor and director Brillante Mendoza are both set to sustain their winning streak with their historic nominations at the 6th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Brisbane, Australia. Both Aunor and Mendoza are the first Filipinos to be nominated in their respective categories for Best Actress and Best Director. Congratulations! Mabuhay ang pelikulang Pilipino! (Click the link for more details about the cultural significance of APSA and the other nominees.)

Design: BERNIE PLACIDO

Aunor--who has the distinction of being the first Filipino and the only actress in any nationality to win the Bisato d'Oro (Golden Eel) given by the Premio della Critica Indipendiente, an independent group of European critics covering the 69th Venice International Film Festival--is up in contention with high-profile actresses from South Korea, the Russian Federation, India, and Pakistan:

Design: BERNIE PLACIDO

from Venice to Toronto and Busan

Dispatches from the exhibition screening at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival:

“Shot in a strict realist style... Mendoza is nothing if not rigorous in the construction of his narrative... Aunor, one of the Philippines’ biggest and most beloved stars, offers a moving portrayal of a woman determined to provide her husband with a child... Directed by Mendoza with an unfailingly keen eye for detail and attention to the rhythms of rural life… A heartbreaking, devoutly humanist work.” (Click the link for the full review.)

"Effective...a meditatively tragic tale, one which simmers gracefully to its abrupt finale...The landscape is painstakingly photographed, itself looking lush and timeless... Nora Aunor, who is quite the star in the Philippines, is moving here, giving an excellent performance..." (Click the link of the full review.) 

"A standout performance by Philippine superstar Nora Aunor...Brillante Mendoza once again captures the complexities and frustrations of contemporary Philippine society." Thus raves respected film critic Kim Ji-Seok, a professor/editor of the film journal Film Language and founder of the Busan International Film Festival.  (Click the link for the full review.) 

two upbeat views from Toronto

Capturing the Canadians' hearts. Thus "Sinapupunan" (Thy Womb) proves its universal appeal at the recent Toronto International Film Festival where it was "warmly applauded" as entertainment scribe Nap Alip reports:

Fan Poster: BERNIE PLACIDO

"While watching Thy Womb at the Dundas Cineflex, this writer was surprised. Not because of its sold-out tickets but seeing the Pinoys outnumbered by white people in the audience. More so, at the end of the screening, they warmly clapped in appreciation of the movie. Perhaps, those who go for too emotional or flamboyant scenes would be disappointed. For on the whole, Thy Womb shone in its simplicity. The maudlin sequences were touchingly restrained. As ever, Nora capitalized on her known facial expressions, deeply emoting through her eyes sans dialogues. She tackled the part of a Badjao midwife who lost her husband for another woman perfectly. Director Brilliante Mendoza is indeed a brilliant megger. No wonder, Nora became the Italian critics' favorite at the Venice Film Festival..." 

Vouching for the veracity of Alip's impression is scholar Rama Chandra. “The quietly sentimental film of Brillante Mendoza, 'Thy Womb,' is a well-crafted story about what it means to be a selfless individual. It is one of the greater films the country has ever made. This is Nora's finest moment thus far. Effortless on screen but sheer dedication and commitment to her craft behind the scenes. She has mastered the art of subtlety after decades of melodramatic films under her belt. She continues to amaze us with her ability to disappear in the persona of the ordinary Filipino with a big heart.” 

dispatch from dreamland

Spotlight from the Variety Magazine and Hollywood Reporter: 

"Typically arresting direction and a stoically moving lead turn from local industry legend Nora Aunor... (her) softly crinkled face beautifully registers the internal pain of her every decision…What ensues is part marital tearjerker, part cultural comedy of manners…Unusual story world with just the right balance of the exotic and the authentic." (Click the link for the full review.) 

“Alluring scenery and a sympathetic lead performance...Philippines entertainment legend Nora Aunor stars in a drama by award-winning director Brillante Mendoza…Her elfin features, so powerfully expressive of both happiness and sorrow, help make Shahela an engaging, unlikely heroine here.” (Click the link for the full review.)

thumbs up from tweeter

Cinephiles came, saw, and were conquered by what they saw at the 69th Venice International Film Festival. Here's one of the buzzes: "Brillante Mendoza's very moving THY WOMB from the Philippines...could win Best Actress for Aunor Nora."

the best for the British

CineVue, an award-winning film blog from the United Kingdom, attests to “Sinapupunan” (Thy Womb) as one of the best-reviewed films in competition at the 69th Venice International Film Festival. "One of the most poignant and intimate films in the competition," according to one critic. "A moving and visually captivating movie with two commanding yet understated central performances. Mendoza's film deserves an accolade at Venezia 69.” (Click the link for the full review.)

Fan Poster by EISEN BERNARDO

 “The best film to date from Filipino director Brillante Mendoza. As quietly agonising as a De Sica film…it is hard to bear emotionally in an unflinching film rich in human, social and natural detail.” Thus a renowned British film critic emphasizes why "Sinapupunan" (Thy Womb) should have won in the main competition of the 69th Venice International Film Festival on top of romping off with three prizes given by critics' group outside of the festival. (Click link for the full article.)

"The genius of Mendoza’s film is that no sooner has he drawn us into the couple's simple life on the beautiful island of Tawi-Tawi than he unsettles this paradise with cinematic eruptions...these moments quicken the pulse and keep us alive to the possibility of danger. They’re like espresso shots peppered throughout the leisurely humanist love story, adding adrenaline to the heartbreak."  (Click link for the fullarticle.)

an upbeat assessment from the Vatican

Only great actresses like Nora Aunor can pull off a role with natural interpretation. "Nora Aunor la interpreta con la naturalezza che solo le grandissime attrici possiedono..." Thus exclaimed a critic from the L'Osservatore Romano, a Vatican publication in its review of the latest Brillante Mendoza masterpiece that premiered in competition at the recent Venice International Film Festival. 

Should have won, argued another Vatican publication in favor of Mendoza's film deemed imbued with "real poetry" but was "surprisingly and unjustly...totally ignored by the official jury" of festival. Amen, we say.  Good thing that critics who covered Venezia 2012 vindicated Aunor and Brillante by giving them their respective awards. (Click the link for the original text in Italian.)