thy womb: FILM REVIEW: Brillante Mendoza's finest

12/12/12

FILM REVIEW: Brillante Mendoza's finest

I was not a big fan of Brillante Mendoza's earlier works. But the last two films —'Captive' with French actress Isabelle Huppert and 'Thy Womb' with Nora Aunor (both competed in film festivals abroad and won) — piqued an admiration for his talent.

I attended the screening of 'Thy Womb' that Mendoza conducted for the press at his Centerstage Productions Inc office recently, and found a truly moving movie, to say the least.

'Thy Womb' is about a childless couple living in the heart of Tawi-Tawi, Mindanao. Though the setting was not Mendoza's original choice, when he visited the place during an ocular inspection, he immediately fell in love with it and the community of Badjaos living in it.

Nora Aunor as Shaleha perfectly plays the role of a barren wife to Bembol Roco’s Bang-Asan.

Only an actress of Aunor's caliber can pull off the struggles of an infertile wife who also has to be the midwife to Mersila (Lovi Poe), Bang-Asan's second wife.

The scene where she carries the newborn baby is moving. If only for this scene alone, there is no doubt that Nora Aunor is the top contender for the MMFF Best Actress trophy.

As a storyteller, Brillante is always clever with using metaphors. 'Thy Womb' has several heart-wrenching scenes featuring the finest talents in Philippine cinema, including the beautiful Mercedes Cabral in a cameo role.

While the plot’s development is a bit dragging, as soon as it hits the high notes with its dramatic parts, it successfully sustains the momentum, keeping the moviegoers glued until the heart-breaking end. (JUDE CARTALABA, Rappler)

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A STORY AS DEEP AS THE SEA

“I am making a film about the Bajaus, with the aim to celebrate a nonviolent people amidst a very violent world. It’s an intriguing premise about a particular people of peace living in a place of endemic violence.

One of the most interesting peoples in southern Philippines, the Bajaus are native sea-dwellers that are also found in the neigh-boring Malaysian and Indonesian archipelagos. They are the so-called sea gypsies who are skilled in building various types of boats, and widely known as fishermen, pearl divers and mat weavers.

As a film, Thy Womb examines the opposing natures of two women (Nora Aunor/Shaleha’s sterility against Lovi Poe/ Mersila’s fertility) to reflect the prevailing condition in Tawi-Tawi, a place endowed with natural beauty and rich resources but mired in economic and socio-political crises. A quiet hell of a paradise, Thy Womb’s “birth place” and its environs are constant reminders of yesterday’s conflict that has remained unresolved up to the present.

The Bajaus are considered to be the most primitive and oppressed among several ethnic groups in the region; and they assume a subordinate status in their diverse and divided community, which includes the Samal and the Tausug, among others. But in spite of this, the Bajaus are generally perceived to be non-confrontational, forgiving, seemingly contented and happy people.

When wronged, it is said that the Bajaus would simply move to another place, bringing their houseboats (lepa-lepa), constantly roving, living in harmony with nature. To this day, they are mostly looked down, degraded and much maligned by their ethnic neighbors and others, thus rendering them harmless, helpless and almost powerless.

But in their heart of hearts, are they really so, or is it just another way of life merely misunderstood by those inured to violence? With this thought and theme, and my curiosity further piqued, the narrative voice of the film has emerged loud and clear.

With intensive research and truthful depiction of certain characters and their circumstances, as articulated in the poignant tale of an aging, childless couple who resolve to find the mother of their much-wanted child, I hope Thy Womb would show a slice of life in the best possible light."

– BRILLANTE MENDOZA