bow for the best

With her world-class talent, Ms. Nora Aunor is not resting on her laurels as "best actress." For her performance in Brillante Mendoza's 'Thy Womb', she made history as the first female performer of any nationality to become the critics' choice for the Bisato d'Oro (Golden Eel) prize at the 69th Venice International Film Festival--a feat validated by her victory as the first Filipino actress to win at the 6th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Brisbane, Australia. 

That does not mean, however, that Aunor--ranked as the topnotcher of the Best Asian Actresses of the Decade at the 2010 Green Planet Movie Awards in Hollywood--is no longer excited about receiving another trophy in her own country. Recently, she reigned at the 38th Metro Manila Film Festival where she holds the record of being the most-awarded actress with eight wins so far.

On a roll for more honors, or so Aunor seems to be as she figures prominently in the Top 5 Movie Performances of 2012. A timeless portrayal, according to the reviewer: "Thirty years after 'Himala,' Nora Aunor gives another performance for the ages. As Shaleha, a barren Badjao wife who goes on a mission to find a woman who could and would give her beloved husband a biological child, Aunor is hypnotically still, bracingly intelligent, and devastatingly emotional, often all at once and without uttering a single word. She is, in a word, divine in what is the most hauntingly sublime piece of acting in all of Philippine cinema not only this year but in the last 30 years." 

That's hardly suprising for Mendoza, also a history-maker as the first Filipino to win as best director at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2009 as well as at the recent APSA. In the following video, the feisty but gentle filmmaker attests to Aunor's greatness even as he talks about other issues pertinent to his struggle as an independent artist out to push the borders of Philippine cinema.

FILM REVIEWS: more blessings from the bloggers

True to the thumbs-up from film critics who came and were conquered by Brillante Mendoza's 'Thy Womb,' the blogosphere continues to echo the exclamations of awe from a  selected group of bloggers who were invited to a private screening. Validating its victory at the 38th Metro Manila Film Festival where 'Thy Womb' won seven major awards, more bloggers continue to add their voices to the chorus of acclaim:

Exploring the interactions of culture and nature:  “Set in Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines’ southernmost isles which have become infamous for being torn by warring government and Muslim secessionist forces, the film valiantly avoids sensationalizing war and instead delves into the human condition of a people who have grown accustomed to military presence…indulges in its depiction both nature and culture. Mendoza does not hide his fascination, relentlessly breaking his storytelling to make way for gorgeous images of endless seascapes and colorful tradition. He takes time revelling at whale sharks under the sea, or turtles’ eggs hidden dearly beneath Tawi-Tawi’s remote beaches. He stages elaborate Muslim ceremonies and rituals. Surprisingly, the film never feels as if it is treading too closely to exoticizing its subject locale. The overt visualization of both nature and culture seems essential to Mendoza’s goals of exploring the interactions of culture and nature and the people who rely heavily on them for both sustenance and identity.

Henry Burgos’ screenplay is admirably spare. It is unafraid of being judged not by the lyricism of the words spoken by the depicted ordinary folk, but by the measured silence. It allows the couple’s relationship to simmer, to take root, to emotionally attach to the peering audience, before exposing the fissures that will unavoidably grow bigger. It masterfully orchestrates heartbreak, without any hint of artifice or machination. It gives Mendoza enough breathing room to scrutinize the world, which he does so without hardly any hesitation.

Aunor, who has been absent from Philippine cinema for several years despite being renowned as one of its living acting treasures, is the film’s beating heart. Her dutiful portrayal of Shaleha is both spontaneous and intelligent. She cleverly interacts with her surroundings, not as an actress inhabiting a role but as a human being naturally reacting to very real scenarios. When the film requires silence, she makes use of her eyes, which seamlessly hypnotize the audience to believe her character’s plight and sacrifice…” -- Lessons from the School of Inattention  (Click the link to read the full article.) 

Heartbreaking and haunting: Despite a considerable career and acclaimed breadth of work, Thy Womb is Mendoza’s first true masterpiece... a hauntingly poignant reflection of human devotion, tradition, desire and joyful exploration of Badjao culture, shot across gorgeous landscapes, with sensitive, yet high-tech cinematography... the film creates a world rich with visuals that draws us into the slow-paced world of barren midwife Shaleha (Nora Aunor) and her fisherman husband, Bangas-An (Bembol Roco).

Indeed, Mendoza meticulously creates the world of Tawi-Tawi for his audience... The film continues to linger at such a sedate pace, that the entrance of Mersila (Lovi Poe), instigating the brief second and final act of the film arrives with such abruptness to emotionally dislocate the audience. Mendoza proceeds to rapidly dismantle and destroy the entire world and the lives of the people he created. When the extraordinary final scene arrives, you understand why Mendoza’s camera lingered in the first act, you understand why he took his time building this rich world and in the process, making the audience invest in his reality, that when it finally shatters, it is heartbreaking cruel and haunting. You may not feel it straightaway, but as you leave the cinema, the events of the film replay in your mind, as if you were in Shaleha and Bangas-An’s marriage, making the ending that much more potent.

Nora Aunor pulls off a sublime performance of the same calibre and dedication as her previous internationally awarded roles under Lino Brocka’s directorship. Perhaps, another performance of a lifetime to add to her belt. She depicts the humble and sun-worn Shaleha with such authenticity that she completely disappears into her role. From her knife-work scaling fish to her quiet looks of hopefulness, then desolation, Nora’s quiet portrayal of Shaleha lingers with you long after the film..." -- Millie Morales (Click the link to read the full article.)

An array of emotions, a great cultural immersion: “We found ourselves deeply engrossed and taken by every detail presented in the beautifully photographed film…

Nora Aunor, who set the acting bar in Philippines cinema, did not fail to impress. Her brilliance is only heightened by the implicit performance of Bembol Roco…

‘Thy Womb’ isn't all about Nora Aunor however. While the performances were quietly powerful, the film was a feat itself. It presents a reality so fascinating and so authentic, you can almost touch it. It depicts a way of life that is as colorful as it is chaotic, simple and unjust. It feeds you with an array of emotions and right before it ends, it lets you take it all in and experience an unbearable pain…

This movie is also a great cultural immersion for the uninitiated… on our Muslim brothers and sisters and how they go about their daily lives…”—Bum-Spot (Click the link to read the full article.) 

Above the mainstream audience: “Thy Womb is a restrained quiet film as it lets the visuals do most of the talking. Small moments are lingered on even if it does not move the story forward. At times it felt like you are watching a documentary because of the film’s naturalistic vibe…

The film gives us slices of life from the regular townsfolk exchanging small talks to the local market activity to the intriguing and lavish marriage proposal rituals. But what got me the most is the way it captured how life goes on in a place that is often burdened by violence…

Aunor and Roco gave restrained but very effective performances. This film has little dialogue in it but thanks to the strength of the actors they don’t need words to show their characters’ inner pain and complex feelings. The scene when they met the future second wife for the first time is the best example how an actor can do so much without uttering a single line. It’s all in the eyes…

Admittedly, it’s a tough sell to the mainstream audience due to the way the story is told but Thy Womb presents a picture of a culture that is fascinating and is definitely worth watching…”— forg files (Click the link to read the full article.) 

Finding what’s lost along the way: “…Through those famed eyes of Nora Aunor and in those remaining few seconds as the camera pans towards her face, I read at once exhilaration, pride, love, sadness and complete surrender to the fate that awaits her. Then the movie ends.

I can understand why cineastes in many parts of the world trooped to see ‘Thy Womb,’ even paying good money to watch it. Or how in Venice, it received a 5-minute standing ovation… Many Filipinos might even scoff at the story, perhaps dismissing it as no longer relevant in this day and age where love, sacrifice and word of honor are nothing but words written on paper boats bobbing violently on rampaging flood waters. 

In Tawi-Tawi a Badjao midwife loves her husband unconditionally and he means the world to her that she would risk losing everything even him so that he could find fulfillment and be happy even in the arms of another woman. Too strange for your taste? In places like Tawi-Tawi where love still runs pure, it isn’t. To them it’s more personal-- simply put, it’s just their way of life. A long time ago, it used to be ours too, we just lost it somewhere along the way.”—Film Fanatix (Click the link to read the full article.)

Mendoza’s best film so far: “Brillante Mendoza is blessed with performers as seasoned as Nora Aunor and Bembol Roco…

If I liked her performance in ‘Bona’ because it revealed Nora Aunor’s feisty side as an obsessed fan, I liked her performance here in ‘Thy Womb’ because as much as there are painful moments, there are happy moments too—happy to see a whale shark swim with them and share the happiness with her husband and happy to receive a surprise gift from her husband, a new scarf to cover her head with for an upcoming wedding they would both attend later. For a serious topic, there are light moments where Shaleha was shown happy. And if she’s happy, it’s not enough that she would expose a hearty smile. The happiness would cross over to her eyes and they would glow. It is her performance that makes you realize that award-winning performance doesn’t always have to be based on hysterical / dramatic moments…

For a movie this good, the chances for it to stay longer for a commercial run has reached depressing levels that it makes you question whether it’s still worth it to make movies like these when you have an unappreciative audience. These films are inspired by actual events that occur in the Philippines and are obviously intended for the Philippine audience. But it’s the foreign audience that ends up appreciating this kind of films even more.

The market itself doesn’t know what does it want. It keeps demanding for quality films every opportunity it gets but whenever amazing films like this come along, they prefer flocking to the crappy mainstream offerings. I hope this bitter reality won’t discourage folks like La Aunor and Direk Mendoza from making quality films. This is Mendoza’s best film so far and the least depressing too which kills the notion that art films often talk about the filth and grime of the poverty-stricken that we live in. Go see it before your favorite cineplex would make true its threat of pulling out the film to fade into oblivion. You have no idea what your missing…Just in case you miss this film and find it hard to come across another quality film again, well, you had your chance and you screwed it. Walang sisihan.”—Filipinas in Showbiz (Click the link to read the full article.)

FILM REVIEWS: delight of discerning viewers

True to the full tide of critical acclaim from international and local reviewers for Thy Womb, the social network has been abuzz with awe. From Facebook, for instance, a raft of erudite analysis has been floating around the film's virtue as a work of art. Here are three samples: 

Transformative cinema, a gem of a film...

"'Thy Womb' could've been more fortunately titled, and the pacing could've been fine-tuned here and there, but it's doubtless a great film, soaked in the inks, forms and movements of our southern islands' natural splendor on one hand, and entirely committed to the task of a closely observed life on the other, braiding both rhythms into each other, as is the way of the people whose little-known story it attempts, in its own careful and admittedly limited way, to tell.  Moreover, what seemingly impedes it--the narrative oscillation, the doubleness of its vision as documentary and as drama--is revealed, in the end, to be part and parcel of its insight, as embodied in the placid greatness and numinous depth of Nora's exceptional performance: the heroism of the devoted and barren wife, her largeness of heart and self-abnegating love for her husband, is indissociable from her world, which permeates her very being, entwined as her spirit and character must be in the weft and woof her culture's ever-imperilled and resolutely enduring life. Cherished, in their innermost faith, by their gracious and compassionate God, the people of Tawi-Tawi dance in the midst of gunfire and depredation, hunger and drought, and it is very same ethos that animates the barren woman's actions, for as her own people remind her, life must be lived for others, and with hope, no matter how difficult and tight-fisted it often is. Once more, nora sears into our memory the persona she enacts into powerful art, and we cannot help but recognize, in the luminous alchemy of a face that's been softened by the rheum and chastised by the exertions of eventful age, the sadness and pain (as well as horror) of the knowledge of our own forfeited happiness, as well as the glimmerings of a stubborn joy that our own abiding faiths must urge upon us...Transformative cinema, a gem of a film. Go watch.

It's not perfect, this film. But the flaws are forgivable. And they are even possibly necessary, to confound its own claims to authenticity. What Mendoza succeeded in doing, by threading Shaleha's life so unobtrusively into the fabric of this world--the oscillation I was referring to, between the dramatic and the ethnographic--is to render inevitable her decision to be selfless: it is notable, but also entirely possible, in this kind of life. The dignity of our people, caught between inexorable forces (national and global), dancing through the minefield of abject precarity, yearning towards the consolations of tradition, seeking again and again the truth of the spirit: a story Nora tells so eloquently, using little else than the quiet scripture of her face."-- J. Neil Garcia, U.P. professor and prize-winning author

Performing the aesthetics of patience...

 "I don't really care about what people say or think about Brillante Mendoza. I admit that I haven't seen his earlier works, and after hearing the stories, I personally don't think I can muster the courage to ever watch them at all. Besides, I am never a fan of blatant, sensationalized violence.

But can I just say that 'Thy Womb' is such an impressively subtle and beautiful film? That these days, it is just very rare to encounter a sensitive, honest and delicate storytelling such as this one? That Nora Aunor becomes, not simply as a mere character, but as a complete human being before our eyes? That it is a magnificent exercise on dramaturgy and anthropological truth, making it not only as a narrative, but also as a well-researched documentary? That it contained such clever signs and foreshadowings, thus proving that a story does not only run on the course of dialogues, but continues on with the silences, the gazes, the positioning of characters, the gestures, the rituals of the hands, the reserved expressions of love, the meeting of the eyes.

And of course there are flaws. Art is done by humans after all, and not by gods. And the sooner that people will finally get this fact into their skulls, the sooner that our criticisms will become more constructive and less nit-picky. With that said, the local audience members are always disappointing for me. I dare say: it does not matter if you come from the upper or middle or lower social class. If you lack an education that emphasizes on literary inquisition, then you are left with nothing but the sparseness and mediocracy of a literal intellect. Truly, it is quite exhausting to cater to audiences who would rather settle for less.

But 'Thy Womb' refuses to bend. Because perhaps, more than pleasing the shallow pleasures of our so-called civilized audience members, it chooses to be an honest representative of the Tawi-Tawi community instead. That it chooses a subtle and reserved filmmaking approach because there is simply no other way--it is in parallel with the peaceful and modest culture of our Muslim brothers and sisters.

Oh, but if only the Filipino audience member can finally understand that patience is an aesthetic performed by no one else but s/he. If only s/he uses this facility when encountering a film, play, prose or poetry, then works such as Thy Womb can finally achieve its significance in full circle.

'Thy Womb' requires one to exercise and thus, eventually, labor one's way to beauty. Watch it when you are fully rested, and that all of your six senses are sharp and activated. If you are willing to participate in the task of patience, then perhaps you will experience what I had experienced: I was hypnotized, melded, and purged with the film's details." 

-- Jenny Logico-Cruz, cinephile

Elevating acting to its purest and powerful form... 

"The massive weight of 'Thy Womb' has been placed on Nora Aunor's shoulders--a tall and daunting order for any actress. Yet she breezed through her role with aplomb and quiet dignity--making the audience believe that she is indeed that barren midwife toiling in some faraway island in the hope of giving joy to her husband. Nora Aunor shines because she stayed in character throughout what must have been a grueling shooting process, never faltering in her role as Shaleha. In the end, she gave the audience another gift: a glimpse of her unparalleled talent as an actor. Here, Nora elevates acting into its purest form: to not call attention to oneself, or latch on to a "big" moment and display a fireworks of emotions. What she did here was to get lost in the many nuances of her character and be the flesh and blood of her director's vision. What a brave actress she is for allowing all her faculties to be used and to inject her own passion into a most challenging role. Not a movie for all, definitely. But a movie for those who find magic in the seemingly mundane. 

Nora Aunor's performance in 'Thy Womb' brings to mind the quiet but powerful acting of German actor Brigitte Mira in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 'Fear Eats The Soul.' It is about a 60-year-old cleaning lady who falls in love with a much younger man and a black at that. Mira gave a totally absorbing performance as she essayed the pain of discrimination in many forms. Nora's portrayal also has the same unobtrusive beauty as Fernanda Montenegro's beautiful acting in the Brazilian film 'Central Station' which gave her an Oscar Best Actress nomination... She was so totally unselfconscious, so natural and effortless in ‘Thy Womb,’ making her the frontrunner in all awards ceremonies this year. Mahirap pantayan ang ginawa n'ya sa ‘Thy Womb’--to convey the complexity of a woman's emotions with a minimum of dialogue. And when she does speak, her lines are so ordinary, so matter-of-factly that you will believe that she is, indeed, the suffering Shaleha. The lovemaking between Shaleha and Bangas-An has got to be the most emotionally painful cinematic coupling in the history of Philippine cinema. Bravo La Aunor!" -- Vic Sevilla, magazine editor

marveling at magnificence

"THY WOMB may not cater to the popular audience but it is a stunning film mainly because of Nora Aunor's benchmark performance. Here it is evident---her finesse and refinement as an actress of the cinema. I pray that many people catch an otherwise non-commercial movie as this Brillante Mendoza piece if only to give due respect and honor to the artistry of the director and its superb lead actress." -- Jose Javier Reyes, award-winning scriptwriter/director, elaborates on his endorsement for ‘Thy Womb’ in one of his recent Facebook status post:

Reyes's comment concurs with an earlier Facebook post by two of the country's noted film critics:

“A quiet but richly-textured, substantial film acted with restraint and sensitivity by all the actors, led by La Aunor. Mendoza still in top form. The Superstar, too… Ronald K. Constantino calls Nora Aunor the ‘greatest actress of all time.’ Her new film lends credence to that accolade.”—Mario Hernando, member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino

"Nora Aunor is the story and the storyteller is Brillante Mendoza. Great reputation precedes the film. Aunor, the ultimate thespian, comes back to honor the festival that was once her dominion."-- Tito Valiente, chairperson of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, in his recent column reflecting on the Metro Manila Film Festival. (Click here to read the full article.)

Such affirmative assessment of the Aunor-Mendoza collaboration has proven to be a worthy consequence of the care for excellence devoted during the process of conceiving and birthing the film. For instance, exemplifying authenticity of artistry for her role as a Bajau midwife ironically cursed with her own infertility, Ms. Nora Aunor learns in this raw unedited footage how to do real-time delivery of a baby. Her performance has been the heart and soul of the year's most internationally acclaimed film that won awards for her and director Brillante Mendoza at the 69th Venice International Film Festival and the 6th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Brisbane, Australia.