Fierce, Fallible, Familiar: Essential Filipino Flicks for Women’s Month
Fierce, Fallible, Familiar: Essential Filipino Flicks for Women’s Month
Collage of women in Filipino movies. From left to right: Cecille Castillo in Karnal (1983), unknown Bontoc woman in Walang Rape sa Bontok (2014), Sandy Andolong and Gina Alajar in Moral (1982).
This is an expanded version of an article that was initially published in Molave News, written by the same author.
March 8 marks International Women’s Day, and what better way to celebrate it than by sparing some time sinking into the wide variety of women’s stories? Still underlooked in the global scene, Filipino cinema happens to be one of the places brimming with these, as there have always been an abundance of Filipinas working in front and behind the silver screen. Here are a few feminist flicks to get you started:
Brutal (1980).
You cannot talk about feminist Filipino cinema without mentioning director Marilou Diaz-Abaya and screenwriter Ricky Lee’s -al trilogy, a loose series of feminist films from the 80s whose progressiveness puts even today’s films to shame. The first installment, Brutal, is an intense drama following feminist reporter Clara (Charo Santos-Concio) as she attempts to draw a character study of a shell-shocked woman (Amy Austria) on trial for triple murder. A horrifying exploration of how modernity and misogyny hollows women out until they lose themselves.
Moral (1982).
The -al trilogy’s centerpiece, Moral, is a coming-of-age ensemble dramedy, chock-full of characters all too familiar to us. The film revolves around four best friends studying in the University of the Philippines Diliman, as they navigate through adulthood, romance, family, work, and politics during the height of the Marcos regime. As the poster slogan writes, “Somewhere in this movie, you will find yourself!”
Karnal (1983).
Concluding the -al trilogy is Karnal, which can best be described as a Fernando Amorsolo painting gone wrong. This countryside tragedy follows a newlywed bride as she comes face-to-face with the filthy underbelly of her husband’s town and family. Gruesome and gory, it’s a biting condemnation of the patriarchal values haunting rural Filipino society.
Ikaw Pa Lang Ang Minahal (1992).
A remake of William Wyler’s The Heiress, Ikaw Pa Lang Ang Minahal is a classic feminist tale of a woman— in this case, dowdy heiress Adela (Maricel Soriano)— as she tries to find herself after living a life defined solely by her dependency on men. Part coming-of-age and part-revenge fantasy, Ikaw Pa Lang Ang Minahal is a lush melodrama that reaches heights only Filipino soap operas dare. An intoxicating combination of acting powerhouses, hard-hitting dialogue, and real empathy.
Lingua Franca (2019).
One of the most lauded films of 2019, Lingua Franca is a working class drama centering on a transgender Filipina immigrant named Olivia (Isabel Sandoval, also the film’s director and screenwriter) as she vies for a green card in Trump-era America. Delving into the experiences of two underrepresented groups (transgender women and the Filipino diaspora), it tells an intimate story, whose poignancy and tenderness have hardly been replicated elsewhere.
Four Sisters and a Wedding (2013).
Ask any Filipino what their favorite local film is, and they’re bound to say that it’s Four Sisters and a Wedding. This 2013 family classic discusses what it means to be a modern Filipina woman through the complicated relationships four sisters have with one another and the unique lives they each lead. A crowd-pleaser that’ll leave you crying and laughing— maybe at the same time.
Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita (2013).
For all the young sapphics out there, Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita is a coming-of-age staple for you. You’re bound to see yourselves in the titular Anita as she forays into adolescence, experiencing everything from teenage rebellion to unrequited crushes on older women. Utterly relatable and charming, this film is what you probably wish you watched when you were a teenager.
Lorna (2014).
Director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo shifts from the stories of little girls in Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita to the mid-life crises of single, sixty-year-old women in Lorna. Adorned in pulpy romance pocketbook aesthetics, Lorna is an endlessly entertaining drama that interrogates societal expectations of motherhood and deals with the loneliness of aging.
Walang Rape sa Bontok (2014).
Has a society with zero rapists ever existed? Apparently, yes. Set in the Cordillera mountains of Northern Luzon, Walang Rape sa Bontok is a 2014 documentary that looks into an indigenous culture that, for centuries, have had no concept of rape. More than treating this phenomenon as a curiosity, director Lester Valle also explores the colonial roots of modern rape culture, proving once and for all that rape is not so much an inevitable fact as it is something learned.
This list is by no means definitive; if anything, it’s only a starting point for the thousands of other Filipino films boasting strong feminist themes. If you’re still stuck on what to watch for today, give any of these nine a shot!
