‘The Wedding Dance’ REVIEW: The pains and pressures of childlessness
‘The Wedding Dance’ REVIEW: The pains and pressures of childlessness
I am a huge fan of Cinemalaya. Despite how it always coincides with stormy seasons, it’s a good time to bond with like-minded people and immerse oneself in our film culture. I only started going to the annual film festival last August 2022, and since then, I’ve sworn to attend every year and support our very own filmmakers. What makes me love Cinemalaya more is when it highlights the “independent” part of its name. Being a platform for the marginalized and amplifying the stories that we wouldn’t have otherwise heard of.
As I was attempting to complete my Cinemalaya marathon this year, I heard a lot of people ranking The Wedding Dance at the bottom of their lists. As a completionist, that did not stop me from watching the movie. From when it was announced as a finalist last year to watching its teasers, it piqued my interest already. I got to secure a seat on its last day where it was screened before the closing film Bona.
What got me hooked in particular was how it revolved around the Kalinga community. I’ve always had a fascination with films that tackle our indigenous groups as being a folk dancer made me appreciate our culture even more. It’s also refreshing to watch a movie about these people that’s not a documentary — just a story set in their community made and told by themselves as the majority of the cast and crew are Igorots and Cordillerans.
I was confused with the direction of the film as it started. I didn’t know where it was taking me, all I know is that it was slow. Whether that was a bad thing or not, I would only get my answer as it progressed. The color grading was also used to denote whether the scene playing out was a flashback or the present. This, however, could have used more smoothing out and not just focused on making a distinction.
As I made it halfway through, I recalled that the film, directed by Julius Lumiqued, was based on the short story of the same name. Then it made sense to me — lots of inserted stories, unnecessary subplots, and weird transitions. It’s another case of an adaptation’s quality being compromised just to lengthen the material.
I enjoyed the actual wedding dance. The rituals and prayers to Kabunyan felt realistic. I wouldn’t know, but I could see how careful and reverent they were every time they raised their hands or made sounds with the gangsas.
The story then comes into clarity when we reach the climax — a confrontation scene. At this point, I realized how good it was on paper. Divorce and familial traditions. Two contradicting concepts that showed that, despite the Cordillerans being a progressive community where divorce is a customary law, there is still pressure to have a child.
Childlessness is even said to be the most prevalent reason for divorce. This is not to be blamed on our being Filipino, but more so on the patriarchy. Women are pressured to be fertile and bear many kids to keep their husbands’ bloodline alive.
The translation of these themes to the film gets a little lost as it gets caught up with the pain of love in memory. The lead actors, Mai Fanglayan and Arvin Balageo, were alright. Sometimes, they were so good that it felt like they were overacting and we’re witnessing camp. The climactic confrontation was my favorite scene and even reminded me of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. It hurt, though no tears dropped from my eyes as the scene was interspersed with multiple flashbacks.
After the screening, I read Amador T. Daguio’s short story. Like I expected, it was good on paper. And it hurt like hell. The literature, in relation to the film, began in medias res and touched more on their painful goodbye. I kept coming back to the scenes in the film and I’d say Lumiqued gave justice to Daguio’s work — to an extent.
Execution is key. There were lots of sudden black cuts. The sound design was a little off. In some scenes, you can never tell whether to empathize with the characters or to laugh. The Wedding Dance might not be the best Cinemalaya film this year, but its attempt to dissect patriarchy through the lens of marriage in the Kalinga community makes it worth watching.
‘The Wedding Dance’ premiered last August 8, 2024 at the 20th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival as part of the Full Length Main Competition category.
