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Directed by: Ramona S. Diaz Starring: Imelda Marcos as herself The first thing I thought walking out of this movie is that it must have been very very hard for a filippino to make it. Imelda Marcos is wife of deposed (and deceased in 1989) dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the filippines with an iron fist for approximately 14 years of martial law. Their very names are polarizing in the filippines, with staunch advocates still claiming Marcos was one of the best things that has happened to the country. For director Ramona S. Diaz to make such an even-handed, even at times sympathetic documentary for one of the architects of basically the biggest crime in the country's history is an amazing feat. I say it would be hard for a filippino to make this film because it would be so easy for them to take the Michael Moore route and vent their spleen in a messy and caustic fashion that leaves no room for dialog or dissent. The film is mostly centred around Imelda herself, though it is not a traditional biopic in the normal sense. In a way the film is about what Imelda thinks and sees, and then contrasts that with the opinions of journalists, politicians, and activists who often were on-hand for the events depicted. Sometimes they agree, and other times they don't. The first half deals roughly with her history and surroundings up until now, and then presents her opinions and perceptions of the filippines now (and how the filippines perceives her). It starts with her childhood in Leyte, moving quickly to being a young beauty in Manila, and then getting quickly into the meat of the film: meeting and marrying Ferdinand Marcos. In a way this film serves as a biography of Imelda and also as a picture of the sociopolitical situation of the time. You see her meeting Quadaffi, Hussein, Reagan, and learn that she was at the time, one of the most powerful women in the world. Some of the best laugh out loud moments are when she is relating her incredibly detailed yet incredibly nonsensical theories on the nature of life, the universe, and everything. "it's like a pacman!" It's both frightening and sad to realize that Imelda's character has basically been shaped by always getting what she wants all the time, without ever dealing with complications. She is at turns, delusional, narcissistic, and megamaniacal. She states facts about her regime that are complete and total lies, contradicted by various respected sources. You get the impression that she isn't lying, but that she has in fact edited her personal reality to reflect the new 'beautiful truth'. This occurs in many cases but the most telling are: the assassination of Ninoy Acquino ("it was ultimately us who were hurt most by the assassination, as it led to us losing power"), the reported deaths of at least 30 construction workers in one of her self-glorifying construction projects, the detention of anywhere from 17,000-19,000 filippino dissidents at any one time over the 14 years of martial law ("why would we do that?"). I won't relate every single fact of the film, because a lot of them should be discovered by the viewer. In the spirit of full disclosure I will say that I am currently in the filippines (though not a filippino) and I personally think this woman should be jailed post-haste, regardless of her age (75) and her obvious mental instability. The fact that this documentary even made me interested, and in some cases almost sympathetic to her plight is evidence of its strength. It is definitely not pro-Imelda, but at the same time it isn't propagandistically Con-Imelda. It takes her words and presents them honestly. My only gripe is that they really didn't examine the role the United States played in supporting the Marcos regime. A few American talking head diplomats make some comments (including Sharon Stone's komodo dragon foot bit husband) about "containing communists" and "supporting democracy" but it's never acknowledged that without the US's continued implicit support Marcos would never have gotten as far as he did. Even the fact that the Americans sent a helicopter to get the Marcos' out when things were ugly is kind of glossed over. All in all though, this is a great example of the art of documentary and it deals with a topic that most north american audiences aren't too knowledgeable about. If you want to see something different and learn a little bit about somewhere else I would definitely suggest checking it out. It also apparently did quite well at Sundance last year, so if my opinion isn't good enough then maybe snooty-so-pretty Robert Redford's is. (first film dump original review so be kind) RATING: 5 PROS: Very even-handed, great selection of facts, intersperses humour and fact, not detailed enough to be boring but detailed enough to be interesting CONS: Might not appeal to people who have never heard of Marcos, the filippines, or those who don't enjoy documentaries in general ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390121/
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Jul 22, 2004 11:36
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 10:17 |
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I never heard of this before, but it sounds very interesting. Thanks for the review, I'll definately check it out.
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Jul 23, 2004 14:44
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