Inang Yaya (Pablo Biglang-awa & Veronica Velasco/Philippines/2006)
The Diamond Star playing the “Inang Yaya” role despite her “Taray Queen” image, still manages to carry an excellent, emotionally- loaded, and unrelentingly passionate job. There could be no other better option for the role than her. In fact, I would even say that if there is only one Independent film Maricel Soriano could be leading then that is “Inang Yaya”, and the reason is simple, she is totally convincing. You won’t argue with me if I say that this movie gave her Best Actress nominations in FAP, FAMAS, URIAN, YCC and even winning the award in Golden Screen. The calmness, the posture, the projection of the voice, the timidity that is usually associated with the economic status of a person and the nature of her job sweetly uniting with the merged stereotypes of a mother and a ‘yaya’ elevates the very simple and almost uneventful narrative. Thus, I can say that the film is not imagining itself as something bigger than life but instead something as little and yet as loving as creating a ‘cupcake birthday cake’ for a stuffed toy, reprimanding over a 50-peso sticker, and crying because of an unappreciated pink and imitation rubber shoes, which nevertheless results to one of the most undemanding but satisfying films I’ve ever seen.
The cast is not just one of the strongest part of the film but actually, one of the strongest cast ever been done at least for me of course. Aside from the captivating performance of Soriano, the girls Tala Santos as Ruby, the dark-skinned and a little deprived from the comfort of being a rich kid and almost disheartened by the comfort of living in a big house and being friends with her mother’s ‘alaga’ Louise, played by Erika Oreta. Sunshine Cruz and Zoren Legaspi as the employer of Norma and parents of Louise are both cinematically believable transforming their sequences into familiar real-life images of a well-off workaholic couple.
The film is about the extension of a mother’s love, from her daughter to another one she has treated like a daughter as well. During Norma’s soliloquy at the late part of the film, when she is saying that when is asked who between her daughter Ruby and ‘alaga’ Louise she loves the more, the answer for her is that she doesn’t has to choose. She loves both of them and not because Ruby is her daughter (by blood, and all the legal and cultural connotations it may bring to it) doesn’t necessarily means she has to opt her, and that she loves Louise less because she is only an ‘alaga’ and not a real daughter. Another thing that is actually impressive about the film is that it is an aberrant one but still it manages to keep the non-conformist aspect of it in the heart-warming form and content of Inang Yaya.
Almost a realist approach, and understandable is the independent filmmaking technique of a single camera and less flashy camera movements, the film has a collected pace of the plot. Pablo Biglang-awa and Veronica Velasco understand how great the tendency of the film being a bore if not for the good and ardent handling of simple sequences and turn them into experiences that will make us appreciate the two sides of life: tiresome but loving working life of an adult person and the colourful and happy playing lives of children. To put it in other words—of one’s present and the reminiscing of her past, and of one’s present and ignorance of the future.
Inang Yaya is a simple and a beautiful piece of film. Subtle and smooth, the movie tells the story of being a mother times two. The ending where the family of Louise has to go to Singapore and say goodbye to Norma and Ruby punctuates not the love, but only it left the end open to whatever must be happening in the thereafter of a connection divided by seas and distinguished by two different lands. I do not wish to think of this as a reason to say that the mother should be with the daughter and therefore should be away from the ‘other’ daughter. The ending as I’ve mention is not the ending but rather a proof how great the times were when they were all been together, as well as reality is concerned.
No comments:
Post a Comment