Mario O’ Hara is a prolific character in the foundation of our nation’s own cinematic identity. His prominence goes without question as his oeuvre gave birth to some of the best films of the 70’s and the 80’s, all of which lay bare the harrowing truths of the everyday Filipino life. Among his muses is Nora Aunor–hailed as the country’s “Superstar”–who had worked with O’Hara on several films, among which are Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos, Bakit Bughaw ang Langit?, Gaano Kita Kamahal and Condemned. Arguably their best work together as a pair, one that would rival that of Scorsese and De Niro’s or Tarantino and Jackson’s, Bulaklak sa City Jail–1984 Metro Manila Film Festival’s grand slam winner–is a tale of female empowerment in a patriarchal society, an exercise in observation of its female characters struggling to survive in the cruel society and a revelation of the many injustices, gendered or not, that Filipinos encounter in their lifetime.
The film centers on the incarceration of a bar singer named Angela Aguilar (Aunor), accused of frustrated murder by her lover’s wife. As she enters the prison, she witnesses the struggle of many others like her who have been cursed by the universe: Juliet (Gina Alajar), who is convicted of estafa only because of her desire to give her son a better life; Viring (Perla Bautista), who has killed her husband who had been abusing her and her children for the longest time; Luna (Celia Rodriguez), who has been going in and out of prison because of prostitution which she is forced to do as she has the same intent as Juliet’s. There are many other characters in this ensemble-driven narrative, each of which contributing to the development of Angela’s character as the film unveils her pregnancy and her desire to escape the musky and foul dungeon that is shackling her and her offspring from the freedom that they both rightfully deserve.
The female characters are shown with honesty and truthfulness, Inside the prison cell lies a labyrinth of deceit and support. Each vignette gives life to the women as their struggles are intricately shown, their subconscious desires revealed. What they all have in common are their desires to conquer life by the teeth and to escape the bars that are keeping them from succeeding. There are those like Angela and Juliet who are willing to support each of the other characters every step of the way with their idealistic beliefs and there are those like Barbie (Mitch Valdez) and Tonya (Zenaida Amor) who will stop at nothing to get what they want even if it means risking the life of a fellow woman. No matter what their sense of purpose is–malevolent or virtuous–we see their perspectives as contributing factors in how society is shaped and sculpted.
Piece by piece, O’ Hara inserts the bitter verities these women have to undergo in the hopes of finding justice and peace in this chaotic and cruel world. The women’s odysseys are that of social injustice and of suppressed freedom. Ranging from forcing one’s self to accept what is “suggested” by lawyers who have taken the verdict and the court’s decision upon their hands, to having one’s child be taken away from its parent, with the sole reason that the child’s life is unsafe inside the prison, only to find out that the child’s life has taken a turn for the worse — O’Hara unveils the oppression experienced by each character through a functionalist lens as the women wage war against a patriarchal society that had trampled them to the ground. They beg not help from any other man like some Disney fairy tale; instead, they rely on their values, their sense of worth to conquer the obstacles barricading their path to achieving freedom. In one scene, we see one woman trying to get away from the police in a sea of trams, trapped and nowhere else to go, despite having escaped prison to exact vengeance. In another, we see our champion inside an animal den in Manila Zoo, covered with blood and mud, flashlights all on her as she begs her newborn’s life to be spared.
Below are some of the drugs that the doctor may prescribe to you to help lower your blood pressure or help prevent levitra prescription you from having a bowel movement. This drug can be ordered online and the various techniques regarding its dosage and all can also be viagra without prescription obtained online. cheap tadalafil uk We will take you through these steps in this regard too. As a general guide, Parkinson’s appears to affect around 0.2%-0.3% of the general population and appears to affect seniors more frequently, with about 90% of documented cases being diagnosed in those over sixty years of age. viagra 100mg mastercard
O’ Hara shows no fear in how he creates the mad world of Aunor and co. The restoration of the film has made its technical aspects become more appreciable with its stark cinematography and intricately woven storytelling made possible through its editing. More importantly, the film gives importance to its sound (or at times lack thereof). The quiet moments are given of due importance and as the camera pans through the characters, their pain and struggle are actualized on the screen, creating an empathetic connection to its audience.
The film fully realizes its potential by maximizing its ensemble without simply throwing them to the void as we see the characters grow and give growth to Angela. And while we see Perla Bautista, Gina Alajar, Celia Rodriguez and Mitch Valdez showcase their thespic prowess, heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a Nora Aunor scorned. Aunor gives a fully-embraced, fully-realized performance as a woman maltreated by society, one that requires only the intensity of her eyes and the silence that catapults such intensity to its peak for her perfect performance to be achieved. It is a distinctly Nora sort of performance (and there is nothing wrong with that). She’s naught but a Superstar without any reason.
Bulaklak sa City Jail is a classic, no questions asked. It blossoms in the depths of hell as its group of women hold each other’s hands despite their lack of power to conquer those that had dared put them down. Lualhati Bautista’s writing comes to life and enthralls us with what she has written, which is a dedication to all the men and women who have had to suffer from the pangs of our broken system. The film, thanks to its restoration, will continue to be told to every single generation as we understand the importance of freedom that these people (the story’s characters and the filmmakers) had given to us and that we should never take the little ounces of freedom we now are able to enjoy for granted. And with Angela’s acquittal, we too are acquitted of the more horrifying ordeals they had to go through.
