My film Review on DEKADA 70s by Lualhati Bautista

FILM REVIEW ON PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

Title of the movie: Dekada 70s

Film Company: Star Cinema

The Director: Chito S. Roño

Scriptwriter: Lualhati Bautista

Major Characters:

Amanda Bartolome (Vilma Santos)
She is the caring mother of five. And she questions herself if she really is a good mother to her sons. She wants to have a job but her husband doesn't let her have.

Julian Bartolome (Christopher de Leon)
- Supports his eldest son's efforts to rail against the government while simultaneously refusing to overlook Amanda's wish to find a job. .He doesn’t express his feelings very well.

Jules Bartolome (Piolo Pascual)
- He is the eldest son of Amanda. One of the highest in rank in NPA.

Isagani Bartolome (Carlos Agassi)
- Is the second son who oppose to the idea of his eldest brother. And is in the US navy.

Emmanuel Bartolome (Marvin Agustin)
- Is the third son. He writes illegal political exposes.

Jason Bartolome (Danilo Barrios)
- Fell victim to a corrupt police department. And he loves rock and roll music.

Synopsis:

Dekada 70 is a bittersweet tale of love in the face of hate, hope in the face oppression, and new life in the midst of death. It stars a middle class Filipino Family who became aware of the political policies that have in the end let to tyranny and a state of martial law. It merely focuses on how the family of Bartolome correlates with each other in times of problems like this. Set in the 70's, urban Metro Manila, Amanda Bartolome is a middle-class mother of five young men. Amanda acts as a supposed symbolism of detachment. First of all, she was a mother, a housewife. Such were not considered integral parts of society during those times. She was not the breadwinner. She did not experience the foremost effects of the decline of the Philippines economy back then. She is thinking of how she would raise her child in the world with no assurance. Her examination of her oft-unappreciated role in modern society, and how she struggles to find for herself a sense of purpose and identity while suffering through the very pit of the nation's disintegration. It is a story of a mother and her family, how society around her affects her family. It is a tale of she becomes torn between the letter of the law or her responsibility as a mother. Amanda and the father, Julian, had suspicions of their son's inclination to become an anti-Government winger when they found copies of rebellious pamphlets lying around the house. It was when they confronted their son with it that he told them of his decision

Criticism:

a. Musical Score:

- The theme song was great “Hanggang” by Wency Cornejo. The sound effects were genuine. They made it very realistic.

b. Cinematography:

- The Cinematography is sensible because they really make it a point that all must be in coordination. Things like the style of the hair, the fashion of that decade and the feeling of the 70s are there.

c. Screenplay:

- The screenplay was effective as a movie because for the actors and actresses they made the scene very well. It was for me a Realistic Film.

d. Performance:

- The performance is effective. It made me feel the real essence of the story to make the Filipino realize the true meaning of Nationalism.

e. Rating for the Film:

- I’ll rate it with 4 stars because even though I’m not fond of watching regime genres movies, I still enjoyed watching it.