For tourists from Manila, or further afield, the Filipino province of Isabela is where the popular festival of Bambanti is held – a time when the local farm produce is vaunted and gigantic scarecrows liven up the brightly coloured parades. But this abundance is not shared out equally on these lands. Belyn’s already modest living conditions have dramatically worsened since her husband’s recent death. Fleeing her creditors, she assumes with her mother the financial burden of her three children as best she can. Every weekend, accompanied by her son Popoy, the young woman leaves the rice paddies for town, where she works as washerwoman for her wealthy sister-in-law. The routine of this daily grind, brightened by Popoy’s good humour, falls apart when the boy is accused of stealing. Zig Dulay explores the terrible hold that rumour and its catalysts – beliefs and disloyalty – have on people’s minds. True, the very people who worry about what others say can destroy the reputation of someone “close”, but the director takes care to pinpoint a particular form of resistance: the appeasing and deeply moving wisdom of a child.
A.G.
A.G.
