A best picture winner of the 2011 Cinema One originals in the Philippines,
Ka Oryang
(directed by Sari Lluch Dalena) stood out in the Los Angeles Asian
Pacific Film Festival screening last May 14 at the CGV Cinema in
Koreatown.
Ka Oryang is a powerful story about Gregoria dela Cruz
(Alessandra de Rossi), a doctor engaged in medical missions in the
villages in the Philippines during the martial law years. She decided to
help a wounded guerilla of the New People’s Army (NPA) and meets NPA
comrade Noli (Joem Bascon), with whom she gets romantically involved.
She goes back into her medical world, until one night, the military
police arrested her and other women in the village. This is the
beginning of a horrible life inside the detention center, where the
women suffer the abuses of the vicious Captain (Emilio Garcia). The
women -- some of whom are pregnant -- held a hunger strike.
But this did not stop the violation of human rights. Meanwhile, Noli
who is also detained, escapes. Ka Oryang’s child is born and raised in
the detention center. Finally, Ka Oryang gets released with her young
son. The film ends with the tragic assassination of Ka Oryang with her
innocent son crying endlessly by her side.
Ka Oryang Director Sari Lluch Dalena (Inquirer.net photo)
The
film is realistic, with the horrific scenes of torture of political
detainees. What stood out in the work of Sari Dalena are her visuals and
the artistic style of extreme close ups of the eyes, the pregnant
stomach—all metaphors. The tight shots of Nanay Rizal (Amable Quiambao),
who becomes a symbol of the women militants, shows the skills of Dalena
in composition and detail. The film has beautiful exterior shots of
nature -- birds flying, the rustling of leaves in the forest and the
free-flowing river. The song Tulog na Bunso likewise, adds emotion to
the love of one’s mother to her son. However, the calmness and toning
down of melodrama sometimes bogs the film down.
In an interview published in the
Philippine Daily Inquirer last year (after winning the 2011 Cinema One Original’s Best Picture), Sari said, “I’ve been dying to make
Ka Oryang.
I wanted to show what really happened during martial law. When I was
growing up, my dad (Danilo Dalena) was drawing political cartoons and
mom’s (Julie Lluch) circle of friends was made up of political
detainees—a fascinating breed. I learned a lot from them!"
Ka Oryang is a film about fearless women, who have
sacrificed their lives for the principles of freedom and justice. It
dramatizes the plight of political prisoners, particularly women who are
ruthlessly humiliated, raped and brutalized. This film reminds us of
the evils of martial law and never to allow such violations of human
rights to happen again.
Source:
http://www.asianjournal.com/entertainment/83-entertainment/15992-ka-oryang-a-tribute-to-women-detainees-.html
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