The summer of this year I had my internship at ABS-CBN Publishing. From the interview to the first few days I considered were the most nerve-wracking times of my life. It was my second job experience, but my first time indulging into it like I was actually working. (Okay, so to clear things up, I had my first job as a writer and researcher for a San Francisco-based cocktail blog which I had to do online.)
The first few days I felt like a fish out of water. Everyone around me were adults and, well, let's say I didn't get their wavelength at the time yet. I honestly felt like I was at the wrong place and wished that I was designated to Metro Magazine instead of Metro Home and Entertaining magazine. I craved for fun and relativity back then and having to go with my boss to furniture shops didn't help ease the anxiety I felt. That all changed until I found out about the other gigs she and her friends had besides from publishing and interior designing.
Apparently my boss was one of the producers of Mariquina - an entry to the Cinemalaya 2014 Film Festival. Being delighted that I, too, was a fan of local films - she asked me what I thought of it.
"I liked it a lot," I smiled while I was seated at the back of her SUV. She thanked me a couple of times, saying that she really appreciated it since they worked real hard producing it. "It's a great movie, I can totally understand why Barbie Forteza was mad at Ricky Davao. He cheated big time."
I cringed to that thought as I'm typing this down.
No cheating happened in Mariquina, 2014 Lyn.
Fortunately, my boss didn't think of me as idiotic during the time I told her that even of all people I could say that to, it was her. One of the pioneers who knew the ins and outs of the film. After a few minutes of flashbacks remembering the scenes and debating with myself if I should turn the conversation around, I struck up the nerve to genuinely say that I had the wrong interpretation eversince I watched Mariquina which was last September 2014. For 6 months, I blamed Ricky Davao for cheating on his wife and causing his own death.
So I've decided to go back to my blog and straighten things out. I love Mariquina and it is probably one of the saddest movies ever made in the local independent film scene, Kasal being next on my list.
If you've seen Mariquina and experienced the downfalls of some of the characters, you'd know why it was so gravitating.
Barbie Forteza who played teenage Imelda Guevarra did a great job in her role, her scene most especially when she was talking to her mother on the phone. She delivered the role perfectly and staged the realities of a broken daughter who was lost, trying to understand what went wrong in her once perfect family.
Mylene Dizon was also spot-on. She showed the struggles of moving on from her past issues with her father who, despite passing away, she had a hard time forgiving herself due to the treatment she showed to her father when she still lived with him. Her biggest concern in the film was getting her father shoes before his burial and of course having heavy flashbacks in between.
Ricky Davao who played as Romeo Guevarra, in my opinion, is what you call an almost-perfect father. He had everything planned out, really. And if you think about it, the only fault he had was being passive. He knew that something was coming when his wife started to refuse having sex with him and who could deny the fact that his business partner was all googly-eyes for him? But maybe what I liked most about his character was his unfathomable love for his daughter, Imelda. Even when shit hit the fan (their shoe-making business falling to bankruptcy, his wife leaving him for Hawaii, his daughter hating on him for the next years of her life/thinking that it was all his fault their family fell apart and his business partner treated him more than just business), he kept his composure being a loving dad to Imelda. It was evident that he loved her deeply which caused him is own death, putting the blame on himself when in fact, he didn't really do anything wrong.
Cheryl Ramos as Leonor Guevarra also executed well as a loving and supportive housewife. She realized mid-movie that love wasn't enough for her and Romeo to be together which made her decide to leave him and her family.
Bing Pimentel as Tess... probably the most hated member in the whole cast. Maybe she didn't mean it, we can never really tell but she, too, loved Romeo wholeheartedly. Fortunately, towards the end of the movie she had a smoke with Mylene Dizon who laid out that there wasn't any bad blood between them.
If I could rate this movie, I'd give it an 8.
The casting was great. Most of the cast are veterans which adds to the credibility of the film. Visuals were also up there. I liked the rustic feel of the colors used since it worked well with the film's setting of vintage. Cinematography was seamless. Every scene was still-worthy.
Also, the plot and delivery was a nice take on showing both sides of the story in broken families with third-party issues. It wasn't an in-your-face kind of thing which is common in most mainstream shows and films. The only weakness in my opinion was there wasn't any hard-hitting plot twist or climax to the film itself since sadness was felt throughout after the first few scenes of when Barbie grew up, showing the real score on what her family really dealt with.
P.S. I really liked Imelda Marcos' cameo in the film.
All in all, my boss joked to me that she told her co-producer that next time, they should make a happier film since this one was sad af. Nevertheless, I loved this film and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in anything melancholic.
P.P.S. Still shots were taken from Mariquina's official trailer on YouTube.
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