In this meandering, indecisive documentary on life in the turbulent Philippines a few years before dictator Ferdinand Marcos was finally thrown out of the country, director and writer Werner Schroeter covers extensive ethnic and sociological territory without presenting a coherent viewpoint or perspective that would sort it out. Interviews with experts on the religious, political, and economic situation in the country provide some background for the average viewer, but scenes of unusual religious rites tend to sensationalize rather than fairly illustrate beliefs. In the same type of exaggeration that does not seem to connect with reality, American propaganda films from World War II on the liberation of the Philippines are contrasted with film clips on Marcos' dictatorship. The viewing public may have been better served by a less theatrical and more substantial approach to this culturally complex nation.
by Eleanor Mannikka
synopsis
