Angelica Olitoquit BSCoE V-5 THY WOMB Movie Review Movies of today are more on what we call the

Family Movies that are we are looking every season. Every film that is usually part of MMFF are those with excellent technology to enhance the Sound FX and Movie Graphics, and Camera Tricks, movements, and Scenes. These generations are more likely to watch films with very high comedy, magical, horror, love story, and a hard core drama. Thy Womb can be categorized as a drama, a family drama. Though family dramas still a hit on this generation, Thy Womb Movie is still different. When I enter the Cinema, I observed that The Lower box of the Cinema didnt have any people seating even until the movie started. The Upper box, where my friends and I have seated just composed of around 20 persons or less. I didnt mind of counting them all, but we are just few and I think 40% of the audiences are oldies. The movie started and my first reaction was that it appeared to look like an Indie Film. I get some kind of a dizzy on the camera movements taken while they are in the water, though it appears realistic. Birds Eye View or the Top View of the camera let me know that their camera man is riding on the helicopter as the movie screen movement shows. This movie used to have mistaken on getting a focus shots as it looks shaky. Nora Aunors make up are not well blended because they didnt put the same color in her hands and toes like what is in her face ( I saw it in the scene where Shaleha and Bangas-An is boarding to their boat from the Mosque). Lovi Poes legs while delivering a child are a bit different from her body structure as it appears bigger than her body which looks disproportion and lower parts skin is lighter from her upper body complexion. Another is the cutting of the boring parts of the movie that it took it a long time to stare at but they are just waiting for a character. This is not actually happening in some movies because they have a well-funded movie production (maybe Thy Womb not Well Funded to clear the movie holes or bugs) I dont know. So, this is why I said that it is like an indie Film. Any further, this movie is still a nice movie if you just let it be absorbed and understand. If you are just there to compare it to other movies, you will not appreciate it. This movie shows the Islamic Culture, Courtship, simplicity of living, love, religion, scenic views, military encounter of the Islamic people, and as a mother, an importance of giving a child to her husband and for the religions culture as they call it a divine grace from Allah. The movie starred with 3 major characters: Nora Aunor as Shaleha, Bembol Roco as Bangas-An, and Lovi Poe as Mersila. Shaleha is the Wife of Bangas An. Mersila, also a wife of Bangas-An is a fertile woman that can give a child to their husband that Shaleha cannot. The scene on the start which a woman giving birth to a child made me felt the hard part of being a woman. The ache you will feel on delivering the child. It made me think sometimes to not bear it if that would be the feeling. This movie let me realize how a family will be complete

if you will experience to have it. The mother showed happiness after she delivered and saw her baby as well as the father. This means how hurt it was, the good condition of the baby still worth it. A new family is completed, a mother, a father and a son. Simplicity can be a contented life to live. I see them living together as an old couple under a wooden house, wood fire place kitchen, no such appliances, gadgets, and anything that we are actually living with. They are living on fishing on their wide sea, cooking the fishes they caught, and drying it to sell in the floating market. They are also a victim of the pirates of the sea where all the fishes they caught are being stolen. They were so bad on doing it and never contented because they also put a gun shot on them, where Bangas-An was hit. That was annoying. A beautiful scenic view in the Philippine Sea was showed. The clear water, where you can see the creatures underneath. The surroundings shows peacefulness, but Im wrong. Military encounters frighten them when gun shots are everywhere. Running people in uniform made them feel that danger will somehow happen anytime. There is a scene there that Shaleha and BangasAn are both looking for a person. They ask a playing child the location of that female that leads them to the Catholic Chapel. Beside the Catholic Chapel was the Muslim Church, that shows the separation of two individual religion views of the people dwelling in that community. Suddenly it rains, Shaleha goes first inside the Catholic Chapel to get rid of a very heavy rain fall. She was totally shocked when she saw the bullets hit on the wall. The statues of the God and saint were destroyed. A sign of ruining a religious belief over firearms. Wonderful artistry on weaving was being showed as a part of their culture. A dried palm was dyed on a warm organic thing to achieve its desired color. It was weave manually and takes too long to be finished. I dont know how they calculate the proper placing of colors to achieve the diamond shapes and balance colors. I was so great. In their community, people are generous. They help someone in need of money for winning a families agreement on dowry. Every friend and even a Barangay Captain give money to help their friend get his child and new wife. A negotiator is always available for helping a friend on negotiating upon the members of the family according to acceptance and the dowry. I found out that Islamic Culture are rich in tradition. Even they are living a simple life, they have lots of money! They do have much more money than us even our house is made of heavy rocks, and got a lot of appliances and owned gadgets and devices. They even have gold jewelries, and everything in preparing for the dowry of the girls they want to marry. If a girl is a graduate of a degree, higher dowries were demanded by the parents of the girl. The celebrations of weddings are attended by the whole community, full of dances and songs. I love the song Dayang Dayang because that was my favorite when I was young. I found out that the meaning of that song was for the celebration of wedding. Colorful and elegant clothes were used by each of the visitor. Their traditional wedding are so unique, no kisses but just touching the forehead then its done. I just think of a situation that every female of their community has no other way to choose their future husband because if the parents or the family of her agreed on the suggested dowry of the man who wants to marry her, what she can all have to do is to nod on it and accept the reality even the man he will marry is too old for her, not too wealthy, or not a good looking

man. No love has felt, female there are just like a machine to produce babies to have a larger community. I foresee that their parents treat them as a thing that can produce money for dowry and can be marketed. Its like selling your own daughter without her happiness in exchange for thousand money. I dont know but it was my view. I dont even see myself sharing my husband to other girl, but in their case, it is legal to have many wives as you can until you can support the family. It was their culture, I cannot change it even I see it in as wrong treating of woman in their culture. It is hard to over think that every night you are wondering of bearing a child for the completeness of the family, even how you think that you and your husband is having a perfect relationship without it. Being a parent completes the marriage. All you have to do is to get recommendation for from friends to match your husband to someone, to let your husband an experience of being a father. A sacrifice of being a lover and a partner for the sake of its happiness. I was a bit shock upon the scene where Nora Aunor does a bed scene with Bembol Roco at that age. I wasnt expecting. I forgot that it is her role as an actress, to do anything what the director said. It is just awkward for me, or I am not just used to watching that kind of scenes. The characters performances are great even they talk minimal. The story ended when Mersila gave birth to their child of her husband. (maybe because we all know that Mersila said to Bangas-An that he must separate her first wife after giving birth as a condition) For me, it was a painful thing that would happen to any wife that really loves their husband. She did everything to make his husband happy but by not being able to give birth of a child, his husband will be separated from her. People on the Cinema said Yun na yun? and wait until the movie scoring ended and didnt believe that it was the end of the story. I observed that when the lights turn on, some oldies are sleeping and while in the middle of the story, some are chatting. I can say that this movie is the first one that can be pirated, since no cinema official is patrolling for someone taking a video copy. We are allowed to watch it again and again because the movie does have enough space for new comers. They do know that the movie hall cannot make it to full crowd. But then, it is a very interesting story if you let it be realized how hard to be a mother, to be able to find ways for giving things that you can never give, to find other woman than for the completeness of your husband and for the divine grace for the religion, the sacrifices, for showing the cultural or traditional practices, contentment with love, the reality of life. I am not a professional movie reviewer. Though I was able to write this, an opinion is still an opinion. I was intended to criticize the movie for a review, not to mock or hurt some Noranians or the movie makers of Thy Womb. Best success to the movie, and how I wish it would get many more awards inside and out of the country, as it will be a Filipino Film Pride.