Movie Review: Sisa could have redeemed herself on this one

New York City – The Asia Society theatre was full, and the applause after the film was immense on the East Coast premiere of the movie Sisa, starring the enchanting Hilda Koronel and written and directed by Jun Robles Lana.

‍Sisa, an entry to the 49th Asian American Film Festival, started remarkably well. It’s a period piece set at in the early 1900s, where the waning resistance of Filipinos against the new colonialist America took place.  

‍The movie is valuable for bringing to life a generally unknown period in our history classes. American occupation in the Philippines was the bloodiest of our colonial past, as modern historians cite.  

‍The central character Sisa gives a rich remembrance for Filipino audiences, as the battered and deranged woman in Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. Her name alone and the grandiosity of Koronel in the title role prompted me to watch the movie.

‍The story is set in a reconcentrado, or a military camp which employs Filipinos for labor serving American soldiers. Director of photography Carlo Canlas Mendoza does breathtaking cinematography. I love those angled silhouette shots and flickering flames and dramatic transitions.

‍Inside the camp, I see the upbeat sarcasm and pent-up agony of the villagers against their new colonial master, as well as the conscious effort of the American teacher to civilize them using education, western etiquette, and oversized gowns.

‍Those are priceless details that made me laugh and feel sad for our ancestors who suffered the loss of loved ones in the war, while enduring the abuse and put-downs as “idiots.”

Eugene Domingo delivered powerfully as Delia, who despite her trauma, remained critical-minded, courageous, and nurturing as a mother and friend.

‍As the movie unfolds, we know Sisa as a spy, plotting to blow up the camp in time for the visit of the representatives of the Taft Commission which will grant pardon to the surrendering hukbo nga bayan. At last, Sisa has agency, the opposite of the Noli’s pitiful unfortunate character.

‍The story grips on the brutality escalated by the rape of Leonor, played by actress Jennica Garcia, and the murder of the teenager Nena, portrayed by Angelica Nicholle Sanoy. Both actresses naturally portrayed the sweet side of Filipino women.  

‍The tragedies of Leonor and Nena emboldened the villagers to fight back. Then the unthinkable happens.

The movie loses its behavioral sense towards the climax. I will be very detailed here, being a movie buff.

The kitchen scene, where the women are to prepare the poison food is dragged by long dramatic goodbyes. Here we go again, I said to myself, getting stuck to the slow-paced sentimentality, typical of Filipino movies. The scene is meant for urgency, like detonating a bomb kind of thrill, not for lengthy lines.

‍And of all misfortunes, Sisa decides to poison her friend Leonor in anticipation of her betrayal. I reckon, love for freedom is higher than friendship. ‍But Sisa also locks the door of the dining area, trapping everybody in. What is Sisa thinking?

‍Finally, the womenfolk, after the overstretched goodbyes, does the perfect tactic. They serve poison food that killed everyone: the katipuneros who allied with US and American soldiers and officials.

‍This is victorious: the winning moment by women. But it didn’t end there.

‍The movie sinks into ridiculousness as Sisa and the women burn the dining area, after successfully killing everyone. They burn themselves too. But they won the moment. Why burn themselves? Why is there monotone on that victory? There is not even a hint to justify that self-infliction, that (maybe) it’s better to die than live as a colonial slave. Ano ba, Sisa?

‍I dropped my jaw and my frustration went to the roof.

‍Writers are gods who can decide to elevate or put down a character to make sense to storytelling and providing inspiration. Lana didn’t allow Sisa to shine as the plotting freedom fighter by going suicidal. Lana’s character development is not convincing here. The suicide-by-arson scene is foolish.

It would have been more inspirational if the triumphant women walked away from the camp as the last warriors standing on the new American colony. And a postscript into the Philippines’ American colonial era. But that’s just me.

‍This movie failed to redeem Sisa and honor the many women who fought for freedom in their time. My friends and I went home ballistic.