A Reaction Paper for the Film Sisa On March 10, 2012, a 4:30 Saturday afternoon we were required to watch a film titled Sisa, directed by CJ Andaluz and Frank Rivera which was based on a character of Dr. Jose Rizal in his novel Noli Me Tangere for a PI10 class. I and a classmate have arrived in D.L. Umali a little bit late but not late enough to obstruct my understanding and comprehension of the movie. We were a bit jolted of how many people are going to watch the film, it is just, many. At first we were a bit uncomfortable though because there were no other seats vacant and we are forced to watch standing as with the many others who happens to arrive in the hall a little bit late. But later throughout the movie some people just did not finished the movie and got out, so we occupied their seat. The story revolves around Sisa, a character in Noli Me Tangere. But this film is not the "real" story of Sisa but a spin-off of the original, it is because her story is recreated by the film makers in order to assume a better portrayal of her in an otherwise immature or not in-depth enough personalization of her in the novel. Sisa was acted out by Jodi Sta. Maria which I think is not a good choice because of her whitish complexion which is un-Filipina. I just satisfied myself of the thought that maybe she got some Spanish blood in her as the novel did not mention any of her lineage. The film, story wise, is a good recreation of Sisa as it is innovative and creative in a sense that nobody I have ever attempted to do this kind of thing before. Who would think of creating a series of love stories and tragedies of an under embodied deranged character of a story? This film is the first I have heard so I became initially captivated by how the story of this familiar character but with little history will be recreated, and it did not disappointed me. The film is set in the Philippines under the Spanish control. Sisa in the film is portrayed as a typical 19th century women characterized by being elusive, reserved, "mahinhin" and soft spoken person. The story started from the love story of Sisa before she became the wife of Pedro. This part, for me is a creative part of the recreation of her story as it is said that she have a different love interest other than Pedro and it also resolved my confusion of how Sisa married such a good for nothing husband. It is implied here that Pedro is harassing Sisa in the first place because Pedro is obsessed with her and in return Sisa did not have any affection for him but for another person named Juanito. And because of insecurities, disappointment or maybe just sheer maniacal way of expressing himself, Pedro raped Sisa. After this Sisa was forced to marry Pedro and this is the part where the actual story of Sisa started in the novel Noli Me Tangere. The direction of this part of the film for me is funny because of how the way Pedro was portrayed; you will either pity him because of how the way she was being rejected by Sisa or hate him because of his way of approaching her. All in all I think this part is pure substance but lacks creativity in the direction of the acting of the actor/actress; trite, generic and funny. The middle part though gave my compliments to the film because it carried out and manifested the full potentials of the crew involved. The story continues from the marriage of Sisa to her actual story in the novel. The relationship of Sisa and Pedro is changed from the novel as he was portrayed still as an irresponsible father but with a catch, the film just intensified his being irresponsible, and gambling-addicted husband into a still irresponsible and gambling-addicted person but with the addition of being maniac, inhuman, sadist, sexually aggressive to the point that I thought of him as being schizophrenic, in short, a living demon. But I like it though because it is an essential component of the building of the mood of the film. The film became more serious at this point because there was no absolutely no humor, just pure sadist- martyr interaction compared to the earlier part. This is also the part where the story of Basilio and Crispin stems out. Given that Filipinos are expert in sadist-martyr, rich-poor, bully-underdog, you name it, portrayal, the direction of the brother's plight is emotionally moving. The later part is where the entire story's complication has resolved. I consider it as the best part of the film because of the world class acting of Jodi Sta. Maria showed here. It should be noted that this is the part of her story where her transition from being a caring mother and destiny-molested person into a deranged woman. That transition is the best acting I have ever seen from a Filipina and it makes me proud to think that we, after all this decades of soap operas, have become masters of drama and tragedy. In conclusion I really recommend this film to every Filipino at heart. Truly, this film is a masterpiece. It showcased and represented the talents of Filipinos/Filipinas when it comes to a drama/tragedy movies building of the mood, creating of the story, acting out of the scene, the lightings, the ambiance, the actor/actress, it is just pure heart.
Review of Sisa
