MA'ROSA ***
Cast: Jaclyn Jose, Julio Diaz, Andi Eigenmann, Felix Roco, Jomari Angeles, Baron Geisler, Mark Anthony Fernandez, Mon Confiado, Mercedes Cabral, Allan Paule, Maria Isabel Lopez.
Dir: Brillante Mendoza.
A woman from the poor district of Manila who owns a small convenience store make ends meet by selling drugs. She and her husband get busted by some corrupt cops who demand a 200,000 peso "bail". Their children each try to raise the money. This film won veteran Filipino actress Jaclyn Jose the Best Actress prize in Cannes. She's actually known here for her more restrained, subtle type of acting in an industry which tends to favor the big, emotional scenery chewing type. That's why she's such a good fit for Brillante Mendoza's films. She imbues a very lived-in, realistic quality to her performance. The film itself is kind of flawed. It's Brillante Mendoza going back to familiar territory and he did elements of this better in his previous films. It's not quite a masterpiece, I'd probably consider it mid-tier Mendoza at best, but it's still a very good film.