Film Review: Barber’s Tales (Mga Kuwentong Barbero) by Director Jun Robles Lana
“Men are deemed competent by default de fault in a lot of disciplines like car repairs or computers. Women are deemed incompetent by default in these areas.” (reddit) Generalizations like this are examples of double standards that shape how people view the relationship of gender to various fields of interest. Generalizations like “Women can't be logical; men can't be emotional.” (reddit) pretty much sums up sexism for the past millennia. Director Jun Robles Lana was able to address this using the medium of o f film with the work o f art that is “Mga Kuwentong Barbero” Barbero” or Barber’s Tales. Director Jun Robles Lana’s Barber’s Tales Tales created a place where a lot of nothing is happening. happening. However, this doesn’t mean nothing is developing in in the story. This film is a character study of the female protagonist named Marilou, played by Eugene Do mingo, who became a widow after her husband, who owns a barbershop, died. For this reason, she is now forced to either work in the urban areas of Manila or to manage her husband’s barbershop which was passed down only onto men until Marilou. Being passive-aggressively oppressed as a woman, she eventually discovers freedom and liberation. Marilou’s Marilou’s tr t r ansformation ansformation is one o f the biggest feats this movie has to o ffer. As you go along the film, you will notice subtle changes in her to ne and facial expressions expressions that t hat indicates change in character. These changes in character are the result of new found interactions that were introduced by the death of her husband, you could almost say that her husband was dragg ing her down. As a matter of fact, by the end of the movie you will be able to distinguish the newly developed character that is the independent and firm Marilou. By way of example, in the climax of the film you will observe a feat from Marilou few would be able to expect. Indeed, her husband’s death was truly the turning point of this film. As previously stated, this film was a character study of Marilou’s Marilo u’s character. Furthermore, the film was also describing Marcos’ martial law era. The writer and director of this film, Jun Lana, was able to draw parallels between those t hose two well defined themes of the film. What I liked about it is how Jun Lana was able to make those tho se two themes work together. In particular, I liked how he cut from one scene to another with strong contrast, you then are able to make a clear distinction on what theme is developing for that certain scene. For example, there is a specific scene where a military soldier was searching the house of a character in hopes of finding a rebel. The way the camera moved was totally different from the other parts of the film, it was dynamic and erratic. On the subject of camera work, I appreciate directors who save up on a specific kind o f shot when it is truly needed. As a re ference, the soldier in the house scene was made impactful and effective because Jun Lana rarely makes the camera ca mera move. Incidentally, I liked how the t he overall tone of the film matches the feel and look of the film. The visuals were similar to sepia which amplifies the feeling of idleness of the town. Additionally, the way Jun Lana presented the war between the rebels and the soldiers was perfect. It was ominous, only in the background and never in the frame. The film achieves being funny, depressing, and intense at different times and I think this is the main reason why the film is so good.
Conversely, I had a few problems with this film. First of all, I didn’t like how Jun Lana made one particular event in the film into a montage. I hated it in that particular moment because the event works in such a way that the main protagonist is caught in a constant tension between her and some group of people. Considering this, making a montage out of that event will entirely remove the tension and make the film less immersive than it should have been. Secondly, the ending of the movie was far too dragged out and it was cheesy as hell. Thirdly, the context of the film was sometimes forced onto the audience. For example, there were multiple scenes where characters just blurted out his/her opinion regarding a specific topic. Before I start with my last complaint, I would like to indicate that I’m the type of person that enjoys watching a movie more than once so that I may enjoy the subtle details I didn’t notice during my first watch. With this in mind, I noticed that the death of Marilou’s husband wasn’t convincing at all. There was no point in the film where this was foreshadowed at all, it just happened. But trust me when I say that t his film more than makes up for its presentation errors. As I end this review I would like you to read the quote below. I am giving this one a 7/10. “Marilou’s journey from someone who does not believe in the revolution and fighting for social upheaval is one of the staunchest elements of the film’s screenplay. It is a slow, gradual awakening and deaths are the source of life in this woman’s rebirth into a new ideology.” (businessmirror)
Works Cited
reddit. "Reddit, what gender-based double standards are there? (Serious)" reddit: the front page of the internet. 2014. reddit. "What gender-based double standard infuriates you the most?" reddit: the front page of the internet. 2013. bussinessmirror. "Incredible, but these ‘Barber’s Tales’ are true." BusinessMirror | A broader look at
today's business. 3 June 2015.
