Insiang

A movie considered to be Philippines director Lino Brocka’s best, Insiang (1976) is a movie that recounts the transformation of young and innocent Insiang to circumstantial manipulative lady, seeking revenge on her selfish mother Tonia, the rapist Dado, and her boyfriend Bebot, who dumped her.



The movie started off with the slaughtering of pigs, squealing pigs, gushing blood and the mercilessly dunking of the dead animals into boiling water seemed to already underlie the movie’s film noir theme (regardless of the film not being stylised in the classic Hollywood film noir of using high key black and white tones, instead spotting a grainy, organic feel of slightly faded colour hues) and man, I was squirming from the scenes of the pigs slaughtering.

I have not watched a lot of revenge themed movies, the ones which I can remember would be perhaps, two of Park Chan-wook’s films (Oldboy and Sympathy For Lady Vengeance) which are both highly stylised in a pop art manner. Lino Brocka’s Insiang serves more of a social documentation of Philippines (which some argue, the film is still reflective of the country, up till now), depicting the famous Manila slum. I couldn’t help but feel slightly claustrophobic while watching the movie, the crammed housings, the dirt and mess on the streets, the bustling of people every single minute.

There is a saying that goes “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, and in Insiang’s case, it certainly is. We might cringe at her mother’s desperateness and selfishness, feel disgusted by Dado’s lust and bastard-like mannerisms, frown at Bebot’s lack of guts and cowardice, yet isn’t Insiang’s unscrupulous behaviour equally as harrowing? The people around her made use of her, and she in turn dishes out the best revenge, by doing the same to them. I must say, there is nothing scarier than an angry woman.

My favourite shot in the movie - showing Dado's lust for Insiang, in the background, Tonia having her doubts and fears confirmed, while Insiang still looks innocent as ever...but the viewers know better than that.

References:
Insiang by Nick Schager
Cheap Shots by Michael Joshua Rowin
Lino Brocka's 'Insiang' as viewed by American youths