More than two decades after the country’s liberation from Japanese forces, local filmmakers continued to churn out movies about the Second World War in this side of the globe. Yes, there was a huge market for it.
Were Filipinos such masochists that they wanted to relive their sufferings at the hands of Japanese invaders on the big screen? Or did they derive sadistic pleasure seeing the Japanese brutally killed by Filipino guerrillas?
Most of these films were actually mindless bang! bang! action pictures with endless gun-fighting and grenade-throwing, especially at the climax. The action scenes were basically inspired by Combat, the very popular World II series that aired on Channel 7 in the 1960s and had a rerun on the same network a decade later.
Thankfully, there were other more substantial war films that were produced after liberation. In 1946, for instance, LVN Pictures bankrolled Victory Joe! It is tempting to say that it is a post-war movie, except that its story occurs at a time when parts of the archipelago had yet to be liberated.
Victory Joe may be light and superfluous, but as it turns out, it is a commentary on the so-called “jeep girls” - Filipino women who were easily swept off their feet by American servicemen during the liberation period. The film tackles the “hanggang piyer” phenomenon that saw a lot of Filipino girls left crying at the pier - love-struck and even pregnant, no thanks to their cavorting with GI soldiers.
In 1968, there was Manila: Open City, which can be tedious viewing and contains a lot of inconsistencies in the production design department. It is an important movie, however, especially since it was directed by National Artist for Film, Eddie Romero.
Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos is another significant war movie. This film made Nora Aunor the first best actress winner in the annual Gawad Urian.
In the case of Oro, Plata, Mata, it is not only the finest war drama ever made, but is also generally considered the best Filipino movie of all time. It is an epic film that may be difficult to replicate.
In fact, no other filmmaker made an attempt to equal the scope of Oro, Plata, Mata. Certainly not Gil Portes’ Gatas .. sa Dibdib ng Kaaway (with Mylene Dizon), which was made on a budget so tight, it came out looking like only five Japanese soldiers were deployed to the Philippines during the Pacific War.
Don’t look now, but one of the latest Vivamax features is set during the war. It is called Selina’s Gold.
To say that Selina’s Gold is a minuscule Oro, Plata, Mata is not necessarily an insult to the film. Oro, Plata, Mata, after all, is grand. Its length allows it to give various social commentaries on the Filipino culture and way of life, particularly the gap between classes.
Selina’s Gold, however, can stand on its own merits when put side by side with Oro, Plata, Mata – although it’s a crime to even compare the Peque Gallaga opus to another movie. It’s a small film with a strong message that would greatly appeal to feminists.
Set in a remote village, the narrative of Selina’s Gold opens during the early months of the Japanese Occupation. This takes place in that brief period when the film’s characters have yet to see Japanese foot soldiers sowing terror in their lives.
But even before the Japanese arrive, the film shows Filipinos already at war - mainly with each other. The strong and powerful mercilessly brutalize the weak and the helpless.
This occurs at a time when the ruling class is composed mostly of hopeless chauvinist pigs. It is an era when misogynistic practices were far worse than Harvey Weinstein’s Hollywood.
And so we see the character of Aurora Sevilla being told to shut up by husband Archie Adamos “because she is only a woman.” As a member of the weaker sex, she is not allowed to have an opinion.
But the most cruel treatment done to women in the story is when destitute parents sell their young daughters to the richest man in the village, Tiago (Jay Manalo), who keeps a stash of cash and gold in his hut. The girls sold to him do not only perform household chores, but are mainly in his possession to serve as sex slaves.
One of the girls offered for a price is Selina (Angeli Khang). Her widowed father, Berong (Soliman Cruz), only waits for the right time to sell her to Tiago, who is also a usurer – the greediest of his kind.
Although her life is miserable with Tiago, Selina tries to be submissive in order to survive. Of course, she makes sure he eventually gets his comeuppance – to the viewers’ satisfaction, in fact.
Those with sexual fetishes will also be extremely satisfied watching Selina’s Gold. Everything in the book is there, except maybe for the really sick acts – like those already involving excreta.
But Selina’s Gold is not all sex. It redeems itself by having outstanding production values, particularly the brilliant photography.
The production design is also noteworthy. The production designer is obviously knowledgeable when it comes to Philippine history. The currency used in the film, for instance, is accurate.
In the story, Japan had yet to conquer completely the Philippine Islands. Selina’s Gold, therefore, used notes that were in circulation during the early part of the Japanese interlude and not the notorious Mickey Mouse money that eventually flooded the market during the war.
The production designer also took pains in making sure that even the underwear used by both men and women are correct. The only slip happens during the sexual assault of Azi Acosta...when her panties are seen – with garters.
Unfortunately, the production design can’t do anything anymore with Jay Manalo’s tattoos. Outside of the ethnic groups, tattoos then were not as intricate and as colorful – so different from those sported by Manalo today.
The only solution to this production design lapse was to replace Jay Manalo, but no production designer in the Philippines has the power to fire actors. It’s also a waste to see Jay Manalo go because he delivers another one of his fine performances here in Selina’s Gold.
But actors should really think twice about having tattoos because they could lose roles in period pictures. The same goes for body piercing – although there could still be remedies for that.
A grammarian perhaps should also be hired to oversee parts of production. The text read by the voice-over talent in the film’s opening has one glaring grammatical error: “resulting to, instead of the correct resulting in.” And what about the propaganda leaflets that read: “will received”?
But beneath these minor flaws and the fact that its sex scenes are clearly meant to arouse the viewer’s prurient interest, Selina’s Gold is still a finely-crafted film overall. Try scratching its surface and you will find gold.
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