Review: Refreshing and Phenomenal

Pathos and Ethos In Modern Morality Tale

By ALVIN BULAONG CRUZ, Manila Bulletin

From the title alone, Mes de Guzman’s latest film Ang Kwento ni Mabuti sounds like an old fable for children with a moral lesson. But don’t be deceived by the title, or for that matter, by the pleasant and charming rural life and landscape it presents. For beneath the wholesome surface of this modern-day parable lies a fatalistic view worthy of an Ibsen play or a Bergman film.

Set in the picturesque backwoods of Nueva Vizcaya, Ang Kwento ni Mabuti, which was screened in selected Metro Manila theaters during the Cine Filipino Film Festival last September, opens with a panoramic view of the mountains covered with ominous storm clouds. Its lead character Mabuti (Nora Aunor) is walking alone on a road, a foreshadowing of her destiny and that of her family.

Through Rose-Colored Glasses

Though not exactly easy and smooth-sailing, life for Mabuti in this small but peaceful mountain village is uncomplicated and unhurried. She tends to her tiny piece of farmland and looks after her ailing mother, her four carefree granddaughters, and her two hapless children who struggle to make something good out of their misfortunes: Ompong (Arnold Reyes) who’s always between jobs and Angge (Mara Lopez) who keeps making the wrong decisions.

But while she is aware that life is not a bed of roses, Mabuti looks at her circumstances through rose-colored lenses, taking each of life’s challenges in stride. Unlike her mother who holds a more realistic and defensive outlook in life, Mabuti shrugs off every problem that comes her way. This she does without any effort because her goodness and faith in what is good are as innate in her as her name.

Moral Dilemma

And like all things good, Mabuti’s good-naturedness is about to be tested by a series of twists and turns in her otherwise halcyon world. For Mabuti, they are nothing but little unexpected bumps on the road. But for her mother, it is fate plain and simple.

After receiving a letter from the bank demanding a payment for a loan, Mabuti goes to the city to seek financial help. The events that follow will find her at a crossroad that forces her to make a difficult choice between the uncertain future of her family and the good straight path she has always known.

Local Dialect and Folk Culture

With all scenes shot in the hinterlands of Nueva Vizcaya and all dialogues spoken in Ilocano (with English subtitles), Ang Kwento ni Mabuti is rich in local color and cultural value. Folk beliefs and practices are portrayed in a light-hearted manner, such as in the scene where Mabuti, a healer, gives medical care to a boy bitten by a dog several times. Also, the film depicts the “bayanihan” spirit so typical among village people, especially in times of calamity and emergency. In fact, almost every character in this film exudes kindness in his or her own small way, all revolving around or gravitating towards Mabuti’s own inexhaustible well of generosity and empathy for others.

Refreshingly Simple

What is most remarkable about the film is how it depicts rural life just like it is, sans the stereotypes and clichés one is most likely to see in a film less imaginative in thematic treatment and narrative technique. For one, the characters are poor but witty, the plot simple but refreshing, the setting bucolic but inspiring, and the theme universal but personal. And though it deals essentially with individual moral choices, the film somehow addresses key economic and socio-political issues that plague life in the countryside such as poor infrastructure, lack of agrarian reform, bureaucracy, corruption, and insurgency. In spite of these issues, Ang Kwento ni Mabuti is not a political commentary but a personal journey of faith in all that is good in us.

Phenomenal Acting

All told, the film would not have been as potent had it not been for the brilliant performance by its lead star Nora Aunor. Just as Mabuti’s well of kindness does not run dry, so Nora Aunor’s depth as an actress cannot be measured or matched. Delivering her lines in fluent Ilocano from start to finish, she makes us believe she is not the Nora Aunor acting the role of Mabuti. Rather, what we see is Mabuti being brought to life by the bigger-than-life portrayal of Aunor.

Once again, Aunor shows us that great acting is both cathartic and hypnotic. Her character’s transformation-- from a cheerful, happy-go-lucky idealist to a sad and hopeless fatalist-- is so gradual and subtle that it is almost impossible to tell where her happiness ends and her pain begins. This is most evident in the scene where Mabuti looks at her sleeping mother in one room, and her sleeping grandchildren in another. And in the final scene, the story of Mabuti leaves us dumbfounded, wondering what final choice Mabuti has made, or whether it was fate making the choice for her after all.