Insiang (1976)

The first Filipino film to show at the Cannes Film Festival is set in the slums of Manila. A beautiful girl gets raped by her mother's lover, and then learns how to exact revenge.

Director:

Lino Brocka

Writers:

Mario O'Hara (story), Mario O'Hara (screenplay)

Stars:

Hilda Koronel, Mona Lisa, Rez Cortez

7 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hilda Koronel	...	Insiang
Mona Lisa	...	Tonya
Rez Cortez	...	Bebot
Marlon Ramirez	...	Nanding
Ruel Vernal	...	Dado
Nina Lorenzo	...	Ludy
Mely Mallari	...	Sister-in-law
Carpi Asturias	...	Karyas
George Atutubo
Eddie Pagayon
Joe Jardi
Danilo Posadas	...	(as Danny Posadas)
Estrella Antonio
Jimmy Calaguas
Belen Chikote	...	(as Belen Chicote)

Storyline

Trapped in the slums, Insiang finds living with her disapproving, sharp-tongued mother, Tonya, trying. Tonya, having long ago been abandoned by her husband, takes her bitterness out on those around her. In a fit of anger, she finally throws out her husband's relatives who have been living with her, but it's not for the sake of their not bringing in money anymore, which it seems on the surface. She's making way for her boyfriend, Dado, to move in. Dado, the town bully, is young enough to be her son, and this new living situation becomes the talk of the town. It isn't long before he forces himself upon Insiang. Tonya is at first outraged but soon takes Dado's side and blames her daughter for her own rape. Insiang leaves home to seek support and solace from her ardent would-be boyfriend Bebot, but he proves to be another Lothario as well. Forced to return home, Insiang turns this inescapable situation upon itself to exact revenge.

---

Plot Keywords:

revenge | slum | bully | rape | prison | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Insiang (1976)

Country:

Philippines

Language:

Filipino Tagalog English

Release Date:

6 December 1978 (France)

Also Known As:

Az anya, a lány és a szerető

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinemanila

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 1978, the movie became the first Filipino feature film to be presented in the Cannes Film Festival (Director's Fortnight).

---

Quotes

Bebot: Admit it. You don't want to go to the movies with me. You don't love me anymore.
Insiang: I love you, Bebot.
Bebot: If you love me, you will relent.
Insiang: I love you but I don't like what you do to me in the movie theater.
Bebot: I'm a man, Insiang. I can't control myself.

---

Connections

Referenced in Ang anak ni Brocka (2005)

User Reviews

Classic mélo Filipino

Lino Brocka's 1976 melodrama of slum family love double-crosses was the first Filipino film to be shown at Cannes and is being revived at festivals. It deserves to be seen for the female actors, mother Tonia (Mona Lisa, credible as an aging lady who's still highly sexed and attractive) and gorgeous daughter Insiang (pronounced "Inshang"). Hilda Koronel, who plays Insiang, is enough like a Loren or a Lollobrigida to make you think of Fifties or Sixties Italian cinema and the visual style is conventionally of an early period, but this brutal story lacks the humanity and warmth of the Italians. Tonia drives a family of in-laws out of her shack (which is in with other families; in this barrio there is no privacy and all is known) because she can't feed them, but her ulterior motive is to bring in Dado, a handsome, macho man and a gambling no-good probably young enough to be her son, as her lover. Insiang has several young men interested in her, but the one she chooses is too cowardly and lazy to run away with her as she would like. Soon Dado puts the make on Insiang. It turns out badly for just about everyone in this miserablist drama, which has been compared to Fassbinder and Sirk. It's been commented that the story undercuts the two major values in Filipino film – motherhood and the sanctity of the family. Brocka certainly keeps things lively, as do popular dramatic films from other Third World countries, and telenovelas. Yes, this holds the attention; but unfortunately the print used for the NYFF 2006 showing was an ugly-looking digital transfer that made all the boys look pimply and the shots look shoddy. Only Koronel's face shines through.