Cinema
Relasyon
Ishmael Bernal · 1982
Synopsis
Marilou, a guide at the Manila planetarium, falls in love with Emil, a university professor separated from his wife, and moves in with him. But the charming man proves authoritarian, regulating everything from her conduct to the running of the house; their liaison, which neither the Church nor the law recognises in a country without divorce, becomes a series of breakups and reunions, until Marilou will agree to see him only three times a week.
Context
A small, low-budget drama, the film was written by Ricky Lee and Raquel Villavicencio with its director, who the same year made another of his best-known films, Himala. Vilma Santos, then the most profitable star in the country, was reunited with Christopher de Leon, her screen partner since 1975. The story follows, from the woman's point of view, a relationship that no law protects.
Who it is for
A subtitled film in Tagalog. The context of Philippine martial law sheds light on what the film could show and what it had to leave unsaid.
Prizes and reception
Vilma Santos won all the country's major acting awards for it in 1983; the film is regarded as one of the high points of its director's career.