Verdict: Essential Viewing
Pinoy Rebyu Score: 4.42 (12 ratings)
Genre: Drama
Director: Brillante Mendoza
Writer: Henry Burgos
Cast: Nora Aunor, Bembol Roco, Mercedes Cabral, Lovi Poe
Synopsis: Shaleha Sarail (Aunor) hails from a water-village in Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi. The province is a seaweed producing area in the southern most part of the Philippines down to the Malaysian and Indonesian archipelagos. A woman of mature years, experiencing a 3rd miscarriage, Shaleha agonizes that she can’t bear a child. Though an adoptive parent to her nephew, she still feels that her husband Bangas-An (Roco) desires to be a father. To fulfill her husband’s only wish and to be blessed by Allah as having a child is a tangible proof of divine grace, Shaleha decides to march to a different drummer. Her resolve is to find a new partner for her husband. Night and day, she and her husband sail island, floating-village, and nearby communities in search of a fertile woman. Providentially, Shaleha finds the girl as recommended by friends. But on the eve of her husband’s second marriage to Mersila (Poe), a gnawing jealousy consumes Shaleha.
MTRCB Rating: PG-13
Running time: 106 mins
Trailer:
Reviews:
5.0 Pablo A. Tariman (Yahoo Philippines)
“Scriptwriter Henry Burgos has woven a tale of unselfish love that is unusually quiet and very cerebral.” (Read full review)
5.0 Eric T. Cabahug (InterAksyon)
“Thy Womb is the kind of movie that doesn’t explain everything and doesn’t spoon-feed anything. Rather than verbalize, it visualizes.” (Read full review)
5.0 Maridol Rañoa-Bismark (Yahoo Philippines)
“Mendoza doesn’t spoon feed by showing how things turn out to be. He resorts to clues — the body language, the one-liners.” (Read full review)
5.0 Jennifer Dugena and Jocelyn Dimaculangan (PEP)
“In one fell swoop, Mendoza weaves the personal (one’s notion of selfless love, joy, sadness,) with the cultural (how one’s actions, choices, thoughts are dictated by the society one is in) and the national (Tawi-Tawi’s socio-political setting).” (Read full review)
5.0 Don Rapadas (Metanoia)
“While Brillante Mendoza has wielded his unconventional directing style to make this film another masterpiece, Nora Aunor immortalizes on this film her brand of underacting.” (Read full review)
5.0 Macky Macarayan (Death of Traditional Cinema)
“This is an image we don’t see in Filipino movies, because in mainstream exploration of extramarital affairs and love triangles characters talk and talk about nonsense, reducing women as objects and elevating men as some sort of sex god.” (Read full review)
4.5 Kikko Kalabud (Hot for Movies)
“Unstinted of symbolisms and unadulterated emotions, Thy Womb is easily one of this year’s most affecting films as it transcends from the small vicinities of Tawi-Tawi to an engaging shrewdness and brilliance.” (Read full review)
4.0 Jude Cartalaba (Rappler)
“While the plot’s development is a bit dragging, as soon as it hits the high notes with its dramatic parts, it successfully sustains the momentum, keeping the moviegoers glued until the heart-breaking end.” (Read full review)
4.0 Irish Eden Belleza (Tabloid on Saturday)
“More than the co-existence of Muslim and Christian in this otherwise troubled place, Mendoza delivers the message of unconditional love that was perfectly depicted with the film’s ending scene: a rather simple shot of the lead actress’ face, but one that carried a powerful emotion that truly brought the entire film full circle.” (Read full review)
3.5 Skilty Labastilla (Young Critics Circle)
“Mendoza fell in love with Tawi-Tawi and its people and it shows in Thy Womb: a picturesque, lyrical, appropriately quiet depiction of one of the most peace-loving peoples in the world – the Bajau.” (Read capsule review)
3.5 Rito Asilo (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
“Roco and Poe provide ample support for Aunor’s silent but intensely immersive portrayal. Nora will break your heart as her world-weary face lights up at the film’s final fade.” (Read full review)
3.5 Stephanie Mayo (Films and Events Check)
“An important movie to watch. A poetic and romantic work of art.” (Read full review)
