"Sisa"
Premiere Productions
Release Date November 7- 16, 1951/ Life
Music Ariston Avelino
Direction Gerardo de Leon
Cast Anita Linda, Reynaldo Dante and Eddie del Mar/ with Eddie Infante, Nati Rubi, Pancho Pelagio, Tony Tolman, Ruben Rustia
Winner of two Maria Clara Awards (Gerardo de Leon- Best Direction and Anita Linda- Best Actress), Sisa, based on a character from Jose Rizal's first novel, Noli Me Tangere tells of Sisa (played by Anita Linda), the mother of two boys, Basilio and Crispin who work as helpers in the church of San Diego town. The head sacristan (Pancho Pelagio) of the church steals money from the church coffers and accuses the boys of the theft. He tortures the boys, killing Crispin in the process. Basilio, the eldest, escapes to avoid prison. That same night, Pedro (Reynaldo Dante), Sisa's husband, a gambler and a wife beater who spends all his time gambling in the cockpit, comes home and takes all of Sisa's savings. He even eats all the food she prepared for her sons. Basilio comes home and tells his shocked mother about their ordeal in the church.
Sisa goes to the priest's house to ask for her missing son but is sent away by the sacristan who stands firm in his accusation of the two brothers' thievery the night before. Back in the house, she is met by the guardia civil (a local militia) looking for her sons, but Basilio has fled again. The militia turn their attention to the mother and abuse her. Sisa goes mad, roaming the streets, homeless, and occasionally helping out in some rich man's house in exchange for some food. Some time later, mad mother and fugitive son come across each other at the town outskirts. Sisa is shocked by the encounter into a moment of lucidity when she recognizes Basilio. But weakness and exposure have taken their toll on the poor woman. She dies in the arms of her son.
(Synopsis- Source: Focus on Filipino Films: A Sampling 1951-1982)
Courtesy of Premiere Productions
Sisa goes to the priest's house to ask for her missing son but is sent away by the sacristan who stands firm in his accusation of the two brothers' thievery the night before. Back in the house, she is met by the guardia civil (a local militia) looking for her sons, but Basilio has fled again. The militia turn their attention to the mother and abuse her. Sisa goes mad, roaming the streets, homeless, and occasionally helping out in some rich man's house in exchange for some food. Some time later, mad mother and fugitive son come across each other at the town outskirts. Sisa is shocked by the encounter into a moment of lucidity when she recognizes Basilio. But weakness and exposure have taken their toll on the poor woman. She dies in the arms of her son.
(Synopsis- Source: Focus on Filipino Films: A Sampling 1951-1982)
2 comments:
Back to the Oldies!
Hi, requesting permission to use your Sisa pic on my blog (with due credit of course)!
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