September 10,
2012
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Everywhere she went in Lido, Filipino actress Nora Aunor was
greeted by admirers—clapping, cheering and congratulating her for “Thy Womb”
(Sinapupunan), which won three honors at the 69th Venice International Film
Festival over the weekend.
Aunor,
considered a superstar in the Philippines, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer
in Filipino: “The Italians kept saying: ‘Bellissima! Bravissima!’”
Her
latest starrer, Brillante Mendoza’s “Thy Womb” won three awards in Venice:
Bisato D’Oro, La Navicella or Venezia Cinema prize and the P. Nazareno Taddei
Award Special Mention.
Aunor
attended the Venice fest with Mendoza and costars Lovi Poe and Mercedes Cabral.
Producer
Larry Castillo said the critics adored Aunor who won the Bisato D’Oro prize for
her performance. Castillo told the Inquirer that Aunor’s award was given by
Premio della Critica Indipendiente, an independent critics’ group.
Previous
recipients of the award were directors and producers. Aunor is the first
actress and Filipino to win the prize.
Aunor
recalled that the Bisato D’Oro ceremony was held on Friday at Bar Maleti, a
restaurant near her hotel.
The
Philippine contingent stayed at the Hotel Excelsior Venezia in Lido, Venice.
“I
am happy that our film was invited to Venice. It’s a great honor just to be
included in this year’s lineup. To win an award is a wonderful bonus,” Aunor
said of her award.
She
said the critics were touched by the film. “They told me that they cried,
especially toward the ending. They said they were moved by the emotions I
showed in the movie.”
La
Navicella award
On
Saturday morning, Mendoza received La Navicella/Venezia Cinema prize—one of the
collateral awards handed out before the fest’s major honors.
According
to the Venice website, the award is given by critics and the Rivisita del
Cinematografo, an Italian publication. “La Navicella is awarded to the director
of a film considered particularly relevant for the affirmation of human
values,” an online report said.
A
previous winner of the La Navicella award was Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt
Locker,” which went on to win an Oscar in 2010. Other past winners of the prize
included such heavyweights in world cinema as Louis Malle, Zhang Yimou, Stephen
Frears and Abel Ferrara.
The
Navicella jury commended the Filipino film “for giving voice to the Badjao
community in a respectful and emotionally involved manner.”
In
the film, Aunor portrays a barren Badjao midwife searching for a suitable woman
(Poe) who can bear a child for her husband (Bembol Roco).
Taddei
award
In
the citation, the Navicella jury praised the film: “Although … ethnographic,
the film goes beyond naturalism and turns into poetry. Mendoza brings to the
screen an act of total love which stands out today as true scandal against
frivolous provocation.”
During
the closing ceremony on Saturday night, Mendoza won the P. Nazareno Taddei
Award Special Mention.
The
P. Nazareno Taddei Award went to Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk’s “Pieta,” which
won the Golden Lion as well.
Established
in 2007, the P. Nazareno Taddei Award was named after a Jesuit priest. It is
given to films that “express authentic human values.”
The
Hollywood Reporter critic Neil Young considered Aunor one of the front-runners
for the best actress award, which went to Israel’s Hadas Yaron of “Fill the
Void.”
Although
it failed to bring home major awards, “Thy Womb” received a rousing ovation
after its premiere on Thursday and was showered with glowing notices by
critics.
Mendoza,
who won best director in Cannes for the graphic crime drama “Kinatay” in 2009,
said his goal in making “Thy Womb” was to tell a story of “unconditional love
set in a beautiful but troubled place.”
Variety
review
Mainstream
publication Variety gave the film a positive review, praising the
cinematography (by Odyssey Flores), acting (by Aunor) and production design (by
Mendoza).
Variety’s
Guy Lodge said “Aunor’s softly crinkled face beautifully registers the internal
pain of her every decision in this curious process.” Lodge said the
cinematography “negotiates picture-postcard skies and grubby boltholes with
equal fluidity” and the production design “forges the unusual story with just
the right balance of the exotic and the authentic.”
Variety
described the film as “part marital tearjerker, part cultural comedy of manners
… open-hearted … sentimental.”
Variety
pointed out that “Thy Womb” had more in common with Mendoza’s Venice entry in
2009, “Lola,” than the “propulsive” “Captive,” which was the “hard-working
Filipino provocateur’s” entry at the Berlin fest earlier this year.
CineVue’s
Jo-Ann Titmarsh called the film “one of the most poignant and intimate films at
this year’s Venice fest … a moving and visually captivating movie with two
commanding yet understated central performances.”
“Thy
Womb” also has screenings in the Toronto International Film Festival this month
(on September 7, 9 and 16).
On
the fest’s website, Toronto programmer Steve Gravestock raved about Aunor’s
“moving portrayal of a woman determined to provide her husband with a child.”
He also pointed out that Roco was “equally good as her stoic husband.”
Gravestock
noted that Mendoza’s direction possessed an “unfailingly keen eye for detail
and attention to the rhythms of rural life.”
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Contributor: Alvin
Umahon
