I watched Tara Illenberger’s Brutus last April 26 at UPFI. This film won the Jury Prize in the 4th Cinemalaya Film Festival in 2008 for its advocacy against deforestation and displacement of the Mangyans from their traditional lands. It also won NETPAC award in Hawaii the same year. It has been selected to compete at the 35th Brussels International Independent Film Festival and bagged the Best Asian Movie award.
The film is about two fictional teenage Mangyans, Adag (Timothy Mabalot) and Bayang (Rhea Medina) hired by illegal loggers to smuggle lumbers to the lowlands. Adag accepted the job because he needs to buy medicine for his sister’s disease while Bayang wants to find her elder brother who went to the lowland to smuggle woods. They hide the the woods underneath a bamboo raft and float them for several days through dangerous river. Their eyes will be opened as they travel downstream though test of the weather and people they encountered.Adag and Bayang will return to their village as grown ups after series of events that happened while they were traveling downstream, ultimately when they were caught in between Philippine Army and the New People’s Army.
The best part that I like most is when Bayang had her first menstruation right after she learned what happened to her brother. Having the first menstruation means a girl has reached maturity already. In life we never mature until we learned the truth.
