TUHOG A movie director hoping for a comeback finds material for a sure-fire hit: a lurid tabloid headline about a pig farmer who rapes his own daughter and granddaughter. A producer green lights the project on one condition: the movie must be very bold, that is, soft porn. The incest-rape victims Perla and her daughter Floring are reluctant to sell their story to the movies, but are persuaded by an offer of US$2,000. In an interview with the scriptwriter, Perla recalls how her father began sexually abusing her after mother's death. Perla had attempted to run away, but circumstances force her to return, pregnant, to her father's house. When her daughter Floring reaches adolescence, the old man begins raping her, too. Mother and daughter find the courage to report the crimes to the police, and the old man is sentenced to life imprisonment. Months later, Perla and Floring , accompanied by Floring's former teachers, troop to the cinema to see the movie based on their story. The movie advertised as being "based on a true-to-life story", is titled Hayok sa Laman (Lust for Flesh). From the very first scene it is apparent that the movie bears little resemblance to the facts. From the lush Hollywood-style photography to the hysterical acting, typical acting, from the characterization of the victims as sex-starved vixens to the laughable clichés typical of Filipino commercial flicks, everything in the movie rings false. Perla and Floring view the movie with mounting discomfort. It does not help that their companions seem to accept the movies warped version of events as the truth. The movie grows sillier and sillier. To ensure its box-office success, the director had thrown in every genre he could manage, from sex-drama to comedy to slather-horror-thriller. It is more than the women can stand; it is as if they have been raped all over again. They walked out on the movie. " Larger than Life" is a deadpan satire that asks questions about the responsibility of the filmmaker, the integrity of the medium, and the demands that audience place on the movies. CAST PRODUCTION CREDITS DIRECTOR'S NOTE "Buy the truth and sell it not." Proverbs 23: 23 Truth like Art is subjective.The perception of reality varies with every individual as does it interpretation with every artist. It does not give the artist through the license to tamper with reality the way he pleases. In "Larger Than Life" a film director buys the rights to film the life story of a mother and a daughter who are victims of incest. In the guise of making a truthful account of their ordeal, the director, in connivance with the producer, exploits the sensational aspects of the women's story all for the sake of the box office. Filmmaking, after all, is as much a business as it is an art. "Larger Than Life" challenges the filmmaker to assess his motives
in making films. How far is he willing to compromise his art without
sacrificing his integrity? Only by confronting this issue can he then
determine the kind of reality he wants to portray and ultimately, the kind
of artist he wants to become. EXHIBITION 2002 WorldFest, Houston ,Texas STAR AWARDS 2002 URIAN AWARDS 2001 |