By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Brillante Mendoza
Starring: Cherry Pie Picache | Eugene Domingo | Jiro Manio | Kier Segundo
Country: philippines
Year: 2008
Running time: 98
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825236/
Bruce says: “Brillante Mendoza completed six feature films within a three year period, 2005-2007. He is working at a speed not seen since the salad days of Fassbinder although, age-wise, Mendoza (age 48) is about two decades behind Fassbinder (who died at age 37) in comparable output. It was hardly a surprise when the directors of the New Directors/New Films festival announced that his appearance at the festival had been canceled due to exhaustion after completing yet another film. FOSTER CHILD does not employ the rough cinema verité style or have the marvelous edgy feeling of Mendoza’s last film SLINGSHOT. However, FOSTER CHILD benefits from his use of professional actors and a clearly drawn plot line, neither of which were present in SLINGSHOT nor his earlier film, THE MASSEUR. In addition, FOSTER CHILD is also a very touching film.
“Thelma (Cherry Pie Picache) is a businesswoman, in the simplest sense. To make ends meet, she and her husband Dado (Dan Alvaro) raise orphans from infancy to the age of three or four when they are primed for the adoption market, usually appealing to the interests of wealthy Western couples. For her efforts, Thelma receives a monthly wage from a state agency. Exactly who benefits most from such an arrangement is never spelled out. Bianca (Eugene Domingo), the woman who brokers the exchanges with the orphanage and the Western couples, is a prime candidate. Bianca is well-educated and well-heeled. She has plenty of street smarts that enable her to handle the slum dwellers, plus the intuition and charm for managing the relationships with rich foreigners.
“Thelma and her husband have two children of their own. Yuri (Jiro Manio), the younger of the two, is a doting brother. As the film begins John-John, the current foster child, is getting lots of attention. It is the day that he will be turned over to his new parents. The family is bravely facing the fact John- John is leaving their nest. No one in the family – even the somewhat detached older brother – wants to let him go for they have come to love John-John a little too much for their own best interests. Thelma and Dado have a clean but primitive dwelling. By all indications, they are good people and good parents.
“FOSTER CHILD traces the movements of Bianca, Thelma, Yuri and John-John in a single day as they weave through the rabbit warren of a Manila slum where Thelma’s family lives. They face many bureaucratic obstacles. Fortunately, Bianca knows which buttons to push to make the necessary happen. She is also smart enough to know how attached Thelma has become to John-John. To ease Thelma’s pain Bianca makes a detour to an orphanage where she shows Thelma her new assignment: twins. At dusk they find themselves in a fancy hotel where dozens of armed guards line the staircase to the grand entrance. There they introduce John-John to his adoptive parents and his new siblings. The luxury of the hotel is a ridiculous contrast to the surroundings where John- John has been raised Even the bribe of twins cannot assuage the grief Thelma feels as she gives up a child she has come to love.
“With FOSTER CHILD Mendoza has abandoned the exploration of the seedy side of Filipino life for a more detailed examination of the institutions that maintain the status quo. With SLINGSHOT he began that journey, albeit in a vague, alluding fashion. Mendoza is an important filmmaker and one to watch closely in the years to come. Hopefully he will not burn out before his potential is fully reached. 4 cats
“FOSTER CHILD was screened as part of the 2008 New Directors/New Films series jointly sponsored by The Film Society of Lincoln Center and MOMA.”