TINIMBANG KA NGUNIT KULANG Synopsis: Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang is a film about a small town boy named Junior (Christopher

De Leon) as he struggles with his teenage life. He is the only child in a wealthy family, his girlfriend Evangeline (Hilda Koronel) is the prettiest girl in school and he has good set of friends. The story starts to materialize when Junior finds faults in his seemingly perfect life --his father, Cesar (Eddie Garcia) is a womanizer and his materialistic mother Carolina, often argue with each other. His girlfriend is forced to marry his friend Nitoy after they found out that Evangeline carries his child in her womb and further sees the hypocrisies of his townspeople: the women church devotees of his town are a bunch of gossiping fiends. As he starts to realize his town's faults, he finds acceptance and belonging in the marginal people of his town; the town leper Berto and the town idiot Koala. Despite their appearance and condition, Junior finds himself more attached to the two whom he finds better people than the ones in his town. As Junior becomes closer to the two, his father warns him to stay away from Koala. Junior discovers later on that his father is the man whom Koala loved before she became deranged after she aborted her child. The drama starts to happen when the women of the town found out that Koala bears the child of Berto, feeling they must intervene. Berto, despite his strong affection for Koala, chooses to submit to the orders of the people more prominent in his town, to stay away from Koala. The movie ends with both Koala and Berto died before the eyes of the whole town. Analysis: Characters: Junior: the protagonist of the story, (played by: Christopher de Leon) is a privileged young man living in a small, devoutly Catholic provincial town, son of Cesar. Junior is an innocent waking up to compassionate young man. Evangeline: played by Hilda Koronel juniors girlfriend, shes pretty and popular just like Junior and also belonged to a well off family, who eventually caught with another boy and summarily married off. Cesar: Juniors father played by Eddie Garcia, who was the wealthiest man in their town, a ruthless man, an incurable lecher whos involved into excessive sexual indulgence; a lascivious or shameless man.

Milagros: played by Laurice Guillen, the bastard child of the towns mayor, clearly conceived to be a wordly, sensual woman who would lured Junior into the mysteries of sex Kuala: is a homeless crazed woman. Kuala used to be a very beautiful woman, but due to one mans ruthlessness, her life was ruined. After the unwanted abortion of her baby, she lost her sanity and became the baliw na taong grasa of the town the town idiot Berto: the outcast town leper and lover of Kuala. Plot: The story begins with a flashback of Kuala's past. An herbolario (traditional/folk medicine practitioner) performs an abortion on Kuala (Lolita Rodriguez), as Cesar (Eddie Garcia) watches her. The abortion was a success, but when Kuala sees the aborted fetus, she becomes disturbed. In the next scene, she walks in the middle of a grassy plain, and as the heat becomes more and more unbearable, she becomes insane. As the movie returns to the present, Kuala wanders about in dirty clothes and with mangy hair. The townsfolk make fun of Kuala. She is pushed into a watering hole and almost drowns. Bertong Ketong (Mario O'Hara), a leper lonely for female companionship, attracts Kuala with a rattle and takes her to his shack in the cemetery. Junior (Christopher de Leon) makes friends with them, defying the prohibitions of his father, Cesar Blanco, a lawyer and a failed politician. Junior asks Berto's advice concerning his problems with an eccentric teacher, Mr. Del Mundo (Orlando Nadres), who has a crush on him. Junior has problems too with his girlfriend Evangeline (Hilda Koronel), who flirts with her escort during a Santacruzan. The jealous Junior leaves the procession and seeks the company of Milagros (Laurice Guillen), who seduces him. The Asociacion de las Damas Cristianas is scandalized to discover Kuala is pregnant. She is forced to live under the custody of the pious Lola Jacoba (Rosa Aguirre). When Berto makes a clandestine visit to Kuala, she tells him of his unhappiness. Berto tells this to Junior, who resolves to help the pregnant Kuala make an escape from Lola Jacoba's house and lead her back to Berto's shack. However, Burto knows she will be taken away and returns her to Lola Jacoba, and promises to retrieve her after she has given birth. Some nights later, Kuala experiences labor pains. She finds her way to Berto's shack, at which point Berto rushes out to fetch a doctor. When the doctor refuses to help him, Berto takes him hostage but repeats he will not kill him. As Berto flees with the doctor, the doctor's wife shouts for help, awakening the townspeople who rush to follow the fleeing pair. Before Berto and the doctor reach the shack in the cemetery, however, the doctor escapes and a chase ensues. A group of policemen come to the doctor's rescue and shoot

Berto. Junior sees this and is shocked; he holds Berto's dead body and cries in front of the whole town. Junior then enters the shack where Kuala has successfully given birth to a baby boy, but the labor has made her weak. Her thinking becomes lucid, and in her sanity she recognizes Junior and realizes that Berto has been killed. She also recognizes Cesar among the crowd, she asks him why he killed their child, revealing his secret. Kuala then gives her baby to Junior, and dies. As Junior leaves the shack, he stared hard at the townspeople, his parents, his former girlfriend and to everyone who were unkind to him, to Berto and to Kuala. He walks near Berto's body and stops by, as the people look on in silence. Junior leaves the cemetery with Berto and Kuala's baby.

Theme: The story of a young boy growing up in a small town and the unusual friendship he develops with a leper and the village idiot. Their stories draw forth the true nature of hypocrisy in the small town and the boy bears witness and participates in the various emotions that throb under the seemingly quiet village life-prejudice, cruelty, forgiveness, and even love. In Tinimbang, Brocka clearly shows man's limitations as a mortal being, but sends a message of hope for the movie, and in the end, speaks ultimately of rebirth and maturity. 3. Criticism of the movie itself: Based on the movie, the film's strengths comes not from its center story but from its marginalia or from what are the substance of the story, from its straight-faced observation of the irrationality of everyday small-town life, and from its excellent if imperfect characterization of Milagros and Cesar. Its power comes most of all from Kuala and Berto, the town's most miserable inhabitants, the so-called outcast in the story, and the intense yet simply told story of love found at the bottom of the world. The character of Cesar in the story feels unfinished, seems like something is left hanged and Juniors character feels downright thin. The defect may be in the filmmaker's approach than in the performances of the characters in the movie. Kuala and Berto are fully realized characters. They are the authors version of Jose Rizal's "Noli Me Tangere" (Touch Me Not) with Kuala as Sisa, remember that "Noli" is about yet another dull young man who wakes up to reality, while in the novel's margins dance the unforgettable figure of a madwoman in search of her child. 4. Reaction: I strongly believe that the films telling us to be empathetic and to have a heart towards our neighbors. Shaming them, treating them rudely, calling them names, pandidiri towards them should not exist if we are truly walking our talk as Christians. The film is really stirring. It made me realize how we people can be so inhuman to our neighbors. Why treat Kuala like that? Cant the holy people in the church genuinely

care for her? Why do they have to be the ones who are so judgmental? I strongly believe that this type of story still exists and is still within our midst.