Perhaps nothing can be more terrifying than the knowledge that you are slowly losing yourself and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Denise O’Hara’s 2018 Cinemalaya entry, “Mamang” tells the story of a geriatric, Mamang (Celeste Legaspi), who is battling the evil claws of dementia.
She lives with her son, Ferdie (Ketchup Eusebio), who is fighting a battle of his own. He is recently fired from a teaching job and can’t find a new place to teach. He then considers working in the province but is faced with a tough dilemma: what about Mamang?
Clearly, Ferdie and Mamang share a strong bond and that’s what makes the situation worse for both characters. Ferdie doesn’t want to leave because no one will watch over his mother, while Mamang doesn’t want to die because no one’s going to care for her son.
O’Hara has done an incredible job in weaving a seemingly uneventful story that has a lot of heart. Mamang’s colorful character was highlighted by flawless acting prowess of Legaspi. She was so good the camera doesn’t have to capture her entire face for us to see strong emotions. It’s like every cell of her body was acting.
Eusebio made sure that he was worthy to share the same screen with Legaspi.
“Mamang” was a cute, heart-warming watch. It had the right mix of light-hearted comedy and heart-pinching drama. The manner in which the movie was depicted may somehow lure you into thinking there’s a happy ending here. Well, if you look deeper, there is. But that’s not going to be easy for viewers to arrive at.
What I loved the most about “Mamang” is it felt authentic. There are no resolutions that will make you incredulous or scenes that are so out-of-this-world you would think it’s stupid.
“Mamang” clearly and simply laid out the story of how it looks and feels for someone who is slowly disintegrating because memories are fading away.
As lovely and endearing the movie was, there’s a sub-layer of intense sadness that you can’t shake off because the movie, upon closer scrutiny, is a very, very sad tale.
“Mamang” doesn’t offer any magic pill but it makes the journey a lot easier to bear. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. Because nothing’s fun with watching yourself slowly disintegrate.
Directed by: Denise O’Hara
Cast: Celeste Legaspi, Ketchup Eusebio, Alex Medina, Peewee O’Hara, Gio Gahol, Elora Espano
