Dekada ’70: Not a great film but an important one

As per my impression and recollection, the ’70s was a decade of contrasting landscapes. Musically, there was the hustle, the salsa, el bimbo (which must be the tackiest in the history of dance), the bump and swing toward the end of the decade.

However, the ’70s was also the time when Barry Manilow and his music reigned in the airwaves and therefore considered by many as dull.

In contrast, fashion in the ’70s was colorful: double-knits in all colors, corduroys, nik-nik shirts and even velvet pants for men. Of course, this was the era of the bellbottom – although the pencil cut or baston made a brief comeback in 1977 and there were even square pants for men and elephant pants for women in the mid-’70s. And how can we forget the arrival of the blue jeans – earlier considered as workman’s attire – which made a huge impact in the ’70s?

Unfortunately, the ’70s was the most somber politically since this was the era of Martial Law. There was curfew and curtailment of freedom of expression.

This is the setting of Chito Rono’s Dekada ’70, Star Cinema’s official entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival. Based on the Lualhati Bautista novel with the same title, the lead character in the story, Amanda (played by Vilma Santos) is a housewife and mother of five boys. Her eldest son, Piolo Pascual goes underground and is hunted down by the military. Another son, Marvin Agustin, turns to writing but also puts his life on the edge by churning out pieces critical of the Marcos administration. Carlos Agassi, the third boy, on the other hand, joins the US military, while the fourth son, Danilo Barrios is just happy-go-lucky. The youngest is still in school and just lives out his role as the baby in the family (although he is the most neglected).

Unlike Vilma Santos’ Sister Stella L. character, who becomes politicized practically overnight, her Amanda role in Dekada ’70 takes longer to mature politically (almost the whole decade). And she goes through a very painful process because she experiences the abuses of the Marcos regime by seeing her own children suffer. With Vilma hurting inside and suffering almost in silence, we have here in Dekada ’70 some very moving dramatic scenes that are mostly devoid of hysterics but are still very effective nonetheless.

Actually, we see yet another facet of Vilma Santos’ acting talent in this film. In the story, she goes through guilt (with the fate of one of her sons), pain, anguish and anxiety (particularly with the eldest, Piolo) – plus discontent as a plain housewife who wants do something more with her life other than to keep house for her husband and kids. The great actress that she is. Vilma is able to manifest clearly the different layers of her character in a very quiet manner, which – you have to admit – is quite difficult to achieve. But Vilma – after all these decades – can do no wrong anymore in the field of acting. Although it’s not the greatest performance of her career (it’s still Sister Stella L.), her portrayal of Amanda in Dekada ’70 is no doubt one of her finest. More importantly, her role (and her approach to it) is different from the hundreds of other roles she has done in the past.

The role of Christopher de Leon as Amanda’s husband, Julian, unfortunately, is not as important as the female lead (I think it was even less significant in the book). But you have to salute De Leon for not allowing himself to be completely overshadowed by the central character played by Vilma and the other elements in the story. To his credit, he still gives a memorable performance in the film.

Technically, Dekada ’70 is way above average – like most other productions of Star Cinema. The cinematography for one is intelligent. It doesn’t try to look bright and cheerful. In fact, it wonderfully adjusts to the gloomy atmosphere of the period – especially at the height of Martial Law when there was fear all over the country.

The music and sound do not overly dramatize the highlights of the movie. This is good because most of the dramatic scenes are already heavy in themselves.

With regard to the production design, there is always going to be a debate if a film’s setting is in the ’70s because it is so recent, everyone has his own recollection of the period. The fixtures in the house of Amanda and her family at least all look like ’70s accessories. But the hairstyle of the children in the film all look ridiculous – especially the one sported by Marvin Agustin. (Strangely, he never changed hairstyle throughout the decade.) Yes, the ’70s was the period of long hair. But as worn by the young characters, the hairpieces all look so absurd.

However, I am not about to split hair over period hairstyles here. I am just pleased that a great novel like Dekada ’70 has been transported onto the big screen even if it is not the easiest material to translate into film.

Dekada ’70 is not a great movie as it is and could have been enriched further given its setting. But it is an important film in the sense that it captures realistically the darkest political moments in our country’s history.