Mariquina: No biz like shoe biz

MANILA, Philippines - The Cinemalaya New Breed entry Mariquina is director Milo Sogueco’s “labor of love” successfully delivered — a measured, richly told elegy of the Marikina shoe industry and of a way of life. It is filled with warmth and human drama yet punctuated with humor and lightness.

Milo takes the Jerrold Tarog screenplay and fashions out a film about identity, acceptance and learning to live with oneself. The film is also a loving collaboration with his DOP (Director of Photography) Sasha Polmenares, as one gorgeous shot is followed by another, whether a languid departing image, or a montage following the back of a main character in motion.

Imelda Guevara (Mylene Dizon) now runs a garments factory but has her troubled life come rushing back at her when her father, fabled Marikina shoemaker Romeo Guevara (Ricky Davao), commits suicide. Estranged from her father for years, burdened with a mother (Che Ramos) who deserted them and living with a stepmom, Tita Dely (Bing Pimentel), who she never truly accepted, Imelda dons “shoes” and shares with us a “walk” through her past. A young Imelda (Barbie Forteza) experiences the pain of first love and separation from her mother who feels, late in the day, that her unexpected pregnancy has denied her so much living; this coupled with the attention Romeo has been bestowing on client and business partner, Dely.

What really works in the film’s exposition are the set pieces — like how Romeo sublimates eating for despair when he discovers his wife has left and he returns to the restaurant where a young Imelda is waiting. I similarly loved the odyssey for the perfect black wingtip shoes that Imelda wants her father’s corpse to be wearing. And, of course, there’s the delight that rushes through the audience when Imelda’s namesake and the legendary collector of shoes makes a cameo in the film.

There’s much to admire in this film, and while the storytelling is deliberate and measured, it is also a great leap forward for Milo — qualities we already saw promise of in Sanglaan, his first film. The portrayals of both Mylene and Ricky are worth commenting on, as they make even the most ordinary gesture or facial expression fraught with emotion and meaning.

While some may point out the gaps in the story and others may find the pace too slow, there is a maturity and intelligence to how the film is developed and presented. It may be more akin to European filmmaking than to Hollywood; but I say that as a compliment and can only anticipate Milo’s next film, the next step on his cinematic journey of taking small lives and stories, and making them bigger and richer, and for our viewing pleasure. — PHILIP CU-UNJIENG