Bona 4K 1980

Phenomenal little film combines brutality of Bunuel with the modest authenticity of neo-realism. Little Bona will do anything -- just anything -- for an ultra-narcissistic but minor-league Filipino movie star. We watch as she is used and debased -- and all but ignored -- by him and ultimately abandoned by her family, which has the distance to hate him. Things get out of hand, though, after he has Bona arrange an abortion for/act as wet-nurse to one of his lovers, and it slowly dawns on Bona that this whole arrangement is just not working out. Too bad she has to take the extreme action that she does, but really, who can blame her? Politically, film tells the story of the penultimate chapter before a revolution actually comes down. The oppressed have to be so horribly oppressed that it's no longer something they can hide from themselves. The last edifice standing is that tiny morsel of self-regard a victim finds within when they ask themselves: how could anyone possibly treat me/regard me so horribly.