NNarrative CompetitionOriginal Title: Mga kuwentong barbero
Director: Jun Robles Lana
Philippines | Tagalog
2013 | 120min. | Colour
Subtitles: Arabic and English
Format: DCP
18+“Jose always did the thinking for me,' Marilou admits not long after her husband dies unexpectedly in his sleep. She’d been more his servant than his partner for many years, and now that he’s gone, she’ll have to find her own way. In a small rural town in the Philippines in 1975, that is no easy feat. Having lost her only child a decade earlier, Marilou now has only a few trusted friends and Jose’s barbershop. She makes strides toward independence and acceptance as the town’s new barber, but the political unrest surrounding Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law regime catches up with her. Marilou wants only to live a quiet life, but when her young godson returns from school in Manila looking to fight for the communist rebels and seeking Marilou’s help, she’ll have to summon courage she never imagined she had. The follow-up to acclaimed director Jun Robles Lana’s award-winning Bwakaw, Barber’s Tales features a beautiful starring performance by Eugene Domingo, whose evolution from a cowering wife into an assertive woman leads the film to a shocking flash point. But Lana’s film is more than a character study: He adds rich supporting characters to create a robust portrait of line in the period. “Are you a rebel?' a close friend asks Marilou. She may not ever lay a finger on a gun, but as a woman in her time, in her country, learning to think for herself and do what is right, she certainly seems like one.