'Barber’s Tales' should not be Eugene Domingo’s swan song
When Eugene Domingo told media in the first presscon of ‘Barber’s Tales’ that the film could be her swan song, her audience of around 30 wondered just what’s in the film that could make someone like her so happy, she won’t mind making a graceful exit once it’s shown.
By the time the closing credits of Jun Robles Lana’s award-winning film roll, the answer stares at us in the face. “Barber’s Tales” shows Eugene at her most sensitive – not as a comedienne, but as a serious actress.
She has a punch to her lines, not because it makes people laugh, but because it makes them agree with all their heart. Just when you’re sure you’ll end up feeling down and out because the scene demands it, Eugene’s lines jolt you like the proverbial bolt of lightning that swings your mood to the opposite side.
Right timing
A lesser actor could have robbed the line of spontaneity. Eugene delivers it at just the right juncture you’d think it was the most natural thing in the world.
Hers is not exactly the most glamorous face in moviedom, but it’s a blessing in this film about a barber’s widow forced to fend for herself because no one else would.
When Eugene’s character Marilou cuts her hair short, you know she’s not just doing it for the heck of it. She’s doing it for herself and female friends tired of being the underdog -- be it in a male-dominated field like running a barber shop, a household where the husband’s word is law, a brothel where a woman’s body is her sole meal ticket, etc.
Nostalgia and symbolism
The thinking is as old as the houses that surround Marilou in the far-flung barrio where “Barber’s Tales” was shot.
The color-graded scenes are part nostalgic, part symbolic.
The hanging bridge where Marilou bumps into a spinster friend who doesn’t know the young man she’s protecting is about to break free from her, symbolizes a crossroads between what is and what could be. The spinster stands for what is -- tradition. Marilou, the need for change slowly dawning on her, stands for what could be – a new life free from fear.
Symbolisms
The symbolisms continue . The light from gas lamps chase the darkness away at night. Iza Calzado (as the mayor’s wife) chooses Luz (which means light) as the name of her unborn baby.
Even prostitutes manage to redeem themsleves by helping a rebel in need.
“Barber’s Tales” may look gloomy and depressing. You see gore, You hear gunshots. But dig a little and you’ll see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel – thanks to Eugene’s acting and Nicco Manalo’s never-say-die rebel character .
Much as she may want to, Eugene should not bid the movies goodbye just yet. “Barber’s Tales” tells us why.
But then, it’s not for her to decide whether she will quit the movies or not. It’s for us, the moviegoers to do so.
Perhaps, if “Barber’s Tales” gets as much respect in the Philippines as it did in international circles, Eugene will change her mind. If the film gets a thumbs up from her kababayan, we will still see Eugene on the big screen again.
Here’s crossing my fingers that we still will.
