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Of course we had to see Signal Rock. It is the latest collaboration of director Chito Roño and writer Rody Vera, the same team that brought us Badil, a film that should be required viewing on every election year. Signal Rock is about a remote island community where nearly all the women have left to find jobs in Manila, Olongapo, Europe, anywhere they can work and send money home. The men left behind spend their days drinking and making plans that never come to fruition, waiting for their remittances.

(I love the title, it makes me think of an album by The Clash. Also it’s a movie about the costs of world domination.)

The OFW diaspora has been the subject of many films and TV programs, initially a lot of melodramas about mothers separated from their children, fathers blowing their remittances on drink and women, children becoming wild and rebellious, etc. Signal Rock takes an aspect (the reversal of traditional roles) of a well-worn topic (OFWs) and addresses its complications and consequences with nuance and unfailing intelligence. Everything about it is excellent, beginning with Roño’s nimble direction, Vera’s insightful script, and the wonderful performance of Christian Bables and the entire cast. Signal Rock bears repeated viewing because so much is packed into its two-hour running time. It is the opposite of poverty porn: these people are not defined by their poverty, but by their unflinching humanity in less than ideal circumstances.

From the arresting opening images of Intoy on the only spot in the island that has a cellphone signal (Leche talaga yang mga telco, said the voice in my head), holding up his crappy old phone with a fork attached in hopes of getting better reception, Signal Rock demands and earns your undivided attention. I saw it yesterday at UP Film Center (There are screenings today at 230, 5, and 7pm, Run) with my friend, who seldom goes to the movies. She was so moved by Signal Rock that she emailed me this morning with her thoughts. If you have seen Signal Rock, please join our discussion in Comments.

J,

Until our next film,
N

N,

Signal Rock made the expedition to QC across the sea of traffic worth it.

The situation in the film—women leaving the island to support their families—is true all over the Philippines. It used to be the men who left to become laborers in Saudi Arabia or Manila, but now it’s the women. This is very interesting when you consider that Filipino culture is supposed to be macho, so macho that it’s spilled over to toxic masculinity. Do the men feel emasculated now that women are fulfilling what is traditionally believed to be their role? And do their feelings of helplessness, aggravated by drink and trash talk, cause them to try to reassert their masculinity by doing violence to women?

Given that women are the breadwinners of this country, why do they not get more respect? Why are women still treated like breeders who must obey their fathers and husbands without question? Could we say that leaving the islands and finding foreign husbands is actually a good thing for women?

J

A different perspective from my friend, E.

J,

I found your article about Signal Rock very interesting, particularly about our culture being macho and the apparent reversal of roles.

My hometown, which I visit regularly, is a trading center supporting a rice farming community. The rich are mostly the landlords and the traders. Most of the people who are actually working are the women—vendors in the market, teachers, traders, restaurant operators, and so on. My own aunt goes to the bukid daily to convey the instructions of my uncle and monitor their proper implementation. At crucial times like planting and harvesting, he will deign to visit the farm, but it is not necessary for him to visit the farm daily.

While there is a macho culture, lots of drinking, gambling, sabong, and related activities, these are all supported by the women. On any given day, the women are working while most of the men are moving around on their motorcycles and owner jeeps, actively pursuing manly activities, but never actually working. True, many men are engaged in the backbreaking work of actually farming, but the women are engaged in that, too.

I’ve never seen my cousins participating in the drudgery of the family business, and this is true of many of the male offspring. In the meantime, they are free to pursue their manly pursuits, cycling, driving, accessorizing cars, various sports, womanizing, secure in the thought that they can approach their parents—really, their mother—for any material needs.

I’m suggesting that perhaps our culture is not one of macho men, but rather one of spoiled mama’s boys, and their motherly enablers. The present situation of women going off to work and making the sacrifices while the men sit back and simply wait for their remittances to arrive is not a reversal, but simply more of the same.

E

And from my classmate D, whom I hadn’t seen in many years and ran into at the screening.

J,

I found the movie fresh and engaging. Christian Bables is a natural; he made me believe in the goodness of Intoy. I was rooting for Intoy! I take my hat off to this hardworking young actor.

On another note, I found it curious that many of the women who lived on the island have more money smarts than the men did. For example, the former Japayuki won a settlement big enough to have a nice house built. The woman who owns the grocery is prosperous. Even the mandarasal earns from her prayers.

In contrast, the men folk relied mainly on manual labor and barely eke out a living: Intoy’s father is a carpenter, while his brother and Damian ride motorcycles for hire.

From another point of view, I found it sneaky that a brand of rum got a product placement in the movie. In at least two scenes, the company’s logo was clearly displayed on the bottles. Damian was even shown tossing down a few shots of this rum—and in the kitchen of the house where the priest lives at that! (I’ve seen many a welcome poster in different towns prominently displaying this particular drink’s logo, and I hate it that it’s the first thing that greets visitors to these places. Grrrk!)

Incidentally, what is the relationship of the priest to Damian? And did Intoy’s father in fact rape his mother? I wish the loops of these unfinished side stories were closed. Otherwise, I think they are distracting loose ends that do little to advance Intoy’s story.

Some minor points: I thought two scenes—the scene in which the priest was turning off the lights while talking to Intoy; and the scene in which Intoy and his father were drinking and eating together in his father’s hut—were underlit. I also found Intoy’s brown makeup distracting. (If only I didn’t know how fair he is from watching Die Beautiful.)

Overall, though, I strongly recommend Signal Rock to people who seek a breather from the world’s seemingly endless stream of woes. Despite its minor flaws, this heartening and entertaining story that takes place in a pristine setting delivers the goods.

D.

Your thoughts?