Manoro (The Teacher) is a Filipino film first released in 2006. The film is about a 13-year-old elementary graduate–named Jonalyn Ablong–and her attempt to teach her Aeta fellows, especially the elders, how to read and write so that they can fill out the ballots for the upcoming presidential election. The plot of the film surrounds Jonalyn and her father’s journey to look for Apong Bisen– her grandfather who went hunting in the forest and had not returned to cast his vote for the election. Throughout the journey, Manoro depicts the relationship between Jonalyn and her fellow villagers, her eagerness to help the people as well as the various traditional fractions of the Aetas. The film begins with Jonalyn’s elementary graduation ceremony, for which Jonalyn was praised by the Aeta villagers for teaching her people in the summer literacy classes and for demonstrating ambition to continue study. Everyone was thankful toward Jonalyn’s effort in helping them to write for the election. Later on, Jonalyn was on her way walking across the village to look for her grandfather. As she walked by, Jonalyn greeted every person she met and insisted on knowing their progress in practicing handwriting. The role of Jonalyn was elaborated as the film advances to her family scene, where her parents showed dependency on Jonalyn for her literate capability. Jonalyn also strived to teach her younger siblings numeracy as she distributed each one’s share of bread. Being rather anxious about her grandfather’s possibility to return home on time for the election, Jonalyn insisted on going with her father to “fetch” the old man back. The walking journey began, unveiling the different aspects of Aeta life that Jonalyn and her father encountered. As they walked deeper into the mountainous area of Pinatubo , Jonalyn expressed her fondness for the surrounding nature, at times recalled and whispered traditional Aeta songs. As they walked up the mountain to the plantation area and encountered a group of indigenous farmers, Jonalyn was asked to stay with the people, prayed to Apo Namalyari (God of the Mountain) so that her father could continue the search alone into the forest. Jonalyn then gathered and had lunch with the people in the shades of the forest. She was immersed into the traditional musical instruments (namely the kabungbung and the bansik)’s melodic gratitude toward the guard and generosity of Apo Namalyari. The farmers discussed their handwriting difficulties with Jonaly and expected her to help them afterwards. The journey was fruitless as they did not manage to find Jonalyn’s grandfather and he did not even show up on the day of the election. Jonalyn accompanied her parents to assist them with their handwriting. Although her parents managed to cast their votes, Jonaly discovered that not everyone was successful. An elderly was confused about what she was taught and mistakenly invalidated her vote. Jonalyn later on was sitting anxiously and obviously upset, hoping her grandfather could anyway make it for the election. At the end of the day, her grandfather finally showed up, carrying a hunted boar on his back. He did not come to cast his vote but asked Jonalyn to return home. In the end, she walked home reluctantly with her grandfather. The closing scene features a feast among the villagers thanks to the boar Jonalyn’s grandfather brought back. When the villagers were concerned about his inability to vote, he simply replied: “It didn’t make me a lesser person”. Jonalyn joined with other Aeta villagers and immersed herself in a joyous dance. The film managed to depict the Aeta’s reactions toward the changing social situations in the rural area nearby the Pinatubo as well as to magnify an individual’s encounters, namely Jonalyn’s, into a bigger interwoven net of Aeta traditions. Throughout the whole film, we get to understand deeper about the underlying psyche of a people trying to cope with the outer world while striving to retain their beliefs and customs.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 06:12:24 +0000
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