MOVIE REVIEW

Mariquina is a Philippine independent film released in 2014. The film is

directed by Milo Sogueco and written by Jerold Tarog. It tells about a woman who needs
to find a specific pair of shoes for her father that had already passed away. Not only did
she found the perfect pair of shoes but also reminisce about the times she had spent with
her father.

The setting of the film is in Marikina. Marikina was known as a shoe capital
of the Philippines, where all of the shoes were manufactured and produced. The city of
Marikina used to be filled with people making the perfect shoes in every single day. Almost
all of the citizens living in Marikina were employed in shoemaking industries. Many people
go to Marikina just to buy shoes because of the quality and theres no other shoe
manufacturers in the Philippines. But then days have passed, importation of goods from
other country is allowed, many Filipinos will have interest in imported ready-made shoes
rather than local handmade shoes. Materials needed for production have increased, so
making a pair of shoes with good quality would be tough since many people prefer shoes
that lasts. Labor, monthly rental and electricity have also increased. The shoe
manufacturers of Marikina cant compete with imported shoes, cant purchase materials
that have increased and cant pay higher monthly dues. One by one people stopped
making shoes and closed their business.

As shown in the film Mariquina, it brought back the past as it uncovers the
relationship between Imelda and her father Romeo but also the history of Marikina shoe
industry. Romeo, is known as the topnotch shoemaker in Marikina, making shoes is hes
passion and career. In one particular scene where Romeo is making his signature leather
shoes, classic black wingtip shoes, the scene showed how talented and skilled he is in
making the perfect pair of shoes. He also managed to balance his time with family and
work. He did everything to make the shoe factory successful, but then things started to
turn. Customers started to refuse the shoes that were ordered because of the low quality
materials. Typhoon Unsang had flooded the shoe factory and devastatingly destroyed
almost everything. Leonor, Romeos wife, had left him and their daughter without any
explanation on why she left. Romeo heard Imelda talking to her mother that shes
miserable living with her father and had already decided to follow her mother in Hawaii.
Soon after that, Romeo started to fall apart and lost his shoe factory, his beloved wife and
his daughter.

Despite the fact that the film might seem like a rather clich drama about a
broken family and history of the town but it turned out to be quite interesting. The movie
Mariquina is retelling the story of the city that is once called as the shoe capital of the
Philippines. In the film, there are no direct confrontations in any of the scenes, it was just
filled with dramatic emotions from the characters and flashbacks from the past. However,
the viewers understand immediately why or what something happened. For example,
when Leonor decided to leave, she then writes a letter but she didnt finish writing and left
without saying a word. The letter wasnt shown to the audience neither it was explained,
we can only assume that the letter contains why she left her family. Also, the scene when
Imelda questioned her father on why her mother have left and why he didnt do anything
to stop her mother from leaving.

The film portrays realistic problems that some Filipinos are coping up right
now. Filipinos who are dealing with the same problem in real life can relate through the
film. Problems like the business had to be closed because of lack of funds, Romeo had
to close down the shoe factory because of financial problem and he already had lost
everything. Having a broken family is also one of the problems that Filipinos are facing
today, wherein the film, Leonor left her family because she couldnt bear the fact that her
husband is having an affair with another woman, so she decided to leave. Imelda longed
for her mother to come back, so she blames her father why he didnt stop her mother from
leaving. Many Filipinos at a very young age got separated from their parents because
they have to work in abroad, parents decides to have an annulment, or some other
reasons. Its sad to see children separated from their parents because a child needs to
be loved and cared for.

The film left quite a few unanswered questions like why did Romeo decided
to commit suicide? Why doesnt Imelda felt remorse towards her father? One might
assume that Romeo committed suicide because he gone through a lot and maybe he
cant bear it anymore, so he decided to make it all stop by jumping into the river. Or
perhaps he gave up his life to be in peace. Viewers are never given any reason why
Imelda and her father didnt have a good relationship. We can only suppose that Imelda
hated her father because he replaced her mother quite easily with his business partner,
Tess, when Leonor left. Mariquina is a certain kind of film that intentionally ended with
a cliffhanger for the viewers to be curious about the film.

Mariquina is a fine, unique kind of film where you can learn something just
by watching it. The film showed that we should not waste precious time while we have it
because no one can bring back the past. There is only memories that we treasure and
value. However, sometimes there is a feeling of regret when you realize you should have
said or did something but it was already too late. As shown in the film, Romeo and Leonor
had no closure, they still carry a burden when they passed away. Also, Romeo regrets
almost everything that he did because he had lost all of the things he cared for. When
Romeo died, Imelda prioritizes her business rather than supervise her fathers burial.
Imelda didnt take the chance of confronting his father, but she was a bit too late to forgive
her father. We must learn to take chances while we can because not all can be brought
back from the past.