Movie rating: 8/10
IF YOU want to watch a movie so moving because of its appeal to humanity or to your being a Filipino, watch Liway.
Liway is told through the eyes of a five-year-old “Dakip,” the son of the protagonist, Day, who is famously known by her comrades and her enemies as Commander Liway.
What I like about the film was its play with similarities.
Like the perspective of the small boy, their world is also small – confined within the prison. Like chickens huddled together inside a small cage, always wet because of the constant rain, which are symbols of guilt and helplessness, Liway and her fellow inmates are constantly pounded by guilt, not for the crimes that they have allegedly committed, but because of the state of their lives as a result of their actions, and their helplessness for the dreadful fate that they know awaits them.
Nevertheless, where a life like that is supposed to cripple and diminish hope, Dakip is instead always curious and playful. There was a defining moment in the movie when Liway helped Dakip up a tree to let him see what’s beyond the wall. It’s the first time that Dakip saw the ocean. And as he slowly describes the beauty of what he’s seeing, your heart will also be captivated by the beauty of what the director is showing.
Liway won me over because it succeeded in making me feel the horrors of the first martial law. I have seen so many Holocaust movies. I hope I will be forgiven for referencing the horrors of the first martial law to those of World War II, but that’s because the similarities, (as shown in the movies I have seen), are astounding.
Glaiza de Castro’s dramatic eyes helped deliver the terror you’re supposed to feel. It was a perfect casting. Her portrayal of Cecilia Flores-Oebanda is seamless. Her voice singing Asin’s Himig ng Pag-Ibig is hair-raising.
I am from a generation of readers. We read books to understand the history where our parents and their friends were part of. I can go on and on saying praises for Liway, both for the real person portrayed and the movie itself. Liway simply makes you appreciate the fire and the passion of the people who continuously fought the Marcos regime until it ended.