Oro, Plata, Mata
Encyclopedia
Oro, Plata, Mata is a 1982 multi-awarded Filipino
film directed by Peque Gallaga
, and is considered his most significant contribution to Philippine cinema. Set in the Philippine province of Negros during World War II
, it tells the story of how two haciendero
families cope with the changes brought about by the war. In translation, the movie is also known either as "Gold, Silver, Bad Luck" or "Gold, Silver, Death."
The title refers to an old Filipino architectural superstition saying that design elements in a house (particularly staircases) should not end in a multiple of three, in keeping with a pattern of oro (gold), plata (silver), and mata (bad luck). The film is structured in three parts that depict this pattern played out in the lives of the main characters, from a life of luxury and comfort in the city ("oro/gold"), to a still-luxurious time of refuge in a provincial hacienda ("plata/silver"), and finally to a retreat deeper into the mountains, where they are victimized by bandit guerillas ("mata/bad luck").
As war nears the city, the Ojedas accept the invitation extended by the Lorenzos, their old family friends, to stay with them in their provincial hacienda. Two more family friends,Jo Russell(Valdez), a wealthy, liberated mestiza married to an American,and Dona Viring,an elitist housewife whose husband has left her (Villanueva),join them in the Lorenzo Hacienda. Nena Ojeda (Lorena)Inday Lorenzo (Asensio),Jo, and Viring try to deny the realities of war by preserving their pre-war lifestyle of playing mahjong and engaging in other activities enjoyed by women of their station. Pining for her dead fiancé, Margarita goes through bouts of melancholy. Miguel and Trinidad turn from naughty children into impetuous adults.
As the Japanese forces advance close enough to Hacienda Lorenzo,the families move to the Lorenzo's forest lodge after a frantic escape from Hacienda Lorenzo. A group of weary guerrillas(whose members are familiar faces; friends of Don Claudio) arrive and Jo tends to their injuries. The guerrillas leave Hermes Mercurio (Lazaro) behind.After getting a lesson in sex education from Jo, Trinidad decides to lose her virginity to Mercurio.
Miguel endures more comments of the "Mama's Boy"kind when he fails to take action against a Japanese soldier who came upon the girls bathing in the river. It is Mercurio who kills the Japanese soldier. Margarita comforts Miguel, who decides to learn marksmanship from Mercurio. Meanwhile, Viring's jewelry, which she considers her best friends, is stolen by Melchor (de la Cruz), Inday's trusted foreman. He justifies his action as a reward for his services. He tries to break the other servants' loyalty, but they force Melchor to leave.
Later, Melchor, along with a band of thieves return. They systematically kill all the servants, one of them Melchor's own son. They gather the women in the living room, where they subject them to all sorts of atrocities: First, Viring's fingers are chopped off with a bolo to obtain rings that she had refused to give. After being offended by a slap from Inday, he takes Inday to a room and repeatedly beats and rapes her, his noble-born former mistress. He kills his wife, who enters the room after learning that Melchor has killed his own son. Nena is forced to play a complex combination of Russian Roulette and Mahjong with the bandits.
While treating Melchor's wounds, and that of her companions, Jo notices him eying the young Trinidad. Although Melchor agrees with Jo to not take the young heiress, Trining willingly goes with the bandits anyway, despite all the crimes they have committed against her family.The bandits notice that two members of the families are missing: Miguel and Margarita. After a romantic tryst the night before that had driven Trining crazed from jealousy, the two heard the bandits' arrival and hid.
After the violent bloodbath only days before,Miguel urges the survivors to resume their mahjong games to help them cope.The women are resilient, and fall back on their old habits of idle gossipping and Mahjong.
Miguel is determined to hunt the bandits down and bring Trinidad back. He catches them in their hideout,an old hospital in the city, where the robbers boast of their adventures:raping wealthy young heiresses in their homes, killing their former haciendero overlords, and robbing them of their prized possessions.His courage is replaced with bloodlust,however driving him to a killing spree. In the hospital is a woman believed by Don Claudio to be the Spirit of the Mountain, but in reality, simply an unhinged woman in a party dress subjected to sexual assaults from the bandits. Miguel kills her to cap his carnage, and also as an act of mercy.
An epilogue follows the violent climax. The combined United States & the Philippine Commonwealth army troops have liberated the Philippines from Japan. A party is held in the Ojeda home to announce Margarita and Miguel's betrothal.It is revealed that Margarita's ex-fiance, Ramon, actually survived the Fall of Corregidor,but is now reduced to a pathetic invalid,dressed in an army uniform, planted on his wheelchair.He sheds a tear for his now lost love. After witnessing the atrocities of the war, Don Claudio's mind has become unstable, and add to that, he has finally fallen to the curse of senility. He could not recognize his granddaughter, or anyone for that matter. Trinidad has made a new image for herself as a pernicious but very virginal young woman. The survivors attempt to reclaim their previous lifestyle, but the war has changed the world, just as it has forever marked each of them. The film ends with a quote from Trinidad about the very subject.
1.)Socio-Political Mirror of the 1980s-During the period,the enemies of the people were not foreign, and in fact, combative foreign forces were no threat at all to the Philippines(symbolized by the dying Japanese soldier Miguel fails to kill).The enemies of the people then were their own countrymen: Marcos' military and police forces.
2.)Marxist-Melchor's actions were possibly a warning to the upper classes, who dominated Philippine politics at the time. Incidentally, NPA activity(the militant arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines) was strongest at the time of the film's release.
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
film directed by Peque Gallaga
Peque Gallaga
Peque Gallaga is a multi-awarded Filipino filmmaker. His most significant achievement in film is "Oro, Plata, Mata", which he directed after winning a scripwriting contest sponsored by the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines...
, and is considered his most significant contribution to Philippine cinema. Set in the Philippine province of Negros during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it tells the story of how two haciendero
Hacienda
Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...
families cope with the changes brought about by the war. In translation, the movie is also known either as "Gold, Silver, Bad Luck" or "Gold, Silver, Death."
The title refers to an old Filipino architectural superstition saying that design elements in a house (particularly staircases) should not end in a multiple of three, in keeping with a pattern of oro (gold), plata (silver), and mata (bad luck). The film is structured in three parts that depict this pattern played out in the lives of the main characters, from a life of luxury and comfort in the city ("oro/gold"), to a still-luxurious time of refuge in a provincial hacienda ("plata/silver"), and finally to a retreat deeper into the mountains, where they are victimized by bandit guerillas ("mata/bad luck").
Plot
Oro Plata Mata traces the changing fortunes of two aristocratic families in Negros during World War II. The Ojeda family is celebrating Margarita Ojeda's (Andolong) debut. In the garden, Trinidad (Gil) receives her first kiss from Miguel Lorenzo (Torre), her childhood sweetheart. Don Claudio Ojeda (Ojeda) and his fellow landowners talk about war. The youngest guests mock Miguel's refusal to join the army and brand him a Mama's Boy. The celebration is cut short by news of the sinking of the ship Corregidor.As war nears the city, the Ojedas accept the invitation extended by the Lorenzos, their old family friends, to stay with them in their provincial hacienda. Two more family friends,Jo Russell(Valdez), a wealthy, liberated mestiza married to an American,and Dona Viring,an elitist housewife whose husband has left her (Villanueva),join them in the Lorenzo Hacienda. Nena Ojeda (Lorena)Inday Lorenzo (Asensio),Jo, and Viring try to deny the realities of war by preserving their pre-war lifestyle of playing mahjong and engaging in other activities enjoyed by women of their station. Pining for her dead fiancé, Margarita goes through bouts of melancholy. Miguel and Trinidad turn from naughty children into impetuous adults.
As the Japanese forces advance close enough to Hacienda Lorenzo,the families move to the Lorenzo's forest lodge after a frantic escape from Hacienda Lorenzo. A group of weary guerrillas(whose members are familiar faces; friends of Don Claudio) arrive and Jo tends to their injuries. The guerrillas leave Hermes Mercurio (Lazaro) behind.After getting a lesson in sex education from Jo, Trinidad decides to lose her virginity to Mercurio.
Miguel endures more comments of the "Mama's Boy"kind when he fails to take action against a Japanese soldier who came upon the girls bathing in the river. It is Mercurio who kills the Japanese soldier. Margarita comforts Miguel, who decides to learn marksmanship from Mercurio. Meanwhile, Viring's jewelry, which she considers her best friends, is stolen by Melchor (de la Cruz), Inday's trusted foreman. He justifies his action as a reward for his services. He tries to break the other servants' loyalty, but they force Melchor to leave.
Later, Melchor, along with a band of thieves return. They systematically kill all the servants, one of them Melchor's own son. They gather the women in the living room, where they subject them to all sorts of atrocities: First, Viring's fingers are chopped off with a bolo to obtain rings that she had refused to give. After being offended by a slap from Inday, he takes Inday to a room and repeatedly beats and rapes her, his noble-born former mistress. He kills his wife, who enters the room after learning that Melchor has killed his own son. Nena is forced to play a complex combination of Russian Roulette and Mahjong with the bandits.
While treating Melchor's wounds, and that of her companions, Jo notices him eying the young Trinidad. Although Melchor agrees with Jo to not take the young heiress, Trining willingly goes with the bandits anyway, despite all the crimes they have committed against her family.The bandits notice that two members of the families are missing: Miguel and Margarita. After a romantic tryst the night before that had driven Trining crazed from jealousy, the two heard the bandits' arrival and hid.
After the violent bloodbath only days before,Miguel urges the survivors to resume their mahjong games to help them cope.The women are resilient, and fall back on their old habits of idle gossipping and Mahjong.
Miguel is determined to hunt the bandits down and bring Trinidad back. He catches them in their hideout,an old hospital in the city, where the robbers boast of their adventures:raping wealthy young heiresses in their homes, killing their former haciendero overlords, and robbing them of their prized possessions.His courage is replaced with bloodlust,however driving him to a killing spree. In the hospital is a woman believed by Don Claudio to be the Spirit of the Mountain, but in reality, simply an unhinged woman in a party dress subjected to sexual assaults from the bandits. Miguel kills her to cap his carnage, and also as an act of mercy.
An epilogue follows the violent climax. The combined United States & the Philippine Commonwealth army troops have liberated the Philippines from Japan. A party is held in the Ojeda home to announce Margarita and Miguel's betrothal.It is revealed that Margarita's ex-fiance, Ramon, actually survived the Fall of Corregidor,but is now reduced to a pathetic invalid,dressed in an army uniform, planted on his wheelchair.He sheds a tear for his now lost love. After witnessing the atrocities of the war, Don Claudio's mind has become unstable, and add to that, he has finally fallen to the curse of senility. He could not recognize his granddaughter, or anyone for that matter. Trinidad has made a new image for herself as a pernicious but very virginal young woman. The survivors attempt to reclaim their previous lifestyle, but the war has changed the world, just as it has forever marked each of them. The film ends with a quote from Trinidad about the very subject.
Awards and Accolades
The movie won the 1982 Gawad Urian awards for Best picture, direction, cinematography, production design, musical score, and sound. In the same year, it won the Luna Awards for Production Design and for Best Supporting Actress (Liza Lorena). It is marketed as being one of the top ten best films of the 1980s.Analysis
Since the film was written in the years after Martial Law, Melchor's actions in the film could be seen in two ways:1.)Socio-Political Mirror of the 1980s-During the period,the enemies of the people were not foreign, and in fact, combative foreign forces were no threat at all to the Philippines(symbolized by the dying Japanese soldier Miguel fails to kill).The enemies of the people then were their own countrymen: Marcos' military and police forces.
2.)Marxist-Melchor's actions were possibly a warning to the upper classes, who dominated Philippine politics at the time. Incidentally, NPA activity(the militant arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines) was strongest at the time of the film's release.
Cast
- Cherie GilCherie GilCherie Gil is a Filipino actress of Swiss German American, Spanish, and Filipino descent.-Biography:Cherie Gil is the daughter of Filipino actors Eddie Mesa and Rosemarie Gil and sister to actors Mark Gil and Michael De Mesa .She was formerly married to Rony Rogoff, an internationally-renowned...
as Trinidad "Trining" Ojeda - Sandy AndolongSandy Andolong-Television:-Movies:-Others:-Awards and nominations:-References:*-External links:*...
as Margarita "Maggie" Ojeda - Liza Lorena as Nena Ojeda
- Fides Cuyugan-Asencio as Inday Lorenzo
- Manny Ojeda as Don Claudio Ojeda
- Maya Valdez as Jo Russell
- Lorli Villanueva as Viring Ravillo
- Ronnie LazaroRonnie LazaroRonnie Lazaro is a Gawad Urian Award-winning Filipino film and television actor, producer and casting and art director.-Television:* 2011 Wansapanataym: Darmo Adarna ... Darako * 2011 Maalaala Mo Kaya ... Papa...
as Hermes Mercurio - Joel Torre as Miguel Lorenzo