FEATURES | Dekada '70: The Violent Struggle Amidst Silence

Dekada '70 immerses us in a society chock full of contradictions. It highlights the inequality between men and women, where wives are expected to obey their husbands and devote themselves to domestic life, but are denied the dignity of independent thought and their own sense of self and agency. It also portrays the struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and the privileged carry on with their lives in comfort while the working class bleed in the streets. The heart of the movie exposes the violent and grim clash between Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s authoritarian state and the movements that dared to resist it.

Vilma Santos’ portrayal of Amanda Bartolome anchors the film’s narrative. Through her character, the audience will come to witness how the oppression of that time is not merely confined in the political circle but it will also seep into the four walls of a domestic home. It creeps in the patriarchal traditions, the silenced voice of the wife, in her choices that are denied. Amanda’s quiet endurance, morphing into her gradual awakening, coming to her fruitful resolve carry the story’s heavy emotional weight and expose the personal costs of living under a dictatorship; one that is found in her country and her home. Although the story is not hers alone, Julian, her husband and the father figure embodies a conflicted character of authority: a man who loves his family yet still clings to the rigid notions of masculinity and his assumed power to control. This is the cause of his failure to understand Amanda’s yearning for independence. Their five sons each stray a different path under Martial Law, from rebellion, conformity, disillusionment, fear, and apathy reflecting a generation of young men grappled with questions of justice. Together, the Bartolome family becomes a reflection of the country at the time, learning to navigate fear and loyalty, whilst also coming to terms that no one is spared from the violent hands of the Martial Law.

Watching the film is not easy. The scenes of graphic torture, the harsh watchful eyes of the patrols, and the heart-wrenching disappearances are a suffocating watch, and even more so, it is enraging. Yet this discomfort is deliberate, it reminds us that Martial Law was a violent lived truth that scarred the masses, multiple generations of our Filipino brothers and sisters remain traumatized from the horrors the Martial Law era has brought upon in our country. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙚𝙧, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩.The film will not offer the audience a sanitized version of our history where the dictator is forgiven or where the people’s struggle is softened. The pain it inflicts is never once minimized.

Yet, despite its received acclaim and accolades, Dekada ‘70 also faced its fair share of critiques. Some critics argued that even though the film offers a compelling portrayal of the violence that occurred in the Martial Law era, its ambition to cover such a wide scope event meant that while it did touch on many issues, it did not have enough space to fully explore the gravity of the issues and their depth. On the political side, some also stated that the film also fell short to explain what Jules was actually doing and what role he played in resisting the regime. If the intent was to help parents like Amanda understand the convictions of their children, some say, that this was not fully achieved. The film was also called a lot of things, “a worthy but a pedestrian adaptation” or “made obviously for the mainstream.” These criticisms, however, do not diminish the film’s importance. Rather, they even highlight how Dekada ‘70 continues to spark debate over how Martial Law should be represented in media. So much so that even its shortcomings are discussed today, showing just how films can also act as a tool for us to remember.

Watch Dekada ‘70 not just as a period piece but heed it as a warning. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙪𝙨: ‘𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣.’ After watching, the audiences will come to confront the dangers of forgetting the past. 𝙏𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 — 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚, 𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙇𝙖𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙫𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚. In doing so, we safeguard not only the truth of our history but also the bright promise of the safe future that countless lives of our Filipino brothers and sisters once fought to win over.

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