Sisa is a character in national hero José Rizal’s 1887 novel ‘Noli Me Tángere.’ The book, a scathing depiction of the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines, sees Sisa as the personification of the Filipino family’s suffering under Spanish colonial abuse. As a result of this work’s inclusion in the high-school curriculum, Sisa itself has been the subject of much scrutiny through analyses and think-pieces. In line with this, the character Sisa had been linked with several negative terms, ranging from ‘madness’ to ‘insane,’ or simply ‘baliw.’

And in this film by Jun Robles Lana, the expectations that we had linked to Sisa herself are subverted. From perceiving Sisa as a woman who has gone crazy under persistent abuse, the viewer now perceives Sisa as a woman who is crazy enough to exact revenge for the abuses that the Filipino people endured. In this subversion, Lana leads us to believe that rather than being the personification of suffering, Sisa is now the personification of rage.

Pervasive and devastating 

‘Sisa’ places the viewer right in the middle of the action. Mass killings of Filipinos had already happened. Filipino women perform menial tasks with resignation. American soldiers do not find much difficulty in reinforcing their authority. Until a woman, apparently gone mute, is taken in by a concentration camp that houses those spared by the genocide. 

The fortunate to be spared is already familiar with Rizal’s novel, evident in their naming of this woman as Sisa. Similar with commonly-held perceptions of the character, the Filipino women (led by an amazing-as-usual Eugene Domingo) reason with naming this woman Sisa because she has obviously been ‘traumatized’ by the forces that massacred their people.

Lana does not shy away from portraying the dire conditions that the women live with, albeit with some restraint. Much of the violence is merely alluded to, but the implications are just as devastating and rage-inducing. Rage is abundant, pervasive even, in the film’s 104-minute runtime. 

And the women, though desperate to revolt, convey this through inconsequential actions. Lana smartly focuses on the interpersonal. We see Jennica Garcia’s Leonor be shunned by her fellow Filipino women for smooching with the American commander, through which we see the division of the Filipino women between each other, despite being all victims of the Philippine-American war in one way or another. In the incorporation of this subplot, Lana shows that sometimes, the ultimate goal is to turn people into enemies of one another, rather than in unison in the face of a greater enemy.

Effective performances and personifications

“Sisa” is led by Hilda Koronel, who returns to the screen after a 14-year break. The film rests on Koronel’s shoulders. She provides a solid anchor in all the bleak drama that ensues between the Filipino women and the American forces. Playing a character written to be mainly a watchful observer, Koronel doles out a quiet intensity through her eyes. Indeed, the eyes never lie. Yet when Lana’s script calls for action from Sisa herself, Koronel is wholly convincing in her desperation and decisive nature. 

To no one’s surprise, Eugene Domingo proves once again that she is a force to be reckoned with. The disdain that her Delia, a mother whose family has been massacred, is not shy to show proves to be very affecting. It is Domingo’s performance that feels the most lived-in and mesmerizing. Her eventual distress and devastation, both loud and quiet, just solidify Domingo as one of the country’s finest actresses. 

Jennica Garcia, however, is weighed down by the lack of depth in her Leonor. The character’s screentime is solid for a supporting character. However, Leonor is mainly portrayed as being smitten with the American commander without anything else. Despite the lack of interiority from Lana’s screenplay, Garcia is effective. Her performance underscores the toll of the genocide on even the most ordinary people. This effect is also emphasized by Angellie Sanoy, whose translator-in-operation Nena (daughter of Domingo’s Delia) is a personification of the lengths that Americans will go to for colonization. 

Restraint, even in the ending

“Sisa” does not follow a traditional revenge arc, which it deliberately eschews in favor of an intense character study. However, it is a claustrophobic thriller so full of anger, that you wish Lana went all-out in the ending. Lana is impeccable in his infusion of tension, and in his deliberate withholding of information from the viewer. 

Like Sisa herself, the viewer remains largely unaware up until a certain point. Everything finally seemed primed for a conclusion that feels like an emotional release built by decades of rage and pain. As a result, some viewers may understandably find the end result to be frustrating. For some, however, it may be a satisfying ending. Yet everyone can agree it was a fitting end. Not just for the Americans or the Filipinos, but to a chapter in Philippine history that had been reduced to statistics and footnotes.

Further information

‘Sisa’ is now showing in cinemas nationwide.

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