Paglipay (Crossing): A Tapestry of Stories on Love, Nature, and Culture
“Paglipay” is the Zambal term used to describe the trek and the river crossings of the Aetas from the mountains to go to the town proper. From this phenomenon, Zig Dulay based his latest film “Paglipay” (Crossing) - an entry to the very first To Farm Film Festival.
In “Paglipay”, Atan (Garry Cabalic) is a nineteen year old Aeta arranged to be married to Ani. To fulfil the “bandi” or the dowry that Ani’s family requires, Atan has to go to town and look for work. There he meets Rain (Anna Luna) - a student doing interview on her thesis regarding cross cultural marriages (Pilaok) between aetas (kulot) and lowland people (unat). Atan is interviewed by Rain. He also became her guide in the area, introducing her to people that will be relevant to her research.
In the process, Atan falls inlove with Rain. He buys himself new clothes and skip work, making his role as a guide, an excuse to be with Rain.
A light hearted film reminiscent of Antoinette Jadaone “That thing called Tadhana”, “Paglipay” tickled the heart of its audience with its “hugot lines”.
But “Paglipay” is more than just a love story. Interwoven with grand landscape shots of the Pinatubo landscape and witty dialogue exchanges between the characters, is the life, culture and beliefs of the Aeta people as they interact with one another, with the environment, and with people other than their tribe. The effect of climate change on agriculture- the main livelihood of the Aetas, and environmental degradation brought by black sand excavations and mining operations were also presented in a way that blended perfectly well with the film’s subtlety.
The Aetas and Nature
The movie is full of panoramic views of Pinatubo area- mountains, the vast plains of lahar, rivers, and the upland agriculture plots. We do not only fall in love with the landscape here, we also see how connected the Aetas are with the elements of nature: land, water, earth, and fire.
Audience are treated with simple scenes: we see Atan and Ani hunting and relying on the forest for game and wild fruits; we see Atan and his father selecting sites for their farm; we see him bathing a child in a river and drinking straight from a spring and these scenes communicate that without nature, the lives of Atan and his people will be adversely affected.
The final scene is what struck me the most. Here are two lovers in the same spot where they always quietly look at the world. Everything looks the same, but then we see the mountain in distance. It is a bit hazy, but slowly, our views adjust and we see the bitter reality: the mountain that we have come to love during the film is being stripped of its life. It is being mined.
The scene hurts, more so because we know that it is a reality that our Aeta brothers and sisters face.
The Aeta Culture and Life
The movie is a great window to lives of the Aetas. Traditions and beliefs of the community on marriage, god, and their agricultural practices were shown. Music in this movie was used very minimally as traditional chanting was used to expressed how god is worshipped in the mountains. Conversely, how Catholicism blends with customary beliefs was also featured.
Implicitly, the movie delivered the health conditions in the Aeta community as shown in the birthing scene where a mother gives birth to child in their house located far up in the mountains without any medical aid and care; issues on food security and poverty was seen as Atan goes down the mountain and sell a month’s harvest for only P700.00.
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“Paglipay” is a wonderful movie that tackled socially relevant issues using a romantic- comedy narrative. For someone like me who is just starting to frequent film festivals, this is a very interesting and novel blend. What used to be delivered in two different genre: social issues in documentaries, and love stories in rom-com- was presented in a seamless and picturesque film. Also, I like that the stories of the Aetas were presented “as is” and without any urge for the viewers to feel pity on them.
The movie was entertaining. It was light and feels as gentle as the pastel lights of sunrise as it illuminates the rugged Zambales terrain, but it has weight that one carries as one is given knowledge and wisdom on the lives of our countrymen: the Aetas.
Additional Analysis + Question:
1.) I feel that the name “Rain” is metaphorical. In the movie we see how agriculture is very important to the Aetas and they depend on the rain for the growth of their crops. Too much of rain will destroy the crops, too little will make them wither, but just enough will make them grow. When will the rain comes is also an important factor for the growing of crops.
In this regard, we can ask if Rain’s coming in the life of Atan destroyed him or made him grow. Did she appeared on the right time or the wrong time in Atan’s life?
2.) “Paglipay” is the Zambal term used to describe the trek and the river crossings of the Aetas from the mountains to go to the town proper. Further, it can also mean the crossing to the traditional ways of living to the modern time.
