REVIEW: A Mother's Story

Title: A Mother's Story
Director: John-D J. Lazatin
Producer: TFC
Distribution: Star Cinema
Date of premiere: January 8, 2012

A Mother's Story is a film that is single-handedly destroyed by its trailer. But although the film's screenplay has been made very predictable, lead actress Pokwang's outstanding performance saves the film from being mediocre.

Produced by TFC, ABS-CBN's international channel, A Mother's Story tells the story of Medy (Pokwang), a make-up artist who decides to work in the United States illegally to support her growing family. She meets an old friend named Helen (Beth Tamayo), who introduces her to a bickering American couple so she can work for them. The arrangement proves to be hard for Medy, who is detained by the couple by taking her passport from her.

Years later, Medy goes home to her family, who has now developed a strong animosity against their previously missing mother. Medy is then faced with the struggle to keep her family together while keeping her suffering a secret.

The story of A Mother's Story is not that original. We have seen this story again and again in movies, and even more in television shows like ABS-CBN's own Maala-Ala Mo Kaya. But that fact still doesn't make the OFW story less timely, as it is still part of our government's policy to send workers abroad. Still, this familiarity works against A Mother's Story.

It is also quite frustrating that the little twists that the film introduces to keep the story fresh have been hijacked by the trailer. The film tells the story in an unconventional manner--what happened to her as an OFW is told in flashbacks--and much of the film's climax hinges on the mystery of Medy's "unknown" sufferings as an OFW. But the trailer shows all of these hardships, so what was supposed to be a satisfying reveal has been rendered useless.

What glues the film together is Pokwang's brilliant performance as Medy. Known as a comedic actress in ABS-CBN, it is refreshing to know that Pokwang is good in drama. Her presence is enough to convince the viewer to ignore the film's familiarity and to stay glued to their seats.

RATING: 3.5 stars out of 5
SUMMARY: Pokwang's performance is strong enough to warrant the viewer's attention, even if the movie's themes are not that original.