Dekada ’70 is a tough film to write about because of the numerous social issues it tried to illustrate. The most obvious is the status of the country during Martial Law and how the government reacted to militants who opposed them. Other issues are the evolving roles of women in society, the attitude of the people towards Filipino- American relations, and the fight for what an individual deems to be the right choice for their life.
The plot of the movie revolves around the Bartolome family living in 1970’s Manila. They seem like a normal family until the children grew into adulthood. Political unrest was happening at the time, and the eldest son Jules and his friend Willy, influenced by the various rallies and protests by their fellow classmates, become activists themselves. At first they laid low, only participating in marches and various plays about the corruption of the government and its submission to American influences. They were in the front lines on one of the marches that led to violence after the protesters shoved their way past the police barricade. And in one of their plays, it should be noted that the character who played Ferdinand Marcos wore an arinola over his head. This shows how they feel about the president, that he’s just as good as what goes inside a urine bucket.
Jules’ father, Julian, does not like his son and Willy joining the marches. He actually said that if he sees his son there, he’ll drag him away himself. Still, he respects his son’s decisions and accepts them. He approved his other son Isagani’s choice of joining the US navy, despite Jules seeing this as another Filipino slaving for the Americans. Isagani, or Gani, does not think of it as such but rather thinks of the benefits to his family’s future.
Although Julian respects his sons’ choices, it seems he doesn’t feel the same about his wife’s. When Amanda asked him what he feels about her getting a job he got offended and asked if his salary was not enough for her, even asking if there was a time he hasn’t bought anything she wanted. It is clear that the males are still the dominant figure in the family back then. He’s used to getting his way without it being questioned. This is clear when he kept telling Amanda to go upstairs to bed but doesn’t want to explain why. Amanda kept asking why and he just said it’s because he said so, and that no other explanation is needed. She is clearly disturbed by this because when he asks why, she always say the reason.
Soon Jules leaves for the countryside to join the armed struggle. He was gone for a long time, finally returning with an injured friend Rene. He didn’t want to bring him to a hospital because his wound is caused by a bullet, which will bring attention to them. This is probably Jules’ worst decision, because once Rene got better and left, Jules informed their family that they are in danger. It seems the government found out who he was and that certain things in the house should be destroyed. This includes various documents Jules owned and some papers that his brother Emmanuel, a journalist, wrote that goes against the government. Soon armed soldiers stormed the house and demanded that they give them Jules, who obviously wasn’t there. It seems he is one of the higher ranking activists, with the rank of political officer, and that they knew that Jules had been there recently and that his family knew about him. It turned out the Rene, the man Jules saved, is the one who gave away information about him. In some ways Rene is even worse than the makapili, the bayong- wearing tattle-tales of the Japanese era, because he gave Jules and his family away even though they treated his injuries.
Jules eventually gets captured and tortured to get information about his group. He was beaten severely, had electricity jolt through his body, and was forced to lie naked on blocks of ice. This form of torture interrogation was believed to be common during the Martial Law era, with no formal conviction of the prisoner’s crimes. As for how those people can do such horrible acts is unimaginable. The soldiers that arrested him did so because they were ordered to. It is their job to obey whatever order is given to him. It is not in their place to question why, but to just follow their superiors. In a sense, the arresting soldiers are just doing their job. As for the interrogators and the government, they are in a league of their own. Either they hate activists really bad or just have no sense of conscience. This act of brutality even rivals those of the Nazis during World War 2. They even killed Jules’ younger brother Jason. He was “arrested” for possession of marijuana and was later on “released”. But it is obvious from his injuries that his murder was premeditated and was on purpose, perhaps to get back on Jules.
The movie ended with Jules being released from prison, but soon goes back to the countryside to fight for their cause. Someone once said that “the only way to live a good life is to act on your emotions”. Jules felt that their cause is worth fighting for, and that’s the path that he took.
As a side note it should be noted that every time his brothers fought, the youngest brother Bingo would tell them “Saranggola na lang kayo!” or “Just fly a kite!”. The newspaper he made the kite from his one of Jules underground papers, entitles “Bayan” or nation. It’s as if the director is saying that although times were horrible in the 70’s, you can still lift up the country as high as you want, just like a kite.
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