Projecting Homes: Domestic Spaces in Three Filipino Films

Abstract

The house is a fundamental space for a character’s consciousness, and this structure is a familiar image in Filipino f ilms. This particular space as a setting in which the narrative and the characters are able to move in, is essential. This paper analyzes the influence of domestic spaces and the characteristics of home, which correspond to the characters’ consciousness and the narrative. These are presented in the selected films: Oro, Plata, Mata (1982) by Peque Gallaga, “Hellow, Soldier,” the second episode in Lino Brocka’s Tatlo, Dalawa, Isa (1975), and Kisapmata (1981) by Mike De Leon. The method for assessment consists of three parts: (1) the background in which the films are set, (2) the influence of the house using Gaston Bachelard’s notion of the house in The Poetics of Space (1994) as a framework, (3) and the behavior of the characters as portrayed in the films. The significance of domestic spaces to a character’s experience is illustrated in the selected texts.

Keywords: Philippine cinema, domestic space, house, film, architecture