Altho an American, I lived in the Philippines 1977-1980, 1985-1986 and 1996-1997. I consider the Philippines my second country.
I know what it is to live under martial law 24/7/365 for three years during the peak-power years of the Marcoses. It is from this personal background that I viewed the documentary "Imelda."
First the positive. It was welcome to see Imelda go about her routine day to day to get some insights about who she is, what she is about, and try to compare that with the thoughts and feelings that I have from living in the Philippines and seeing her in the press in its various forms across the years as well as from reading the Philippine News here in the U.S. for many years. Just this aspect makes this documentary well worth watching.
The negative. Nothing I saw in the documentary caused me to significantly alter my perceptions of who and what she is about. Ms. Marcos has a nearly supernatural case of well-polished denial (how do you know that she is lying? -- her lips are moving). She achieved unprecedented levels of fame as First Lady to the President of the Philippines, but may have become even much more famous as a result of the Marcoses fall from power, when their methods caught up with them.
Sadly, a second generation of Marcoses is involved in politics too with apparent intentions of "carrying out a family tradition."
Overall the documentary provides Imelda more time to use her charms on the viewer and does not provide equal time to opposing views. The commentary piece that was required to be stripped out of the film by Imelda prior to its release may have attempted to provide some balance to what viewers take away from the work. The mere fact that Imelda let the project push through,, albeit with her stipulations, suggests that it shows her in an advantageous way.
I strongly encourage all who want to watch this to carefully compare the statements by those who have been political prisoners duing the Marcos years to those of Imelda -- I think you will find the gap to be predictably wide, but by doing this may find some balance between the official Imeldific version and the political prisoners' version of truth.
