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So we watched “La Visa Loca” in class, it was good, and how the movie reflects the reality in the philippines - how one would sacrifice and do anything to just get a US Visa in order to work abroad (what’s new eh?). Every movie, it is crucial that artists should be able to uplift the traits of their characters and to present it to the audience effectively, with this movie, of course the character of Robin Padilla “Jess” and his father, “Sancho” Johnny Delgado; both good and respected actors. Jess, I’d say is your typical filipino guy wanting to go abroad to earn more than his salary here in the country, getting rejected by the us embassy a couple of times, did crazy stuff to just get a visa which he got eventually. he is somewhat close to his dad but I can tell there’s a little gap between them, I just can’t tell why, but eventually by the end of the movie Jess didn’t went to america, yet he stayed with his dad. Sancho, like his son, they both have this love for the country, that’s why he doesn’t want Jess to leave for the us. Sancho’s character was steady at the beginning but managed to stand out after. his longing a partner, love and attention rose, especially when Jess was about to leave for the states.

For me, the movie is a portrayal of how life is in the philippines, a reflection of how someone strives to get a us visa and get a job in the states. The movie depicted the culture and the filipino belief in the philippines, in terms of religion, some parts sort of revolved around it - “Kristo” or how people would get crucified in pampanga (like Jess did for the documentary), the part when Jess asked the character of Ruffa Mae Quinto (forgot her name) to go Visita Iglesia. Also, I think with the part where they were looking for different "albularyo" or those who gets "possessed" by the Sto. Nino is trying to tell us that these people aren't true and just plainly fooling other people. It tells us to stop believing in these kinds of people. In the film, there are these group of singers which appears every time a problem arouses int eh story, I think it symbolizes how filipinos express them selves in different mediums, telling people what the character really feels. The story happened around the Holy Week and with this, I think it symbolizes that over all the problems our country goes through, or how many problems each of us deal with everyday, it is important for us to stay connected with our faith in God and trusting Him to help us face the problems. 

Also with the issues in society, Like what I said, reality, there’s a good side and a bad side, it is evident that some filipinos would take advantage of others, like in the movie, how the bogus Kristo left and took the money that used to be the payment for him to act as the Kristo in the documentary, and made the american delirious about filipinos’ worship over money. In relation to the that, the supposedly possessed albularyos which I think a problem with our society, like people should stop believing in those kind of stuff, it just proves mind over matter - you believe that you are healed so you don't feel any pain or so. With the reactions of Nigel and his camera man, it shows hoe pathetic these people are, trying to be God and playing that they're being possessed. Another issue is with Jess, and this is where the film basically revolved around, how filipinos would do anything to get a visa and a job in other countries, in this case, a job in america, which getting a visa is pretty tough, for others it may be the solution for the low salary in the country but this is not what the film is trying to tell the audience. With the character of Ruffa Mae, it showed the difficulty of getting a job and raising a child alone, she works in a perya as a mermaid (I mean, how hard can life be to work as a mermaid?) but she manages to do it which filipinos are good at, even though life is hard, we manage to cope with it and still smile at our problems. Another with the issues is how others like the balikbayans mentality over the country, in the last part, where Jess' passenger kept on saying how stupid filipinos are, which she is as well. People shouldn't be that way, well for one, they once lived in this country, they were born here, it's just that other countries cater to their needs - needs that the philippines cannot provide.

The movie was back in early 2000 i think, which is the height of filipinos going abroad to work, the movie seems to suggests working abroad is the key to poverty and to solve monetary problems, but by the end of the film, where Jess decided not to leave the country and stay with his dad and the people he loves, still the movie manages cover it's REAL message, that success is achieved in different ways, there's no need to go to other countries to work and achieve happiness, all we have to do is stop taking the people around us for granted. A little sacrifice is good, for a s long it's for something good in the future not just for ourselves but for the people close around us. 

I personally liked the movie and it’s story, though I think Ruffa Mae Quinto wasn’t suited for the role haha. I came to class a bit late so I wasn’t able to see the very first part which gave me a bit of a hard time to catch up, ‘cause it is where Jess’ character was established. I like the different themes of the story - love, perseverance and family. 

here's the movie :)