In Bliss (a 2017 Filipino film currently streaming in Netflix), Jane Ciego (Iza Calzado) is an actress who has been in the film industry for too long, and though successful, has yet to win an acting award. While on the verge of a burnout, she decides to produce her own film to market to international film festivals like the Cannes and to gain respect from her colleagues. But an accident on the set leaves her paralyzed, trapped in her own house, under the care of her good-for-nothing husband, Carlo (TJ Trinidad), and a very inconsiderate, heartless nurse, Lilibeth (Adrienne Vergara). Everyday, she wakes up to the same scene, the groundhog day way; but as days pass, her situation becomes worse and she falls deeper into a macabre and strange existence.
Bliss is a psychological thriller that looks into the dark side of fame and dissects abuse into its many forms. With alternating scenes between inside the house and the world outside, we see Jane being used and abused by the people around her. But because abuse is disguised as care and painted with colors of concern in the outside world, Jane is blind to it, leading to its toleration and perpetuation. The unemployed husband lives off her income; the stage mother (Shamaine Buencamino) denounces her burnout drama because the house in Tagaytay is still under construction; and the director (Audie Gemora), taking advantage of Jane’s popularity, becomes insensitive to her limits as he becomes obsessed with the movie’s Cannes potential (“More! Mooore!! Mooooore!!!”). In sickness, Jane is not able to escape from further abuse. And this time, in her own prison, it is more explicit and physical. Carlo hits and rapes her; Lilibeth torments and tortures her. Ironically, despite her awareness and the guts to fight back, she is restricted by her physical disability. Towards the end, we are shown that one abusive character is also a victim of child abuse.
It is fun watching how the film intently blurs the line between dreams and reality, between fact and fiction, between movie and real life. Unknowingly, Jane utters Abigail’s line from the movie she is making and she means every word of it. And it is somehow clever how abuse itself wakes her up from her entrapment. The revelation in the end about the mystery surrounding Jane’s predicament after the accident clearly brings to light all the dark and strange things happening to her. However, while it makes a lot of sense, it is not that rewarding. Given its simplicity as a springboard for all the movie’s weirdness and oddities, there is room for the strange to be stranger, for the horror to be more terrifying. Nevertheless, this does not negate the already joyful ride into the unknown. While it starts slow, you will get hooked by the weird stuff going on in front of you.
The cast is marvelous. Calzado convincingly commits to the character’s tormented soul and mental anguish. Vergara effortlessly provides Lilibeth her uncanny character. Lilibeth is an intricate role, with layers of suffering enveloping her being, and Vergara is able to pull it off. Buencamino, Trinidad, and Gemora’s respective portrayals are all spot on.
Director Jerrold Tarog became a household name for giving us Heneral Luna. We should not forget, however, that Tarog’s episodes in Shake, Rattle and Roll series have always turned out to be the best in their respective editions (Punerarya, Parola, and Ulam). It would therefore do the movie-going public some good if he would helm a feature-length horror/thriller film such as Bliss every once in a while.
The Hungry Film Lover 