Once upon a time long, long ago, fairytales were more than just imaginative flights of fancy. They weren't cute or cuddly, aligned with strategic marketing to create excellent cross promotion and/or marketing advantages. No, back when they were first formed, fairytales had more in common with urban legends than they did with wish fulfillment, ego integrity and lessons about sharing. If they were anything, a fairytale was a parable, a clear cautionary example of avoiding certain situations and individuals wrapped up in prosaic pomp and circumstance. They also stood as a manner of social redistribution, a chance for the commoner to laugh at the crown or sneer at the wealthy and privileged. Today, all that’s gone. In its place are politically correct platitudes and non-violent positivity. From the moment Tala (Felicity Kyle Napuli) discovers the Fairy's (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) lair, we witness the kind of vital visual splendor that has been missing from most productions. Thanks to Kenneth Dagatan’s wonderful combination of the sinister with the sublime, the whimsical elements become deep and rather disconcerting. Like the Brothers Grimm before him, here is a filmmaker who wants to give fairytales back their teeth. The journey at the center of the story is meant to symbolize the internal struggles that any young person must face when confronted by the grown-up world. Indeed, Dagatan argues that what Tala and her brother Bayani (James Mavie Estrella) faces is the temptation of choice and the confidence to decide direction for oneself. Courage is a key element in the narrative themes. We are supposed to see self-sacrifice and bravery parallel and surpass the brutal tactics resulting in a realization of what truly matters in a time of war. Take the relationship between Ligaya (Beauty Gonzalez) and her husband. In order to survive, she must trust her husband, Romualdo (Arnold Reyes) and it’s a price she’s willing to pay with her own expiring existence.
As the harried servant, Amor (Angeli Bayani) is trying to remain undetected and undeterred. She knows that death is around every corner in this well secured home and all it takes is the wrong move or trusting the wrong person to uncover her treason. It’s the same with Antonio (Ronnie Lazaro), in fact, he is so brazen in his behavior that it’s not a question of how he gets caught, but when. Together, they understand their part in the paradigm. If they only protect themselves, others will be destroyed. In the end, however, it all comes down to Tala. She is the most important emblematic element in Dagatan’s struggle to fit the terrors of reality into a world awash in fairies and yet all it can think about is the murderous desire to kill. Adding to the allegorical nature of the creature is its surroundings. Dagatan wants to make it crystal clear – power compels the enfeebled to feel invincible. And under such psychological strategies, the most horrifying of atrocities can occur. It is therefore up to the innocent to show us the way. During the last aspects of In My Mother's Skin (Amazon Studios, 2023), Dagatan continuously merges the mundane with the fantastical, twisting the two until we can no longer separate them. Whether it’s real, merely a figment in a child’s mind or a confusing combination of the two that tells us something incredibly heartbreaking about the world, In Her Mother's Skin retains its artistry and urgency. In this way, Dagatan blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, suggesting that the abject evil of fairytales is merely a reflection of the world’s cruelties. Like conventional fairytales, In My Mother's Skin offers a path to overcoming such cruelty, even if victory quite possibly resides in the realm of the imaginary. As a film, it flowers over multiple viewings, exposing layers unrealized in previous visits. It sinks deep into your soul and surprises you with its bravery and warmth. As harsh as it is human, filmmaking doesn’t get any more enlightened than this.
Director of Photography: Russell Morton
Production Designers: Benjamin Padero, Carlo Tabije
Editor: Kao Ming-Cheng
Sound Mix and Design: Eddie Huang, Chen Yi-Ling
Music: SiNg Wu
Written & Directed By: Kenneth Dagatan
