Standing for long hours at a photocopying stall in a local university. Cleaning houses for some extra income. Iska budgets what she earns to get by. Though it seems like she never complains about it. The reality is, there is nothing she can do about it. She's impoverished.
What she complains about are the things she believes that can change. Like her husband, for example. He's a stingy old man and a womanizer. He's also ill-tempered and abusive. The worst thing about him though is that he doesn't have any empathy for their autistic grandson Dodong.
Unlike her husband, Iska is a loving grandmother to Dodong. Since her daughter, Judy, left him, she has been the one who looks after him. Iska perseveres to take care of him despite the difficulty in giving his needs. She brings him food. She makes his clothes as white as possible. She would even threaten anyone who would hurt him.
But living in poverty has its consequences. Iska's meager earning cannot support her and her grandson's needs anymore. She's old and weak. So she resorted to the next best option she can think of, adoption. Fortunately, a nearby orphanage accepted Dodong's case. Though it wasn't long until gossips about Iska's alleged mistreatment of her grandson captured the media's attention. Further complicating her already bleak and depressing life.
On the surface, "Iska" fronts as a look into poverty. The house of the protagonist is always chaotic and dirty. All the lines of the characters are negative and depressing. The film makes the audience look at Ruby Ruiz, with tired eyes, wash, cook, and work. Everything on screen seems to point at Iska's grim situation without giving it a sense of hope.
That's why "Iska" feels like a contentious film. It exists to make a compelling thesis on poverty, but it implies that the status quo is unchangeable. The film lets the viewers follow Iska, only to see her more broken than before.
Director Theodore Boborol might have got a reason for the story of the film. But it's unclear if the film aims to be a mirror to reality or a depiction of resiliency and perseverance. Or it may be to solicit sympathy for those living in the slums. Whatever it is, the film leaves itself open to many interpretations.
What is certain is that "Iska" is the kind of film that will not make the viewers feel good. It's distressing and obscene with many triggering scenes. It is best to check the reviews and the trailers of this film first before plunging into its narrative.
1/5
