Tuhog (2001)

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This satiric comedy-drama from the Philippines examines the liberties filmmakers often take with material "based on a true story." Perla (Irma Adlawan) is a woman who has grown up living in fear of her father, Gabino (Nante Montreal), a foul old man who has been molesting his daughter since she came… More This satiric comedy-drama from the Philippines examines the liberties filmmakers often take with material "based on a true story." Perla (Irma Adlawan) is a woman who has grown up living in fear of her father, Gabino (Nante Montreal), a foul old man who has been molesting his daughter since she came of age. After Perla's boyfriend gets her pregnant, Gabino banishes her from the house, but in time, with nowhere else to go, she returns and gives birth to a daughter. Floring (Ina Raymundo), Perla's girl, grows up withdrawn and insecure in this wildly dysfunctional household, and when Gabino begins expressing a sexual interest in Floring, she realizes she must stand up to her father once and for all. Perla's story makes the newspapers, and attracts the attention of a filmmaker (Crispin Pineda) who interviews her and Floring, hoping to make a film about their story of triumph over horrible circumstances. However, when Perla and Floring finally see the director's finished product, they're appalled -- the director and the screenwriter (Frank Rivera) have turned their story into a preposterous soft-core porn opus in which Violeta (Jaclyn Jose) and her father, Leon (Dante Rivero), become involved in a consensual incestuous relationship, with Violeta later giving birth to seductive Hasmin (Klaudia Koronel). As Violeta becomes jealous of Leon's attraction to Hasmin, Hasmin becomes involved with Adan (Eric Parilla), a good-looking cowboy, and when Hasmin becomes pregnant with Adan's baby, they plan to elope, leading to anger and violence among the various parties involved. Perla and Floring's "real" story is intercut with the director's glossy variation to accentuate the absurdity of the filmmakers' inventions. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi