Ang Larawan

Ang Larawan, internationally released as The Portrait, is a 2017 Philippine musical film directed by Loy Arcenas. It was commercially released in the Philippines on December 25, 2017 as an entry to the 43rd Metro Manila Film Festival, where it won five of its twelve categories, including Best Picture, Best Musical Score, Best Production Design, and the Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Award and Best Actress given to Joana Ampil. Critical response for the film was mostly positive.

Based on the 1997 stage play, Ang Larawan the Musical which in turn was based on A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino by National Artist Nick Joaquin, the film was set in 1941 just before World War II in a mansion in Manila. Telling the story of the Marasigan sisters, Candida and Paula, and their father, the painter Don Lorenzo Marasigan, it focuses on family conflict and the amalgamation of old Filipino identity and cultural character with the arrival of contemporary and Western ideals.

Tropes used in Ang Larawan include:

• Anti-Villain:
  • Tony Javier. While he is selfish, arrogant and really in over his head, he's shown to be somewhat sympathetic in desperately wanting to leave his sorry predicament in life. And at least in the film version he never really thinks of bringing harm to Candida and Paula even after learning of the Portrait's destruction.
  • Manolo and Pepang Marasigan, the two much better-off siblings who long before left the mansion. Although they're very materialistic and aloof, they both still care for their father and sisters, however diminished it may be.
• Antiquated Linguistics: Downplayed. The Filipino (or rather, Tagalog) used in the film and play wouldn't be out of place in the 1930s-40s, but would come across as old-fashioned to modern Filipinos.
• The Atoner: The main reason why Candida and Paula stay in the mansion with their father, seeing themselves as at fault for driving him into committing suicide.
• Bilingual Bonus: While the film does come with English subtitles, there are some added touches for those who can understand Filipino and Spanish.
• Bittersweet Ending: The Portrait is destroyed, freeing not just Candida and Paula from the burden they've brought upon themselves, but contributing to the Marasigans and their friends to celebrate the Feast of La Naval de Manila in the mansion one final time, and just in time for Don Lorenzo to finally come out and welcome them all. It's strongly implied however that the War (and the Battle of Manila in 1945) erased this tale like many others from history, save for those who remember it.
• Big Screwed-Up Family: The Marasigans don't exactly get along very well. Some of the other families meanwhile are shown to have their own issues.
• Book Ends: The story begins with a narration by an old man. That same old man, strongly implied to be Bitoy recalling the events at some point after the War, closes the story with a farewell to the Marasigans and their world.
• Christianity Is Catholic: Justified, given how the Philippines then and now is predominantly Catholic. The Feast of La Naval de Manila, in commemoration of the Virgin Mary, also features in the story.
• Death Seeker: It's strongly implied that Don Lorenzo is this, as for most of the plot he seems as though he's waiting to die. It's also revealed that he attempted but failed to take his own life after a squabble with Candida and Paula, something which the two sisters feel at fault for.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: In addition to the cultural changes compared to the present, the clash between the older Spanish-influenced traditions and Americanized modernity feature heavily.
• End of an Age: Set in October 1941, the story not only covers the growing Americanization of Filipino culture and twilight of older Spanish-influenced traditions, but also the final days of Old Manila before World War II.
• Everyone Has Standards: Don Perico's wife and children are so engrossed with themselves and their lavish lifestyles that all they worry regarding the coming War is if it'll interrupt their balls and parties. This is enough to make Don Perico frown in disappointment and reawaken his long-dormant poetic side.
• Foil: Tony Javier in a sense is this to Bitoy Camacho. While both are in a sense representative of the new generation of Filipinos, the former is desperate to raise his lot in life at the expense of tradition and conscience, while the latter tries to find a compromise between modernity and the old ways.
• The Ghost: Don Lorenzo doesn't actually show up until the end.
• Good Old Ways: Subverted. While much is made about keeping true to the past and the traditions of yore, it's also shown how stubbornly chaining oneself to them is no better than blindly embracing modernity.
• Genius Bonus: In addition to Filipino cultural references, there are a number of nods to Shakespeare and Classical literature, particularly the Iliad and Aeneid. The Portrait itself, as described, is reminiscent of the real painting Aeneas' Flight from Troy by Federico Barocci.
• Gratuitous Spanish: Justified. In addition to Filipino having many Spanish loanwords, there are phrases and lines entirely in Spanish. Not to mention how the Marasigans in general were part of high society, which had been even more Spanish-influenced in the colonial years.
• Impoverished Patrician: Played with. The Marasigan sisters, Candida and Paula, are shown as being poor and barely able to support their bedridden father, let alone the family mansion. On the other hand, their siblings Manolo and Pepang (both of whom had long since moved out) have done pretty well for themselves, albeit to the point of feeling that they could get away with gambling and various vices.
• Intrepid Reporter: Bitoy Camacho, the young journalist who's friends with Candida and Paula. As well as the aging narrator recounting the whole story.
• It's All About Me: Tony Javier, the male boarder living in the mansion is rather open with how his efforts to have the Portrait sold are for his benefit rather than the Marasigans'.
• Just Before the End: The War and the imminent invasion of the Japanese constantly loom over the whole story, complete with sirens and blackout drills. Bitoy eventually tries to warn Candida about how they'd need to find safer pastures.
• The Magnificent: Don Lorenzo is often referred to fondly as Don Lorenzo El Magnifico.
• Nostalgia Filter: The film and play subvert this. While Old Manila is romanticized to a point, the blemishes and less-than-upbeat aspects aren't ignored either. Meanwhile, Candida and Paula are shown having very fond memories of their childhood and a more civilized time as opposed to their dreary lives.
• Only in It For the Money:
  • Many seeking the Portrait are far more interested in it in terms of monetary value than its artistic one, let alone its meaning. Tellingly, outside of the Marasigan sisters, only Bitoy and Don Perico really try to appreciate it for what it is.
  • Manolo and Pepang claim to be interested in not only selling off the Potrait but also the mansion itself for its monetary value. It's revealed that as the mansion represents the family's "conscience," they resent having the burden and want to get rid of it.
  • Tony Javier's attempts at seducing Paula are revealed to be an attempt at having the Portrait sold to his American "client." Which is further underscored by his futile efforts to downplay the ensuing accusations by claiming that he'd learn to love her.
• Reality Ensues:
  • Fretting about whether the neighbors would scoff upon not being able to pay the bills is rendered moot when there are mandatory blackout drills in preparation for a nigh impending Japanese invasion. Something that Candida realizes all too bitterly.
  • When Candida confronts her and Paula's godfather, Don Perico on his choosing a political career, he somberly explains that he never really had a choice when putting food on the table took priority and that while he's living it up as a Senator, he never gave up on his passion for poetry.
  • News of the War is causing more than a few people to start evacuating for safer ground. Which adds even more pressure on Tony Javier, as his American "client" is mentioned as fleeing away from the impending invasion.
• Secret Test of Character: Candida and Paula come to realize that the Portrait itself is one by their father, and that by destroying it, they're made free.
• Slice of Life: After a fashion, the story is framed as a snapshot of life in Old Manila.
• The Un Reveal: While the Portrait is described in some detail (being a rendition of Aeneas carrying his father from the burning city of Troy), the film at best showing a blurred outline, suggesting that it might be revealed. At no point, however, is the Portrait clearly seen. With its destruction even happening off-screen.
• Values Resonance: Even with the cultural differences, many aspects of the story and characters would ring familiar to modern-day Filipinos.
• Very Loosely Based on a True Story: The film and the original play it's based on are inspired by Nick Joaquin's memories of Old Manila.