Sinag Maynila 2024’s winning film ‘Her Locket’ is a lyrical tale of dreams pursued and forgotten

Her lawyer son Kyle (Boo Gabunada) and newly-hired yet inexperienced caregiver Teresa (Elora Españo) push the film’s storytelling into motion—from their separate journeys of coming to terms with Jewel’s whims and frenetic episodes to their equally interesting storylines of managing their personal problems on top of taking care of the ageing woman.

They parallel and inflect Jewel’s narrative, giving the film a layer of showcasing generational differences. Here, we see Jewel losing grip not only on her memory but also on the values she once upheld.

Ironically, it is in the character of Jewel that we see youthful idealism, the fire within to pursue one’s dream and defy age-old traditions, to set oneself free from the bondage of conservativism, capitalism, and patriarchy. In her, we understand that life is meant to be lived fully and that the path to achieving it requires authenticity.

Jewel’s past also tackles pressure felt in the family—one that Teresa is very much familiar with as she struggles to make ends meet for the sake of her abusive and manipulative father while her eyes are set on pursuing her personal goal of undergoing cosmetic improvement.

For the protagonist, following one’s heart is easier and more liberating. She dropped her architectural degree at the University of Santo Tomas and pursued theatre at the University of the Philippines, where she met the one she would marry—a Filipino that her business-minded Chinese family frowned upon. This aggravated the rift between her and her brother, who was bound to honour their family’s legacy and take the reins of their business despite his clandestine affair with Jewel’s Chinese-born betrothed.

The war between siblings stems from an incident in their childhood. And as the wedge deepened over the years because of envy and sibling rivalry, it became a legal battle involving their parents.

With Teresa stealing the locket out of necessity and Magnus lying in court to prove that he didn’t tamper with their father’s will, Jewel faced unbearable triggers from all fronts. Yet, she has shown that forgiveness is enough justice to live in peace as long as truth prevails.

Her Locket closely follows Jewel’s story alongside Teresa’s. These narratives—divided by time, values, and class—give a feminist lens to this captivating story of redemption and forgiveness, Tiglao expressed.

“Two women want to do something about their memories. One wants to get it back; the other wishes to forget. Both came from experiences of pain and loss. Both a victim of patriarchy under two familial cultures of Chinese and Filipino. However, this is also a restorative story of women who choose not to be silenced, who choose to hold the line. My intention is to portray an empowering tale of feminism in front of a backdrop of conservative milieu,” says Tiglao.

Chuaunsu, who also produced the film, finds the film close to her heart as she was doing this while her husband was hospitalised and eventually passed away. Moreover, it was loosely based on her family story, though purely a work of fiction.

“This story is a tapestry,” she says. “Weaving of stories from the director, from the writer, and me as the storyteller. Not all parts [are] biographical. I was scared because, number one, I don’t have dementia yet. So, I researched and interviewed a lot of dementia patients like my aunties and older sister... It hit me that maybe it will happen to me one day... There are days after we pack-up that I’m still crying as I drive myself home.”

Despite its melodramatic screenplay and cinematography brimming with romanticism, Chuaunsu showed her reserved nature as an actor and truly embodied the character effortlessly. Her quiet moments and scenes bereft of dialogue were the most heart-tugging moments of Chuaunsu’s Jewel, as it was in these moments we saw how words failed to express how her memories flooded her mind and heart.

Chuaunsu deservingly earned the Best Actress award at the 2023 Festival International du Film Transsaharien de Zagora in Morocco and in the 2024 Sinag Maynila for portraying the ageing Jewel in this film. The acclaimed film also participated in other festivals, including Marche du Film-Festival de Cannes (2023) in France, London East Asia International Film Festival (2023) in the United Kingdom, 22nd Dhaka International Film Festival (2024) in Bangladesh, and Wu Wei International Film Festival (2024) in Taiwan. At the Sinag Maynila, it also won Best Director and Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, and Best Ensemble Acting. Last October, it joined the San Diego Filipino Film Festival 2024.

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