Larawan

The movie pretty much showed us the beauty of art and the appreciation for it. The movies was
well produced and showed the viewers outstanding performance and production. From the acting to the
littlest details like costumes and settings. It is one of the few rare filipino movies that I really liked watching
and I’m kinda biased because of Paolo, I like him very much. Also, his acting was excellent in the movie.
The story tells a lesson about cherishing the ideals and things of our past, even if it means fighting
against the whole world. We as people of our society must protect and preserve our culture and traditions
as they are threatened by time. These serve to armor our identity as a person (individuality), and as a people.
This movie makes us appreciate things that has a great impact in our history because it is something that
made us Filipinos and it had a great impact on our culture. We should learn to appreciate those kind of
things because it kind of shape who we are as filipinos.

The movie revolves around the life in World War II in Intramuros. The movie tells the two
daughters of hugh profile painter Don Lorenzo Marasigan. He has not made any painting in a long
time and the family is experiencing financial crisis. The unmarried sisters have had to rely on
their seemingly more successful brother Manolo and sister Pepang. Their siblings encouraged
Candida and Paula to sell the house. To have a source of income, the sisters take in a boarder,
Tony Javier. Meanwhile, Don Lorenzo becomes a recluse. The painter's self-portrait fetches a
high sum as it attracts the curiosity of many individuals which include pretentious art critics,
bona fide journalist and family friend Bitoy Camacho, Senator Perico who asks the sisters to
donate the portrait to the government and Tony who tries to convince Candida and Paula to
sell it to an American. An ode to the passing of the world of truth and beauty and a celebration
of the tenacity of the spirit amid the rise of materialism and consumerism.

The artifact that I treasure the most from the past is the Calatagan pot that will soon be found in the
National Museum of Anthropology. Although I have yet to see this in person, I have always been amazed
Ever since before I have heard of this pot and it really my attention. Calatagan pot is also a national treasure
for the Filipino people. As the name suggests, it was found in Calatagan Batangas, and is dated around 14th
to 16th Century. This earthenware is modest in design, however this is a rare find because of the inscriptions
around the mouth of the jar.It is said that the words that are encrypted are in the old Bisayan Language.
 Until today the meaning of the scripts remained puzzling for reasearchers and have not yet arrived
with plausible meaning.. It is found by Ramon Guillermo an expert in Philippine Studies when he did his
own research and applied new methods of deciphering the inscriptions. According to him, the inscription
is a poetry that may have been written as a memoriam to a loved one. The translation and meaning is as
follows: Ina bisa kata (sinikap sabihin ni ina), guna kita payaba (para sa iyo mahal kong anak), dulang saya
kau kain (kumain ka sa aking dulang), Dada yang ‘ni manogi (Dibdib ko ‘tong mabango), Kita sana
mabasah (doon ika’y mabasa), at Bagai ke bunga (tulad ng bulaklak). It is very interesting to know what is
the real and accurate meaning of the scripts written on the pot and I think the mysterious feel it gives add
to the beauty of the objet. I think that it is written beautifully and the language is very nice although we
don’t know what exactly it is trying to tell us.

The pot is very interesting for me because of the scripts around the mouth of the jar. It is interesting
how it is nicely made and done. It basically show how even before our time they have a strong sense of
creativity and make it into an art form. It also shows what culture and language can add to the beauty of
any art form. This is the artifact that I treasure because it gives me a nice feel of the past or history. It’s not
something sad or chaotic unlike how wars and parts of our histories are portrayed and taught to us. This
object represents something mysterious but not in a scary or morbid way. It represents beauty of culture,
language, and art and I would like to see a piece of that soon when the building of Anthropology opens up
in the National Museum this coming May 18, 2018.