Balahibong Pusa
Title of Movie: Balahibong Pusa Year Released: 2001 Country: Philippines Cast and Characters: Joyce Jimenez as Sarah Elizabeth Oropesa as Vivian (Sarah's mother) Julio Diaz as Michael (Vivian's suitor/husband, Sarah's stepfather) Jay Manalo as Nick (Sarah's boyfriend) Rica Peralejo as Becky (Michael's daughter) Josie Galvez as Yaya Aning Review: Obsession dressed up as fatherly concern. That's the uncomfortable thread running quietly underneath the more obvious skin-flick marketing of Balahibong Pusa , Yam Laranas's 2001 directorial debut. On the surface, this is a Viva Films sexy drama built to sell tickets through its female leads, Joyce Jimenez and Rica Peralejo, both bankable "sex star" names of that era. But tucked into the noir-tinged love triangle between Sarah, her mother Vivian, and Vivian's husband Michael is a theme Philippine cinema rarely addressed head-on at the time: the predatory dynamics that can fester inside...