Salome

Laurice Guillen's brilliant movie tells the story of Salome, her version of what happened that fateful day when the engineer (Dennis Roldan) from Manila came to her house and attempted to rape her. She has been avoiding the man but he continued to pursue her and attempted to rape her. In a desperate move to protect her dignity, she killed him. Or was she protecting herself? This is the question the movie tried to answer, as the family hired a lawyer to help them with their case.

Before the trial is over, you would have heard another version of the story, reminiscent of Rashomon. But this movie is closer to home, with its barrio setting, the girl fight and the crispy dialogue. (bakit mo ko pasasalamatan, asawa mo ko di ba?; why are you thanking me? I am your husband, isn't it?)

Before the movie ends, we hear the point of view of Johnny Delgado , the husband, who witnessed everything, the third and real version. Credit Ricky Lee's masterful script and Guillen's story to end with such melancholy, the only way out for the two poor souls.

Salome is a treat to watch, it's fresh even in 2012. I just hope they would be able to restore this film before it disintegrates.