Bad Girl is a 1991 romantic drama film written and directed by Mauro Gia Samonte. The film stars Cristina Gonzales and Zoren Legaspi as two lovers forced to separate from each other because of poverty.
 |
| Original Movie Poster Photo Credit: Regal Films / IMDb / Video 48 |
PLOT
Maria and Paulito live in a quiet village where people live by fishing and harvesting coconuts.
Maria is the only daughter of Teban and Sioneng. She appears to be undergoing a transition from curiosity into an awareness of sexual desire.
Paulito is the eldest son of Efren, a drunkard, and Idad, a maker of coconut sweets. Because of his father's vice, Paulito shoulders the responsibility of supporting his parents and younger siblings.
Maria initiated having a relationship with Paulito and they eventually became a couple.
Watching silently from the margins is Bolbot, a mentally challenged outcast.
One fiesta day, the exploitative trader Mrs. Tantoco arrives in the village with her lover-aide Alex. She buys coconuts at 25 centavos and resells for seven pesos each. The villagers, dazzled by easy money, fail to realize that a major source of their livelihood is being depleted.
Unknown to everyone, Maria is already pregnant with Paulito's child. Burdened by his role as breadwinner and his father’s alcoholism, an unaware Paulito decides to leave the village.
Coincidentally, Mrs. Tantoco is about to depart for town with the harvested coconuts. Paulito pleads to join her and be given work. Mrs. Tantoco agrees, leaving Alex behind to oversee further harvests.
During this time, Alex attempts to rape Maria but is stopped by the locals. When Mrs. Tantoco returns, she discovers Alex's crime and shoots him herself. Maria entrusts a letter to Mrs. Tantoco for Paulito, but upon reading that Maria is pregnant, Mrs. Tantoco tears it apart — for Paulito has now become her new lover-aide.
Meanwhile, Efren took Paulito's savings that were under the care of Idad. Efren beat her up when she tried to stop him. She thought she had enough and decided to leave, taking their two children with her.
While Efren was busy drinking with his companions, a neighbor told him that his family had already left. In desperation, Efren attempted to chase after the boat carrying Idad and the children, but he drowned in the sea.
Shamed by the pregnancy, Teban and Sioneng abandon their daughter. As the coconuts run out, the villagers gradually leave the island, until only Maria and Bolbot remain. Maria gives birth alone in Teban's house. Meanwhile, Paulito eventually leaves Mrs. Tantoco after realizing he was merely used and degraded by her as a man.
When Maria's newborn child falls ill, she rows a boat to seek help -- despite suffering from postnatal bleeding. Paulito returns to the village but finds Maria gone. Bolbot tells him she has gone to the hospital with the baby.
In the end, Paulito tracks down Maria and their child. Paulito returns to his old job gathering coconuts. During a respite from work, he and Maria took the opportunity to get intimate and intend to have another child.
CAST
Cristina Gonzales ... Maria
Zoren Legaspi ... Paulito
Jean Saburit ... Mrs. Tantoco
Bong Regala ... Alex
Bernard Banares ... Bolbot
Ricky Belmonte ... Efren
Dexter Doria ... Idad
Dante Castro ... Teban
Gigette Reyes ... Sioneng
SELECTED CREW
Direction, Story and Screenplay ... Mauro Gia Samonte
Cinematography ... Ricardo Jacinto
Musical Direction ... Demet Velasquez
Executive Producer ... Lily Y. Monteverde
NOTES:
*** The film was originally titled Suso't Gata (Tagalog: Snails and Coconut Milk). The title was not approved by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board because of sexual undertones.
In the Tagalog language, suso with accent in the second syllable means snail; suso pronounced without accent means breast.
*** Some underwater scenes that were supposed to be set in the ocean were shot in what appears to be a swimming pool.
*** As of July 2026, the price of a coconut in a public market is about fifty pesos.
Full Movie: Regal Films / YouTube
No comments:
Post a Comment