Of the Flesh (1983)
December 25, 1983Release Date
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Of the Flesh (Filipino: Karnal) is a 1983 Philippine drama film directed by Marilou Diaz-Abaya. It was adapted and written by Ricky Lee from the legal story "To Take a Life" by Teresa Añover Rodriguez and produced by Benjamin G. Yalung. It is set in the 1930s, during the American colonial era and tells the story of a newly-wed couple Narcing (Phillip Salvador) and Puring (Cecille Castillo) who arrived from Manila in the town of Mulawin, a place filled with violent and tragic pasts, a place likened to Hell by its storyteller, played by Charito Solis. Settling in Mulawin, they will witness misfortunes and violence, including rape, incest, parricide, and tyranny perpetrated by the cruel Gusting (Vic Silayan).
It was filmed in the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Rizal and the National Capital Region. Ryan Cayabyab provided the musical score for the film and Manolo Abaya, the director's husband, served as the director of photography. It is the last film of Marilou Diaz-Abaya's trilogy of feminist films, among them are Brutal (1980) and Moral (1982). These films depicted the feminist issues and concerns, complete with the use of backdrops and metaphors related to the Martial Law era.The film was selected as the Philippine entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 57th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. The film has received its overseas release in the United Kingdom on November 23, 1984, as part of the London Film Festival and in Japan on September 14, 2001, as part of the Special Feature of Marilou Diaz-Abaya at the 2001 Fukuoka International Film Festival along with the other films she had previously directed.In 2015, the film was digitally restored and remastered in high-definition by the ABS-CBN Film Restoration under the leadership of Leonardo P. Katigbak and Central Digital Lab under Rick Hawthorne and Manet Dayrit. The restored version of Karnal was premiered on August 13, 2015, as one of the special features for the 11th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.