What Divides Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang

I have the Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang DVD for quite some time now. I have seen several parts of the film on cable, but I really haven't gotten the chance to see it in its totality. Di ko na talagang kinarir na panoorin pa dahil feeling ko ay napanood ko na siya. Feeling ko ay alam ko na ang istorya with the bits and pieces I've seen on TV. But man, was I wrong in believing such. Marami pa pala akong hindi alam sa pelikula. Marami pa pala akong matutuhan sa kanya.

In Film 102 class last Wednesday, we viewed the film. Sabi nga ni Claudine (BFF ko sa school), wala na raw akong kawala. I was forced to watch the film whether I like it or not. Hindi naman nakapagsisisi because Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang was truly a remarkable Pinoy film!

Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang divides its characters into two categories: the "normal" ones and outcasts of society. The said division had been emphasized several times, not only as to how they were portrayed on screen, but also as to how the frame was divided between such characters.

In a town where everyone knows everybody, it is easy to make judgments about people who are different from you. It is easy to alienate them and to show how superior you are to them.

Let's start first by analyzing the outcasts of society. Sila ang mga taong kinukutya ng mga tao at iniiwasan ng bayan.

Si Kuala (Lolita Rodriguez) ay isang baliw na hindi nakayanan ang trauma sa pinagdaanan niyang aborsyon. Nobody knows her story except the abortionist and the man who impregnated her. But no one seems to care. Whatever the reasons may be and whoever she was when she was still sane, isa na siyang latak ng lipunan. Siya ay ikinahihiya.

Minsan ay napadaan siya sa isang restawran. Palibahasa'y gutom, pumasok siya at nakiamot ng tira-tira. Agad siyang pinaalis, itinulak ng may-ari, at pilit na pinalayo. Hindi naman daw siya paying customer at pagkabaho-baho niya.

Notice the wall that divides Kuala and the owner

Berto (Mario O' Hara) is a recovered leper. Back in the days, there was a stigma against people who suffered from leprosy. (I'm not sure if it's the same situation as today.) Hindi nakakahawa ang ketong subalit kung iwasan sila ng tao ay ganu'n-ganu'n na lang. Kahit pa sabihing ikaw ay magaling na, nakatatak na sa buong pagkatao mo ang sakit. Siya ay pinandidirihan.

Nang gumaling, Berto comes back to his hometown. Nagpakalayo-layo na nga siya at tumira sa semeteryo kung saan walang mapanuring mata at makakating dila ang nakamasid sa kanya. Minsan, nagpunta siya sa isang agogo bar. Palibhasa'y matagal-tagal ding nabakante, horny siya. Subali't di siya tinanggap ng prosti. Marunong naman daw siya mamili. "Kaskas mo na lang sa puno 'yan, libre pa," the prosti says.

See the division between Berto and the bar people

Agad-agad din siyang hinatak palabas ng bouncer at hindi pinayagang kahit uminom man lang. "Tatakutin mo pa ang mga customer namin n'yan, eh," he says.

Further division is seen here.
Berto also blends in the wall, signifying his insignificance, parang wallpaper.

After such fateful night, as Berto walks home, he sees Kuala sleeping on the streets, with her legs wide open. From that scene alone, one need not to be a genius to know what happens next.

Berto takes Kuala under his care. Later in the film, he would admit na makamundong pagnanasa ang nagtulak sa kanya upang alagaan si Kuala. But eventually, he has fallen in love with her. Kahit pa di raw ito masuklian ni Kuala ay ayos lang sa kanya.

Ang kanilang pagsasama ay nagkaroon ng kabuuan. When the townspeople learn about Kuala's pregnancy, they take her away from Berto, citing that he took advantage of her. But who's to say that he is the one who took advantage of her when he is the only one who took her under his wings? He fed her, he bathe her, he dressed her.

Berto and Kuala are the only two major freaks in the film. But there are more.

Meet Milagros (Laurice Guillen), ang anak sa labas. No one knows her life story. No one bothers to ask her. No one cares about her. Ang alam nila ay anak siya sa labas at hindi tamang makihalubilo sa kanya.

Milagros is at the extreme right, away from the groups of people, avoiding her like a plague.
There is a vacant seat beside her and Anita Linda's character and a wall that separates her from the entire crowd.

Mr. Del Mundo is the closeted gay teacher. During the wake of a dead neighbor, he joins the men as they talk about the escapades with women. Yet he is really separate from them.

Mr. Del Mundo is at the extreme left, alone, at nagnanakaw ng sulyap sa gwapong si Junior, at the right standing, in white shirt

At the beginning, hindi pa malinaw sa tao ang pagkatao niya. Later on, in one of his classes, pagtatawanan ng kanyang mga estudyante ang kanyang kilos at gawi. Dahil sa mahinhin at reserved, he doesn't fit the conventions of what a typical man should be in their town. Thus, katawa-tawa siya.

After enumerating the outcasts, let's go over the rest of the society which are considered as "normal."

Cesar Blanco (Eddie Garcia) leads the pack of men. He is the typical macho man whose sexcapades are the main topic of their conversations. They are the professional husbands, who during sermon, come out of the church to take cigarette breaks. At the same time, they talk about each of their exploits. Sila ang mga asawang hari-harian sa kanilang grupo subalit bahag naman ang buntot pagdating sa kanilang mga nagger na asawa.

Si Cesar ay pamoso sa kanilang grupo at sosyedad. Siya ang namumuno sa dalawang kilalang business sa bayan: gilingan at botika. Ambisyon niya ang tumakbo sa pulitika. Subalit pagdating sa puntong iyon, tila walang kumpiyansa ang bayan sa kanya. Kaya naman pandaraya sa kaniyang naging pagkatalo ang laman ng kanyang bibig, maging nag paninira sa nahalal na mayor.

Carolina Blanco (Lilia Dizon) is the rich, nagging housewife. Mapagmataas, nilalagay ang sarili sa pedestal. Palibhasa'y anak-mayaman, kayang-kaya niyang isumbat ang kayamanang ibinihagi niya sa asawa. From breakfast to sleeping time, puro pagbubunganga sa asawa niya ang kanyang hatid samantalang puna at sermon ang ibinibigay niya sa kanyang anak. During Sundays and religious occasions, di niya nalilimutang makibagi sa simbahan.

Ang mga kababaihan ay pinangungunahan ng grupo ng La Assosascion De Las. Sila ang katulong ng simbahan sa mga gawain nito. May mga outreach programs din sila na ibinabahagi nila sa komunidad. Sila ang mga maybahay na mas napagtutuunan pa ng pansin ang mga gawain ng grupo kaysa ang kani-kanilang pamilya.

Sa sobrang dami ng gawain sa bayan, ang tanging hobby lamang nila ay ang pagtsismisan ang kanilang mga kapitbahay at kabayan. They easily make judgments about people who thinks contrary to what their standards are.

The hormonal teenage boys whose past time includes smoking, drinking, sex, and sharing stories about their sexpoilts to each other. Kanino pa nga ba sila magmamana kundi sa kanilang mga amang babaero kung saan ang bilang ng dami ng babaeng naikakama ang ginagawang sukatan ng pagkalalaki.

Ang mga nagdadalagang giggling girls who are starting to explore their womanhood. They are in between fulfilling their fairy tale dreams and learning that no such thing exists. They wanna assert themselves to the men they fall in love with yet easily gives in to their desires. Nasa stage pa sila ng pagiging pakipot ngunit gustong-gusto ng bumigay sa loob.

Caught in between the two groups and amongst the people is the young and innocent Junior (Christopher de Leon). Maybe because of the generation gap, he couldn't relate well to his parents. His mother gives him sermon for breakfast and picks on his clothes choices. Di siya sang-ayon sa pangbababae ng kanyang ama for he loves only one woman in his life, Evangeline Ortega (Hilda Koronel).

Kasundo man niya ang kanyang barkada sa ilang bagay, yet he feels strangely about them. Hindi niya masakyan ang trip nilang pananakit ng ibang tao particularly ang pangloloko nila kina Kuala at Berto.

Kabilang man sa grupo ng mga normal, maituturing ding outcast ng kanyang sariling mundo si Junior. Hindi siya maka-relate sa kanila lalo nang malaman niya sumama si Evangeline sa isa sa kanyang barkada. He feels alone and alienated so he turns to the people whom he feels can understand him better.

He turns to Milagros. During the wake in an earlier scene, he is the only one who had the decency to talk to her. Kahit man mailap si Milagros, his affable side never falters. With that, he is able to break the wall between them.


On the night Junior is heartbroken and drunk, he shows more compassion for Milagros, saying that he will beat the crap out of those people who are mean to her. Sad and lonely, and perhaps, desperate, Milagros gives in to her desires. It is the first time she feels cared for. It is the first time she feels accepted.

After a night of drunk and desperate sex, Milagros leaves and has never seen again. Junior is confused. It is his first time, and he learns na hindi lang pala ang lalaki ang marunong gumamit ng kanilang kapwa sa kama. Maging ang mga babae pala. It is an eye-opener for him that also made him accept his situation with Evangeline later on.

He become friends with Kuala and Berto. Berto has become the father that Cesar wasn't to him. He is able to talk to him about anything, and he becomes a mentor to him, advising him about the beauty and ugliness of life.

With such people, Junior feels that appreciated and alienated no more.

In the end, though, when all the people he has cared for are gone, Junior realized that he is the only one who can fend for himself. No matter how many walls he has broken, it isn't easy for people to just give in and make way for others they feel don't belong. It is easier for outcasts to give in to the demands of the society instead rather than continue alienating themselves.

Loneliness and desperation are difficult to deal with. Patatagan ng sikmura ang makipaglabanan sa kalungkutan ng pagiging mag-isa. Berto gave in to the desires of the flesh, so did Milagros. Dahil alam nilang sa sandali ng makamundong pagnanasa, ang kapalit ay pagkalimot. Sino nga ba naman ang hindi gustong makalimot sa pait ng pag-iisa? People do the stupidest things out of loneliness and desperation. Sometimes, if not most of the times, we do it all for the need to be loved and accepted.

It is established in the film that the outcasts are lonely people. But who's to say that the "normal" ones are the happy ones? Ang pambababae ba ay nangangahulugang ng kasiyahan sa asawa? Ang pagna-nag ba ay nagbibigay assurance sa isang maybahay na pagiging kuntento sa buhay-may asawa? Ang pagkakalat ba ng tsismis sa kapwa ay nakakabuti sa pagkatao ng isang nilalang? Sinong makapagsasabing hindi rin ito acts of desperation?

Each one of us is a freak in our own ways. There are times that we alienate ourselves to people just because we feel different to them. However, what's bad is the hypocrisy in the society; the judgments we pass to people and acting superior on them, when, in fact, we ourselves are sinners. Darating ba ang oras kung saan pag tinimbang tayo ay sapat lang ang kalalabasan o nag-uumapaw pa? What you do for people who are less fortunate than you weighs a lot.

Ngayon ko lang naa-appreciate ng husto ang mga pelikula ni Lino Brocka. (We did character analyzation for Ora Pronobis before.) His films mirror what the society is all about and the disintegration of the family system. Napakayaman ng kanyang mga karakter at may dahilan kung bakit sila kabilang sa pelikula. Hindi lamang pang-subplot o filler para humaba ang pelikula. Lahat sila ay may sinasabi tungkol sa komunidad na ating kinabibilangan.

Note: Isa pang nakakalungkot na bagay ay walang updated DVD version ang UP ng pelikulang ito! Ang kopyang pinanood sa 'min ay VHS (or Beta) converted version lamang. Maayos naman subalit mas matinong di hamak ang nilabas na restored version ng Cine Filipino.