A Structuralist Approach to Maruja and Eternity
The romantic flicks Maruja and Eternity are two good movies that greatly show how a typical Filipino-romance movie is all about.
These two, though made and shown at different times, Maruja in 1996 and Eternity in 2006, both tell a story of two young people who fell in love and failed in the past, but their love, being true, transcended time.
Both movies have similar settings: the past, particularly the Spanish era and the present.
Both films started with the present and as the stories unfold, scenes of the past are presented through a series of flashbacks.
The way the stories were told was almost the same.
Beginning with the so-called equilibrium which was represented through the introduction of the characters - In Maruja, the tale began during the present time, where the supposed lovers have not yet met and they were still living their 'normal' lives.
The first force that occurred was when Cristy, Maruja's reincarnation, bought an antique mirror, which eventually led her to meet Gloria Romero's character.
And it was revealed here that she resembled the late Maruja, whom Gloria's character has served.
The disequilibrium occurred when she and the reincarnated Gabriel met - for they eventually fell in love, just like in the past - but Cristy is not free anymore for she was engaged to another man.
The force two that occurred was the confrontation between Gabriel's reincarnation and the present man to whom Cristy was engaged to be married.
But, in the end, Maruja's reincarnation and Gabriel's reincarnation fought for their love and won.
Hence, equilibrium is, once more, obtained.
In the case of Eternity, the equilibrium was destroyed when the love affair of the characters of Crisanto and Milagros were faced with intrusions from many people, most especially on the woman's side.
The disequilibrium occurred when Milagros was being forced to marry a certain Capt.
De Joya.
The second force occurred when Crisanto and Capt.
De Joya combated, but unfortunately the equilibrium was not yet achieved here.
It was rather achieved in the reincarnated-like characters of Cholo and Maegan - which was similar to what happened in Maruja.
In terms of intertextuality, we can say that the a priori for both Maruja and Eternity is Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
The young lovers were forbidden to love each other due to the feud between their families.
Although in Maruja, this was not strongly the case.
Maruja's family disliked Gabriel's poor family.
But overall, it was a tragic love story that ended in death, aside of course, from the twists added to make it more modern.
The a posteriori that we can associate to these two films is perhaps the movie, Baler, where the lovers, played by Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales, were forbidden to love each other.
When it comes to binary oppositions, there are a good number which I found in the films.
One is good vs.
evil - the hero's good intentions versus the villain's bad ones.
This is most evident usually in the intervention of the ladies' suitors, who were bitter and heartbroken.
Another is rich versus poor - in Maruja, the parents disliked Gabriel for he was poor and in Eternity, Capt.
De Joya was favored by Milagros' mother for his power and wealth.
One more is present versus past - the characters in the present time were fortunate for they were able to fulfill their love while the characters in the past suffered more and were sort of left hanging due to the death of one of the lovers.
I noticed that the way romances are narrated or told in the Philippine set up is way different from those of the Western.
One, Filipino romances almost always include death of one of the lovers, usually the woman.
Two, the unfulfilled love in the past would eventually transcend time until it is finally completed.
Three, the love would be forbidden by the elders or authorities.
Four, the lady would almost always have a suitor who is rich and well-favored by the family.
And five, remnants of the past or some people would eventually connect the so-called reincarnated soulmates to be reunited once again.
In Maruja, it was the mirror and Gloria Romero's character, while in Eternity, the letters Cholo and Maegan found in some old church.
All in all, I enjoyed watching Maruja and Eternity for they have the romantic Filipino theme that I can greatly relate to, with a unique set up that interests me a lot and a storyline that is sure to pass the test of time.
These two, though made and shown at different times, Maruja in 1996 and Eternity in 2006, both tell a story of two young people who fell in love and failed in the past, but their love, being true, transcended time.
Both movies have similar settings: the past, particularly the Spanish era and the present.
Both films started with the present and as the stories unfold, scenes of the past are presented through a series of flashbacks.
The way the stories were told was almost the same.
Beginning with the so-called equilibrium which was represented through the introduction of the characters - In Maruja, the tale began during the present time, where the supposed lovers have not yet met and they were still living their 'normal' lives.
The first force that occurred was when Cristy, Maruja's reincarnation, bought an antique mirror, which eventually led her to meet Gloria Romero's character.
And it was revealed here that she resembled the late Maruja, whom Gloria's character has served.
The disequilibrium occurred when she and the reincarnated Gabriel met - for they eventually fell in love, just like in the past - but Cristy is not free anymore for she was engaged to another man.
The force two that occurred was the confrontation between Gabriel's reincarnation and the present man to whom Cristy was engaged to be married.
But, in the end, Maruja's reincarnation and Gabriel's reincarnation fought for their love and won.
Hence, equilibrium is, once more, obtained.
In the case of Eternity, the equilibrium was destroyed when the love affair of the characters of Crisanto and Milagros were faced with intrusions from many people, most especially on the woman's side.
The disequilibrium occurred when Milagros was being forced to marry a certain Capt.
De Joya.
The second force occurred when Crisanto and Capt.
De Joya combated, but unfortunately the equilibrium was not yet achieved here.
It was rather achieved in the reincarnated-like characters of Cholo and Maegan - which was similar to what happened in Maruja.
In terms of intertextuality, we can say that the a priori for both Maruja and Eternity is Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
The young lovers were forbidden to love each other due to the feud between their families.
Although in Maruja, this was not strongly the case.
Maruja's family disliked Gabriel's poor family.
But overall, it was a tragic love story that ended in death, aside of course, from the twists added to make it more modern.
The a posteriori that we can associate to these two films is perhaps the movie, Baler, where the lovers, played by Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales, were forbidden to love each other.
When it comes to binary oppositions, there are a good number which I found in the films.
One is good vs.
evil - the hero's good intentions versus the villain's bad ones.
This is most evident usually in the intervention of the ladies' suitors, who were bitter and heartbroken.
Another is rich versus poor - in Maruja, the parents disliked Gabriel for he was poor and in Eternity, Capt.
De Joya was favored by Milagros' mother for his power and wealth.
One more is present versus past - the characters in the present time were fortunate for they were able to fulfill their love while the characters in the past suffered more and were sort of left hanging due to the death of one of the lovers.
I noticed that the way romances are narrated or told in the Philippine set up is way different from those of the Western.
One, Filipino romances almost always include death of one of the lovers, usually the woman.
Two, the unfulfilled love in the past would eventually transcend time until it is finally completed.
Three, the love would be forbidden by the elders or authorities.
Four, the lady would almost always have a suitor who is rich and well-favored by the family.
And five, remnants of the past or some people would eventually connect the so-called reincarnated soulmates to be reunited once again.
In Maruja, it was the mirror and Gloria Romero's character, while in Eternity, the letters Cholo and Maegan found in some old church.
All in all, I enjoyed watching Maruja and Eternity for they have the romantic Filipino theme that I can greatly relate to, with a unique set up that interests me a lot and a storyline that is sure to pass the test of time.
