Imelda (film)

Synopsis

Diaz followed Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady of the Philippines, for a month and interviewed her daughter Imee and her son Ferdinand, Jr. The film incorporates third party interviews and archive material; it recounts Imelda's life, including her marriage to her husband, Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos. Discussing the Marcos presidency, Imelda says that there were no human rights abuses in her country; she says that her husband abolished Congress and declared martial law in 1972 to protect democracy. She says that she took 3,000 pairs of shoes with her when she went into exile, and justifies her extravagant clothing by saying that it "inspired the poor to dress better". She also says that she had enormous museums and theaters constructed to enrich the lives of Filipinos.

Imelda says in one vignette that she had met United States Army General Douglas MacArthur during his landing in Tacloban at the end of World War II, and that McArthur insisted that she should perform for the composer Irving Berlin, She sang "God Bless the Philippines" and when Berlin asked her why she sang the lyrics incorrectly she said, "what's the difference between America and the Philippines?" The assassination attempt on Imelda and the assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr. are featured in the film. Footage from parties held by the Marcos couple, including one during which actor George Hamilton sang "I can't give you anything but love, Imelda", are also used in the film.

Release and reception

Imelda had its world premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and its North American premiere in the documentary competition of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Excellence in Cinematography Award Documentary. The film was also screened at the Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore.

Critical reviews were mostly favorable. The film has a 94% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes and a 69/100 from Metacritic. The website Film Threat commended the film's treatment of the subject's flaws because it "allows her to describe them herself"; TV Guide called Imelda "an entertaining storyteller". The New York Times said the film is "a devastating portrait" and equates the theme of Imelda with that of delusion and power. The San Francisco Chronicle said it was "spellbinding".

Both the Chronicle and Variety consider the film balanced and even-handed. Variety said that Imelda—who has been accustomed to public attention since her teenage years, was convinced that her charm and charisma would create a more favorable impression in the film than might otherwise be expected. It said that "her defenses of her husband and his regime are obviously filled with rationalizations and obfuscations". Other reviewers were more scathing, or note her distorted reality and the many contradictions with which she lives.

The film took US$200,992 at the box office in the United States. In the Philippines, Imelda obtained a temporary injunction that prevented it being shown for a brief time. When the injunction was canceled and the film was released, it earned more than Spider-Man 2 and was considered a smash hit. Outside the US, the film received box office revenue of US$300,000.