Vivamax: Review of SELINA'S GOLD: Revenge and Redemption

October 28, 2022

It was 1942, in the remote village of El Oro y Luna, somewhere in Northern Luzon. 17-year old Selina (Angeli Khang) was forcibly brought by her father Berong (Soliman Cruz) to sell her to of village's richest man Tiago (Jay Manalo). The old man was immediately aroused by Selina's youthful beauty and supple body, he ravished her right away. All the while, Tiago's blind son Domeng (Gold Aceron) silently listened under the house. 

The whole Japanese occupation scenario was not totally needed, as this story could have been set at any time, even the present. There was only one scene with a Japanese soldier, but this was over in a second. Even if Jay Manalo's tattoos looked anachronistic with their design, the production design crew tried to make the time period look authentic with the money Tiago used in his pawning trade, as well as his method of making gold bars. 

The film contrasted how different women react to abuse. Before Selina, there was Cora (Azi Acosta), offered to Tiago by her desperate mother Magda (Mickey Ferriols) as payment for her debts. The poor girl went insane from her intense trauma. However, Selina would learn to take charge of her own situation and managed to turn her misfortune around to her advantage. Khang embodied Selina's journey from victim to survivor very well. 

Since his "Totoy Mola" days 25 years ago, Jay Manalo had made a career out of playing lust incarnate. With that lecherous leer on his face, Manalo fit right into the character of Tiago. As Domeng, Gold Aceron played yet another young man during his sexual awakening, a role he had played in practically all his prior films starting from his acclaimed debut as an inter-sex in "Metamorphosis." His sensitivity as an actor remains his strong point.

Veteran film writer-director Mac Alejandre (now using his full name McArthur C. Alejandre) had a plot that followed the tried-and-true Vivamax formula of sex and violence, and this was already apparent from the very start. Alejandre threw in a twist revelation that made Selina's abuse feel even more harrowing. However, more knowledgeable cinephiles would immediately call to mind Park Chan-wook's "Oldboy" (2003). 5/10.