Babae At Baril (The Girl and the Gun) (2019) by Rae Red

By: Osayuwame Agnes Osayande, Philippines

Womanhood isn't a debt owed to anyone, yet women continue to live their lives as if they owe it to the world to be something.

“Female rage” represents a rightful reaction to long-standing oppression, ignited by the desire for fairness and justice. When Jane, your average yet extraordinarily tolerant saleswoman (as the average woman is) stumbles upon a gun, she sets forth to take revenge on the men who have mistreated her, unleashing her pent-up rage and breaking the bounds of societal expectations. While the consequences of patriarchy and misogyny are currently being spotlighted by women’s rights campaigns, these forms of discrimination remain deeply ingrained in our cultures and societies. The film sheds light on this issue: that women’s experiences of predatory behavior are most evident even today within the normalities of their lives.

Jane’s battles remind me that becoming a woman of strength still remains unpalatable to many, and coaxes me to grasp a harsh reality — that possessing such resilience isn’t incidental, and being a woman in a male-dominated world demands tireless attempts to grow flowers on thorny grounds.

Babae At Baril (2019), directed by Rae Red.