rotildao Saw back in 2003 at the Landmark Theater in Chicago. I thought this documentary was banned from USA. Well, I know they took out of theaters after a couple of weeks by an intervention from Imelda's lawyers, that's all I can remember about that episode.A very focused documentary where fantasy, mysticism and folklore become the foundation for mockery of a whole nation when the reality of an iconic figure is revealed. The worst thing is to remember that me and a girl I was with at the time look at each other thinking: Michael Jackson! Sad but true! I laughed with a heavy conscience afterward. Even though it seems you wish to respect their suffering or their autistic (kinda of) delusions, and I mean Imelda and Michael Jackson's, you simply can't go against the facts presented by her lunacy, and the similarities with Jackson's.Unpleasant for some, I know because I saw Filipinos leaving the theater back then. Despite all the "cruelty" against Imelda's image, a masterpiece of documentary!

ilpintl Superb documentary on the hugely entertaining (her loopy theory of the cosmos and galactic order alone is worth the price of admission), absolutely appalling, diamond and shoe collecting former First Lady of the desperately poor Philippines. Apparently, Marcos attempted to block the doc's release in her home country, and one can see why. However, as she gets to speak throughout, she wasn't able to claim her words were taken out of context or that she was slandered. Happily for film-goers, her efforts to suppress the film failed. Documentarian Ramona Diaz combines archival news footage and interviews with Marcos sycophants, relatives, former employees, supporters and political opponents to present a very balanced and revelatory portrait of this truly ghastly woman, the epitome of small-town ambition run amok. Indeeed, this could be a biography of dictators anywhere. Having lived several years in the former Zaire during the era of the megalomaniac bandit Mobuto Sese Seko, I felt a thrill of recognition while watching the antics of the Marcoses. A needlepoint cushion on a sofa in Marcos' Park Avenue penthouse, one of her several international real-estate holdings, sums her up: "Better Nouveau than not Riche at all". In a chilling coda that proves people get the government they deserve and do not seem to learn from the past, Marcos' son and daughter win municipal elections and appear to be launching little political careers of their own.

marie Everything concerning the documentary was controversial and very high profile.But when I saw the film, I realized that it had a reason for it to be as it is. The whole documentary, holds many interesting facts. It answered a lot of questions concerning our former first lady and things that are related to her. The film makers did their share of research really well because the whole movie (from beginning to end) had extensive information.It has featured the aspects/angles that you might see (or not have seen) of Mrs. Marcos and her life and lifestyle. This documentary might change one's opinion about Mrs. Marcos (-Be it a negative or positive one).This is a must-see film.

lornadoom78 First, this was an excellent documentary. I knew absolutely nothing about Pilipino history ( yes, ignorant American that I am) and walked away interested in learning more. You are presented with a brief history though, with unanswered questions, which helps you focus more on the subject, Imelda. Second, Imelda Marcos is absolutely nuts. Call it schizophrenia, delusional disorder or narcissistic personality. She embodies all three. Not only did she not apologize for being guilty of excessive greed and sloth, she had no clue why she was being accused of these. The writer did a good job of highlighting the crimes the Marcos family has committed over several decades and showed the current influence Imelda holds over contemporary Philipino culture. For a brief past/present glimpse of the Marcos family and their crimes against humanity and extortion, this documentary shows concrete examples. And you get a glimpse firsthand of just how delusional and completely clueless Imelda Marcos is. While her country starves, she accumulates jewelry. Though she is not different than other leaders of 3rd world countries, it shows the American hand in creating the monster that is her ultimate excessive greed, which she refers to as surrounding herself with "beauty". I laughed throughout the entire film at the endless contradictions. Overall, well done and unbiased.