The Fog of War this is not, and those expecting a Marcos mea culpa will find themselves having conniption fits. Folks familiar with Greenfield’s past work, which can sometimes feel like it’s a little too content to wade in the shallow side, couldn’t be blamed for wondering if this is merely an excuse to photograph the intersection where wealth meets camp. And even casual viewers might wonder where, exactly, this is going.
At which part Greenfield slowly starts to throw some counterpoints into the narrative. It begins with a few old friends of Imelda, who contradict the life-was-peachy claim with reminders that Ferdinand was not particularly faithful to her. Then some residents of Calauit Island detail how they were kicked out of their homes so that Imelda could turn the whole thing into a personal zoo for a menagerie of animals she had imported from Kenya after a safari. Relatives of Benigno Aquino, the rival politician who was jailed by the President and was sent to the U.S. by Imelda for health reasons, get a chance to speak; “Ninoy” was assassinated at the airport upon his return to the Philippines, with many believing the Marcos were personally responsible for his still-unsolved killing. Andy Bautista, the ex-Chairman on the Commission of Elections, weighs in the estimated $5-10 billion the regime plundered, and about Imelda hiding Picasso paintings after he return to avoid them being seized.
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