A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino

In the 1940’s in Manila, two sisters, Candida and Paula Marasigan, live under the burden of the past with their father Don Lorenzo, a penniless painter. To make two ends meet, they have to rely on the support of their brother Manola and their sister Pepang, who urge them to sell the family house. They even have to host a male boarder, Tony Javier. Their father has made a last painting entitled “a portrait of the artist as Filipino” that he gives to them. Don Lorenzo, who refuses to sell or exhibit his self-portrait in public, retreats to his bedroom. The painting attracts the attention and curiosity of journalists, like Bitoy Camacho, a friend of the family, and other unscrupulous visitors that sometimes pass themselves off as art critics. When one of the girls, Paula, runs away with Tony, a liberating trip is set in motion. “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino” focuses on the family conflict and more widely on the changes caused by the arrival of contemporary and western ideals on an identity and a traditional Filipino cultural character.