Three Years Without God
(TATLONG TAONG WALANG DIYOSSYNG)

The Second World War disrupts the idyllic life of Rosario, a young teacher, and her fiancé Crispin, a soldier who will be drafted to fight against the invasion of the Japanese army. Captain Masugi, a Japanese man from the Philippines, stops at Rosario’s house by chance. One night, under the influence of alcohol, he rapes her. Rosario gets pregnant and angrily rejects Masugi’s gifts and wooing. But over time, she ends up developing a strange form of love for the Japanese officer and after all accepts to marry him. Believing they are Japanese collaborators, the townspeople become hostile towards Rosario and her family. With the return of the American forces to the Philippines in 1945, Masugi and Rosario’s family have to escape as the Japanese start to withdraw from the occupied areas. “Three Years Without God” eloquently deals with the nature of sacrifice, with the brutalities and kindness that humankind is capable of. It marked the beginnings of success for Nora Aunor, a great popular actress from the Philippines.