3rd Quarter | Week 3 | Holy Week Special: My Sister, My Lover!

 1. Who are the main characters of the story? Describe them, how their paths met and how their relationship developed.

                The main characters of the story are Arturo Duyan and his spouse, Soccoro de Jesus. Arturo (Art for short) grew up in a happy family. That is until his father left them for a second family. From then on, Art’s admiration for his father turned into hate. He then decided to work at a young age. From his many jobs, he found his passion in hairdressing. This passion helped him transition into fully accepting that he’s gay. Just as he established his first beauty parlor, he met his soon-to-be spouse, Soccoro (Cora for short).

                Cora is a hopeless romantic. She believes that loving a person should be unconditional. Cora became a regular customer of Art’s parlor through her mother. Soon, Art and Cora became friends due to their similarities. Despite knowing Art’s gender identity as a gay man, she couldn’t help but fall for him. She would always cook food for Art and flirt with him suggestively, slowly moving Art’s heart.

Familiarity breeds affection. This affection then turned to love. Longing for each other’s company, the two decided to get married. This marriage bore three children.

2. What were the issues/challenges that the main characters faced?

                Cora’s effects on Art’s heart confused him about his sexual orientation as a man who likes other men. He’s conflicted about whether his love for her is true. Trusting his instincts and feelings of longing, he decided to marry Cora despite his confusion.

                The problem came at hand just as the two of them were falling out of love. Art’s wavering heart for Cora has crumbled with Jake’s appearance. Despite knowing how it feels like to have a cheating father, Art’s sexual and physical frustration robbed him of reason. He feels that his needs as a gay man should be fulfilled. With that, Art committed adultery with Jake, neglecting his own family. After some time, Art soon realized that Jake was only after his money. Alas, it was too late as Jake has fled the country with most of his savings.

                When Cora learned of Art’s betrayal, she felt disgusted by him. Despite this, she decided to still be with Art due to her undying love for both Art and their children. Even when Art was drunk on his love for Jake, Cora stayed strong. When Jake left Art, Cora welcomed Art back with open arms, disregarding the betrayal she experienced.

3. In the deepest, darkest moment of the guy's life (the main character), what made him have a change of heart, realize his mistakes, and do the right thing to live a moral life and restore his family? 

                Due to Jake’s betrayal, Art wasted away his life. He became guarded as he lost his remaining money from gambling. With nothing left, Art wanted to end his life with a knife. His plan was thwarted when his brother (who is a pastor) stopped him just in time. Receiving the words of God from the pastor, Art felt redemption. He then turned to the bible for guidance in his new life. Through God did Art and his wife patched up their relationship and their family.

4. What is repentance? Cite specific part/s in the film where this was expressed.

Repentance is when a person feels remorse or regret their past actions. It is when we acknowledge the sins we have committed. Art showed his repentance the moment he asked God and Cora for forgiveness. He admitted that Cora could never fill in the hole in his heart as a gay man. He also acknowledged that it doesn’t excuse the immorality of his actions. In turn, Cora showed her repentance by admitting that she also had some flaws in the relationship. She confessed that she didn’t fully fulfill her duties as a wife to Art, thus causing the two of them to drift apart. In their repentance, the two people admitted their sins to God and one another, disregarding the pride they once held so tightly.

5. What is reconciliation? How do we reconcile? Why is this important in restoring broken relationships?

                Reconciliation is when two clashing parties made amendments with one another. It involves the restoration of broken relationships to build stronger ones. In Christian philosophy, reconciliation is the result of the repentance of both parties. Through reconciliation, the antagonism that was caused by each other's sins shall be ended.

It is important because the relationships that we have with one another shouldn't be discarded so easily. Instead of throwing everything away, we can use this as an opportunity to strengthen our relationships. By learning to admit our mistakes and forgive the other person, we create the resolve to become better humans.

6. What are the morals of the story? What part/s touched you the most and what are the major lessons/realizations that you had after watching the film?

                From this movie, I realized that one should not enter a relationship while in doubt. Art married Cora despite his confusion with his identity as a gay man. As a result, it became hard for him to stay committed to their relationship, thus falling for Jake’s seduction. As humans, forbidden things are more tempting in our eyes. This holds true for Art as he was deprived of his needs as a gay man ever since he and Cora became lovers. So when Jake appeared, his level of self-control was non-existent.

               Indeed, we cannot control whom we love. However, we can still choose whether we will act upon that love or not. No amount of excuse can justify Art’s actions. Despite knowing the effects it can have on his family, Art still decided to push through with his infidelity. This goes to show how far a person can go in the face of temptation. Having an unfaithful father, I can fully understand the effects of Art’s actions on his children. Sadly, many children around the world also have to face the consequences of their parent's negligence.

               What I like about this story is how forgiving Cora can be. She chose to disregard the betrayal Art did to her and their children to keep their family intact. Her resolve to keep things from falling apart reminded me of my mother’s desperation. Albeit ours had a far more tragic outcome, I am still happy that the two overcame their adversity. Not every couple has the chance for reconciliation, so good for them.