Marcos movie generates crowds and controversy in the Philippines

Film accused of distorting history becomes a blockbuster hit

20220816 Maid Malacanang

Filipinos take selfies at a cinema screening of "Maid in Malacanang" in Manila. (Photo by Ella Hermonio)

CLIFF VENZON, Nikkei staff writer

MANILA -- The year is 1986. The setting is the Malacanang Palace, the Philippines' seat of power. A furious mob wielding torches and waving yellow flags storms the palace and sets paintings ablaze. Meanwhile, strongman Ferdinand Marcos and his family retreat and resist fighting back to avoid bloodshed in the historic "People Power" uprising. Amid the turmoil, democracy icon Corazon Aquino, Marcos's successor, plays mahjong with nuns.

These were part of the closing scenes of "Maid in Malacanang," a film about the last three days in power of the late autocrat, whose 20-year reign was notorious for corruption and human rights abuses during the country's martial law era.

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