Money And Fame
For Westerners, sneering at a ritual they see as a mixture of religious kitsch, Big-Brother voyeurism and medieval mortification rites, conducted by the poor and ignorant, is the easy option.
Scott Wurth's revealing documentary 'CUTUD' resolutely goes behind the clichés. Over five years, the Australian film-maker visited Pampanga province during Holy Week. By filming widely and speaking to everyone, from bishops and priests to the inmates of a local prison, a more complex and thought-provoking view of the practises emerges. Central to the film are the interviews with three 'Kristos' as they prepare to be 'nailed'. Ruben Enage, a sign painter, fell from the third floor of a building in 1985. He decided to 'get nailed' as his “panata” - a pledge to God for saving him. Over 20 years later, he is still the principal Christ in the local pageant and a local celebrity. Victor Caparas is a reformed crack addict with a burning ambition to become the first Christ. Roland Ocampo hopes by his 'panata' to reunite his family. During the film, he goes to extremes lengths to atone for past sins. Before he is nailed, he walks the barrio scourging his back until it is red raw. He prays and weeps before a make-shift shrine in his home. After his penance is completed, clearly at peace with himself, he announces his retirement. Ocampo, a simple and sincere man, is the moral centre of a film that draws no easy conclusions.