About the Film
"Perception is real, and the truth is not." So says Imelda Marcos in the fascinating new documentary by Lauren Greenfield, known for Generation Wealth (2018) and The Queenof Versailles (2012), both chronicles of the dangerous allure of luxury.
The film examines the rise and fall of the Marcos dictatorship, the period of exile, and now, Imelda's push to help her son Bongbong win the vice presidency—aided by dark money and the implicit help of president Rodrigo Duterte, he of the extrajudicial killings.
The eventual goal: to capture the presidency and bring about a full restoration of the family dynasty.
The central character is Imelda herself, a ravishing beauty queen whose marriage to eventual dictator Ferdinand empowers an unbounded lust for power and luxury. During their reign, the Philippines was looted of tens of billions of dollars, which was used to buy buildings in New York, priceless paintings and jewelry, exotic animals, etc., etc.,
ad nauseam. After their exile, a part of this stolen wealth was recovered by the reform government of Cory Aquino, but much remained, giving Imelda the funds to further her political ambitions when she returned to the Philippines.
Most surprising is the access Imelda Marcos granted to Lauren Greenfield. With no self-consciousness whatsoever, she gestures towards her Picassos and Michelangelos, extolling her role in international politics: “First I was a mother, then the mother of the nation, the mother of—(pause)—the world.” The sad counterpoint to this discourse is the testimony of the victims of Marcos' torture, set against the virtual certainty that the brutal past era is fated to return.
Interweaving the photographer’s vivid, color-saturated images of Imelda today with archival footage in an age when fake news manipulated elections, the comeback story of The Kingmaker serves as a dark and foreboding fairy tale.
Nicole Guillemet
