Inspired by a story in the show “Wish ko Lang,” In Banka Ha Ut Sin Duwa Sapah tells the story of Maryam (Sue Prado) who makes the daily sacrifice of swimming across a river while pushing a make-shift raft to get her kids Abdel (Jermaine Ulgasan) and Amir (Malikk Bunyi) to school.

source: fdcp.ph

The first sequences of the film were haunting, showing a lonely canoe drifting along a seemingly placid river. Gunshots then rattle the calm waters, signaling impending danger. The film is set in the backdrop of a small but war-torn Muslim community. On one side of the river lies a Muslim rebel group, while on the other side the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has set camp.

The right to education is set at the very heart of this film which may be construed as a war flick. Maryam’s daily plight and struggle to deliver her children to school is emphasized by the extremely long cuts depicting the long walk from her house to the river and their crossing. Very little dialogue is used in these parts, establishing the routine nature of their activities.

In her backstory, Maryam is characterized as a very bright, Christian student denied of her right to live a peaceful life and have an education because of the struggles occurring in her environment. This, in part, explains her overt efforts in obtaining an education for her children. In this sense, Maryam can be seen as the lonely canoe, desperate to go with the flow of the calm river and yet is thwarted by the raging war going on in both sides.

The importance of education is embodied by Maryam’s love interest, Bashier (Pipo Alfad III), the teacher of Maryam’s children. Bashier is a character who seemed to be very sympathetic of Maryam’s situation and even bought her a canoe. Bashier’s character brought a touch of levity against the more serious undertones of war and conflict in the film.

The moments of tension in the film were underscored by silences and ambient sounds. In a scene where Bashier is captured by the Muslim group, he professed his love for Maryam but emphasized his belief that fighting and violence were not the keys to obtaining a better life, but education.

A unique theme in the film is the way in which the director portrayed the opposing groups. When standards and stereotypes have taught us that in the war of good vs. evil, the AFP are good and the Muslim insurgents are evil. However, in the film they are portrayed very differently. The Christian AFPs were very violent, unforgiving people who used their power to lord over the towns that they were supposed to protect. In the course of the story it is learned that Maryam was raped by an AFP general, resulting in her pregnancy with son Amir.

The Muslim rebels on the other hand were characterized in a way that elicits sympathy from the viewers. They were depicted as the ones slighted and only took to arms to crusade their cause and protect their loved ones from the brash and unmerciful AFPs. Maryam even fell in love with a Muslim general, the father of her second child Abdel.

The very title of the film seems to be a very sad depiction of Maryam. She is definitely seen as a woman caught between two shores, two opposing forces. She is a Christian woman who fell in love with a Muslim man. She has children with men from both parties. Her attempts to get through the river safely are endangered by the war that she has indirectly become a part of.

All in all, In Banka is a sobering tale depicting education as a struggle, not a given right. It gives us not only a unique insight into what our Muslim brethren are experiencing in their daily lives, but makes us realize how lucky we are to have our education handed to us.