Barber's Tales

Jun Robles Lana's 2013 Filipino film is set in a remote village during the last years of the Marcos dictatorship. When her husband dies, Marilou has to take over the barber shop the family lives on. In a place where a woman cutting hair is unthinkable, the decision first makes her the joke of the village. Over time the shop becomes a room where the women rather than the men gather, and Marilou's hold on her own life slowly widens. That personal shift moves in step with the political pressure building outside. Eugene Domingo, an actor better known for comedy, works in an entirely different register here and won best actress at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Who it's for: viewers seeking Southeast Asian cinema and political drama centred on women. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a fast story or a blunt political statement; the film builds both slowly.