The Bet Collector

A captivating film that is on a triumphant tour of international film festivals. A small film with a big heart. The film is carried – and this is no empty statement – by Gina Pareño. Pareño is a Mama Manila the way Anna Magnani was Mama Roma. She is a strong, emotional and down-to-earth woman who is alternately pugnacious and desperate. With fervour, she plays the role of Amelita, the ‘bet collector’ from the title, who collects the tickets for the gambling game jueteng in her slum neighbourhood. Jueteng is very popular, but it is also illegal. The woman who collects the tickets and persuades the gamblers to play again this time needs some very special qualities. Amelita has these qualities, but she is also too good and too religious for this harsh gambling world and as a result many people abuse her. In the first place her lazy husband lolling in front of the television and basically the whole neighbourhood, including the priest.
This is the seventh film by Jeturian and so he is certainly not a debutant. Yet The Bet Collector has the freshness of a debut. After several more commercial and industrially produced films, Jeturian has now made a small film on digital video and that pays for itself with its great authenticity. Jeturian has already been described as the new Lino Brocka. That may be exaggerating, but it just goes to show how much people have been impressed by this warm and original film. (GjZ)