Baryoke (2005)

Baryoke 2005 / Baryoke 2005 /

A sleepy village is turned upside down by a videoke machine. This light-hearted tragicomedy focuses on our four characters whose feelings are long repressed by their individual condition: Lea, a 14-year-old orphan who works as a maid in the nearest town and is forced to swallow the daily humiliation from her employer; Perla, a bored and sexually stagnant wife who always attempts to leave her husband but never has the courage to do so; Joan, a young prostitute-outcast on the verge of exposing the village preacher as her most ardent client; and Digna, a public school teacher who became catatonic as a result of the death of her husband and children. Like many people in the barrio, they find videoke the sole expression of their sentiments. When the barangay captain holds a videoke contest, the four women compete in the finals. Singing slowly awakens their self-worth. (Source: Cinemalaya)