This documentary chronicles the extraordinary and "imeldific" life of Imelda Marcos. The words opulent, lavish, and luxurious were not strong enough to describe her lifestyle, so another word had to be invented to describe her status. She led a life almost impossible to imagine. If not for documentaries like this that can provide us with the details of her extravagance, most of the students in this class might not believe the story. Besides wealth, Imelda also amassed great political power. She was known worldwide and had numerous interactions with various heads of state and other powerful people (like the pope). The film dealt with her history by sharing anecdotes, showing film clips, and through interviews with several people. The filmmaker had an incredible amount of cooperation from the Marcos family in creating this film. Interviews with two of the Marcos children, Imelda herself, and several other friends and family members were used to tell her tale. She had a lot of ups and downs through life from surviving the Japanese occupation, to becoming the "first lady" (and also a governor). She survived an assassination attempt. She also went from the palace into exile and later returned to the Philippines. Again, there were so many ups and downs, and again she led a very remarkable and ambitious life.The film was a fair portrayal, allowing Mrs. Marcos to tell her side of the story. The film also questioned her role in several scandals such as the construction accidents involved in the hurried making of her building projects, and the Aquino assassination. Imelda has an explanation for every controversy. She mentioned that she is often misunderstood. The film confronts her on these issues, and the perceptions that people have, but she explains that her perceptions are different as she sees things in their totality (unlike the rest of us). Imelda was also enigmatic in her views, and in a few scenes she was quite philosophical in explaining the world, the universe, and her place in it. I had a difficult time trying to follow her logic in order to make sense of it all, but I bet I am not the only one having this problem.Some of the issues discussed in the movie were the abject poverty that people lived in, while the Marcos's were swimming in wealth. The majority of people lived in poor housing conditions and lacked basic needs. Imelda chose to ignore their plight, and spend government money on fancy new buildings in order to bring forth the culture and arts that she felt they needed. She saw herself as a generous and giving person. When asked about her clothes and shoes, she stated that she was a role model and that she gave poor people and example and set a goal for them to achieve (to be like her). She further stated that people lived vicariously through her and wanted her to live that way. Other issues discussed involved corruption, media suppression, voter fraud, martial law, and the violation of basic human rights (while jailing dissenters). Mrs. Marcos denies such accusations in her normal delusional way, stating that there were no human rights violation complaints ever made against her or her husband's office.Imelda had a remarkable ambition that could have done so much more for her people.Diaz, R. (Producer), Diaz, R. (Director). (2003) Imelda Motion Picture. Philippines: United Pictures

Superb documentary on the hugely entertaining (her loopy theory of the cosmos and galactic order alone is worth the price of admission), absolutely appalling, diamond and shoe collecting former First Lady of the desperately poor Philippines. Apparently, Marcos attempted to block the doc's release in her home country, and one can see why. However, as she gets to speak throughout, she wasn't able to claim her words were taken out of context or that she was slandered. Happily for film-goers, her efforts to suppress the film failed. Documentarian Ramona Diaz combines archival news footage and interviews with Marcos sycophants, relatives, former employees, supporters and political opponents to present a very balanced and revelatory portrait of this truly ghastly woman, the epitome of small-town ambition run amok. Indeeed, this could be a biography of dictators anywhere. Having lived several years in the former Zaire during the era of the megalomaniac bandit Mobuto Sese Seko, I felt a thrill of recognition while watching the antics of the Marcoses. A needlepoint cushion on a sofa in Marcos' Park Avenue penthouse, one of her several international real-estate holdings, sums her up: "Better Nouveau than not Riche at all". In a chilling coda that proves people get the government they deserve and do not seem to learn from the past, Marcos' son and daughter win municipal elections and appear to be launching little political careers of their own.

Everything concerning the documentary was controversial and very high profile.But when I saw the film, I realized that it had a reason for it to be as it is. The whole documentary, holds many interesting facts. It answered a lot of questions concerning our former first lady and things that are related to her. The film makers did their share of research really well because the whole movie (from beginning to end) had extensive information.It has featured the aspects/angles that you might see (or not have seen) of Mrs. Marcos and her life and lifestyle. This documentary might change one's opinion about Mrs. Marcos (-Be it a negative or positive one).This is a must-see film.

First, this was an excellent documentary. I knew absolutely nothing about Pilipino history ( yes, ignorant American that I am) and walked away interested in learning more. You are presented with a brief history though, with unanswered questions, which helps you focus more on the subject, Imelda. Second, Imelda Marcos is absolutely nuts. Call it schizophrenia, delusional disorder or narcissistic personality. She embodies all three. Not only did she not apologize for being guilty of excessive greed and sloth, she had no clue why she was being accused of these. The writer did a good job of highlighting the crimes the Marcos family has committed over several decades and showed the current influence Imelda holds over contemporary Philipino culture. For a brief past/present glimpse of the Marcos family and their crimes against humanity and extortion, this documentary shows concrete examples. And you get a glimpse firsthand of just how delusional and completely clueless Imelda Marcos is. While her country starves, she accumulates jewelry. Though she is not different than other leaders of 3rd world countries, it shows the American hand in creating the monster that is her ultimate excessive greed, which she refers to as surrounding herself with "beauty". I laughed throughout the entire film at the endless contradictions. Overall, well done and unbiased.