Rod Clinton P.

De Guzman
BSA 1-1
Weighed but Found Wanting
Weighed But Found Wanting (Filipino: Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang) is a 1974 Filipino
drama film by Lino Brocka, starring Christopher De Leon, Hilda Koronel, Lolita Rodriguez and
Eddie Garcia.
Plot
The story begins with a flashback of Kuala's past. An herbolario (traditional/folk medicine
practitioner) performs an abortion on Kuala (Lolita Rodriguez), as Cesar (Eddie Garcia) watches
her. The abortion was a success, but when Kuala sees the aborted fetus, she becomes disturbed.
In the next scene, she walks in the middle of a grassy plain, and as the heat becomes more and
more unbearable, she becomes insane.
As the movie returns to the present, Kuala wanders about in dirty clothes and with mangy hair.
The townsfolk make fun of Kuala. She is pushed into a watering hole and almost drowns.
Bertong Ketong (Mario O'Hara), a leper lonely for female companionship, attracts Kuala with a
rattle and takes her to his shack in the cemetery. Junior (Christopher de Leon) makes friends with
them, defying the prohibitions of his father, Cesar Blanco, a lawyer and a failed politician.
Junior asks Berto's advice concerning his problems with an eccentric teacher, Mr. Del Mundo
(Orlando Nadres), who has a crush on him. Junior has problems too with his girlfriend
Evangeline (Hilda Koronel), who flirts with her escort during a Santacruzan. The jealous Junior
leaves the procession and seeks the company of Milagros (Laurice Guillen), who seduces him.
The Asociacion de las Damas Cristianas is scandalized to discover Kuala is pregnant. She is
forced to live under the custody of the pious Lola Jacoba (Rosa Aguirre). When Berto makes a
clandestine visit to Kuala, she tells him of his unhappiness. Berto tells this to Junior, who
resolves to help the pregnant Kuala make an escape from Lola Jacoba's house and lead her back
to Berto's shack. However, Burto knows she will be taken away and returns her to Lola Jacoba,
and promises to retrieve her after she has given birth.
Some nights later, Kuala experiences labor pains. She finds her way to Berto's shack, at which
point Berto rushes out to fetch a doctor. When the doctor refuses to help him, Berto takes him
hostage but repeats he will not kill him. As Berto flees with the doctor, the doctor's wife shouts
for help, awakening the townspeople who rush to follow the fleeing pair. Before Berto and the
doctor reach the shack in the cemetery, however, the doctor escapes and a chase ensues. A group
of policemen come to the doctor's rescue and shoot Berto. Junior sees this and is shocked; he
holds Berto's dead body and cries in front of the whole town.
Junior then enters the shack where Kuala has successfully given birth to a baby boy, but the labor
has made her weak. Her thinking becomes lucid, and in her sanity she recognizes Junior and
realizes that Berto has been killed. She also recognizes Cesar among the crowd, she asks him
why he killed their child, revealing his secret. Kuala then gives her baby to Junior, and dies. As
Rod Clinton P. De Guzman
BSA 1-1
Junior leaves the shack, he stared hard at the townspeople, his parents, his former girlfriend and
to everyone who were unkind to him, to Berto and to Kuala. He walks near Berto's body and
stops by, as the people look on in silence. Junior leaves the cemetery with Berto and Kuala's
baby.
Tinimbang, considered by Lino Brocka as his "first novel" and his first production for his own
film outfit, is the story of a young boy growing up in a small town and the unusual friendship he
develops with a leper and the village idiot. Their stories draw forth the true nature of hypocrisy
in the small town and the boy bears witness and participates in the various emotions that throb
under the seemingly quiet village life-prejudice, cruelty, forgiveness, and even love. In
Tinimbang, Brocka clearly shows man's limitations as a mortal being, but sends a message of
hope for the movie, and in the end, speaks ultimately of rebirth and maturity.
Cast
Christopher De Leon ... Junior
Hilda Koronel ... Evangeline Ortega
Mario O'Hara ... Bertong Ketong
Lolita Rodriguez ... Kuala
Lilia Dizon ... Mrs. Carolina Blanco
Eddie Garcia ... Mr. Cesar Blanco
Laurice Guillen ... Milagros
Orlando Nadres ... Mr. Del Mundo
Reception
Awards and honors
The film won six FAMAS Awards:
Best Picture
Best Actor (Christopher De Leon)
Best Actress (Lolita Rodriguez)
Best Director (Lino Brocka)
Best Musical Score (Lutgardo Labad)
Best Theme Song (Emmanuel Lacaba for Awit ni Koala)
It was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Mario O'Hara) and Best Supporting Actress
(Laurice Guillen).
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