Cert 15 Stars 4

Sporting industrial scale corruption, merciless ambition, an extraordinary brass neck, 3,000 pairs of shoes and a bulletproof proof bra, this brilliantly crafted and profoundly depressing documentary charts the political resurrection of former First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos.

The wife of former dictator Ferdinand and one time Miss World contestant, she’s returned from exile to orchestrate her son’s Vice Presidential election campaign and establish a political dynasty. This involves handing out cash to patients at a kids’ cancer hospital, and pitching herself as the mother of her country.

As witnesses testify to the murder, torture and sexual assault committed during her husband’s years of martial law, extensive interviews sees Marcos fondly reminiscing about the era. She laments her lost friendships with Colonel Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein, and how she was dropped by dignitaries such as our own Prince Charles.

Meanwhile the African animals in her former private zoo are showing the physical and mental problems of inbreeding, an allegory used to highlight the corruption which occurs when a political system is dominated by an entitled and privileged elite.