I've watched the Ishmael Bernal film Himala. Laura Centeno, a co-actor in Dulaang UP costarred as Chayong, while Joel Lamangan, who directed crowd control, was a fellow student in a Filipino literature course.
That was in 1982.
This December 2024, I went to Gateway to see Pepe Diokno's film adaption of a musical stage drama as an entry in the 2024 MMFF. I perceived it as a Broadway production of a musical, as it was classified as such.
Forty two years have lapsed since my 1st exposure to the work of art.
Conditioning myself, should I appreciate it as a play, a broadway musical, a movie. How does a musical compare with the original movie drama?
Sitting in the newly opened Cineplex movie theatre, upon seeing the opening scene establishing the solar eclipse in a rural village setting, it was as if the movie was new to me conveying a universal message.
The message of Ricky Lee's literary work was further enhanced by the cinematography of Carlo Mendoza, production design of Ericson Navarro, Vincent de Jesus's lyrics and melodies, the ensemble's and the principal actors' performances, and Pepe's direction.
Aicelle Santos is Elsa, Noemi Gonzales is Chayong, Kakki Teodoro is Nimia, Bituin Escalante is Aling Saling, David Ezra is Orly, Floyd Tena the priest and Vic Robinson as Pilo. The creative theme recreated on screen a small Philippine village Cupang.
Among the universal messages that resonated were blind faith, fanaticism, exploitation, friendship and bonding, the mother's love for her daughter, blessing and curses of a small village, escape, human frailty, envy, eavesdropping, escape from poverty, the anguish of being human, and helplessness.
The fact that I was largely familiar with the plot and was anxiously anticipating the interpretation and execution of the famous line on screen when the lead characters' problems were still unresolved worked against me. I was getting impatient on how the musical would end.
I was able to observe how the main characters' struggles further agitate the audience putting closure to unfinished conditions. Filmmaker Orly balances his professional responsibility as catching the truth on camera withholding the moral truth, "ang lente ko ang katotohanan," while Aling Chayong affirms her love for her adopted daughter and corrects a mistaken idea she planted, “hindi totoo ang istampita ng birhen”.
As a lover and a devout disciple, Chayong, Elsa's confidante, could not get over her tragic abuse and left abandoned by her lover. She could not handle father's knowledge about her condition asking “alam na niyo father?”.
After having a falling out with Elsa and Chayong, Nimia finally had to face the truth about her condition and break bread with Elsa. "Pareho lang tayo Elsa, ako laman ang binebenta, ikaw, himala" is another crucial statement Nimia ranted on the similarities between Elsa's spiritual recovery and her own life as a cabaret operator.
The situations where people in positions of power are helpless are the most painful. When Chayong is pleading for assistance and Orly is recording the abuse, "wala akong magawa!" In the same circumstance, Elsa said, "di ko siya matulungan." Prior to stating this, Nimia assaulted Elsa saying, “ginagamot mo ang may sakit pero di mo nagagamot ang sarili mo!”
With a magnificent cinematic finale reminiscent of the intense fanaticism similar to the Traslacion of Quiapo where the believers go wild over a piece of clothing and Elsa's blood in a stampede, Isang Himala concludes powerfully, tragically.
While Elsa declared there is no miracle, two characters showed strength moving on with their wounded pasts, Aling Saling has demonstrated her loyalty to her child up to the dying moments; Nimia has accepted her fate and facing the struggle of life without her two friends and customers.
Isang Himala makes a dramatic universal point: the pain of being human. We must take responsibility for our own destiny rather than depending on outside help. Although it is not as painful as the suffering depicted in Bernal's masterwork, the musical Diokno supports the film's message in this modern time.
"Tama na na ang pagsikat ng araw at bituin, ang bawat tao sa mundo, ang isang sanggol ang ating himala. Hindi mo na kailangan makakita at nakarinig pa. Sapat na ang wagas na pagibig bilang himala." paraphrasing the lyrics of V. De Jesus sung by Juan Karlos Labajo
#MMFF2024 #IsangHimala #PepeDiokno
Himala on YouTube. https://youtu.be/u6J7m23-kcI?si=KX2xiEwc2qbERpSa
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