December 20, 2024
A solar eclipse occurred over the cursed town of Cupang. That day, a 29 year-old country girl named Elsa (Aicelle Santos) said that she saw the Blessed Virgin Mary who granted her the ability to heal. The parish priest (Floyd Tena) was skeptical, but Elsa went on with her mission, assisted by her mother Saling (Bituin Escalante), best friend Chayong (Neomi Gonzales), grateful mother Sepa (Joann Co) and local socialite Mrs. Alba (Sweet Plantado).
Nimia (Kakki Teodoro), an estranged childhood friend of Elsa and Chayong, came back to open her own cabaret called Heaven with her pimp father Igme (Neil Tolentino). Chayong's suitor Pilo (Vic Robinson) is frustrated at her rejection of his marriage proposal, and planned to go to Saudi to work. Orly (David Ezra), a struggling young filmmaker from Manila, came to town to focus his camera on Elsa and her activities, hoping to kickoff his career.
The original MMFF 1982 film "Himala" is recognized as one of the greatest Filipino films of all time. It has the pedigree of three National Artists behind it -- screenwriter Ricky Lee, director Ishmael Bernal, and lead actress Nora Aunor. In 2003, Vincent de Jesus had the idea to write music and songs to augment Lee's script for a musical theater version of the film. It was directed by Soxy Topacio for Tanghalang Pilipino, starring May Bayot as Elsa.
This musical was revived in 2018, directed by Ed Lacson Jr. for 9 Works Theatrical and the Sandbox Collective. This show won 8 trophies in the Gawad Buhay Awards for musicals that year -- Best Production of Previously Existing Material, Director, Lead Actress (Aicelle Santos), Featured Actress (Bituin Escalante), Ensemble, Set Design, Costume Design and Lighting Design. Majority of this 2018 revival cast were gathered for this film version of the musical.
A 2-1/2 hour-long heavy-drama musical film remake with no box-office stars in the cast is certainly a big gamble for any producer. To make sure the adaptation to film was handled expertly, Pepe Diokno, 2023 MMFF Best Director for "Gomburza," was tapped to direct this audacious project. Diokno grabbed the formidable material by the horns and he made sure all its key plot and message points come across clearly and engagingly to the audience.
Sir Ricky Lee sorted the dialogue from the original film and moved them around to fit the structure of a musical. A lot of lines very lifted verbatim, but some were delivered by different characters. There were also some significant changes in story detail. The new Elsa is five years older. The immediate aftermath of a particularly traumatic scene was shown, instead of just implied. The place where one character dies was moved to a more scandalous and ironic location.
Aicelle Santos's Elsa was shown to be more self-conscious of the camera following herm especially with her song "Gawin Mo Akong Sining." Even in that moment right after an experiencing extreme distress, she still realized her fame was on the line, and she selfishly wanted it to last longer. This aspect of Elsa's personality was not that obvious with Nora Aunor's Elsa, whom Bernal painted with more subtle mystery.
Because of the deeply-emotional songs they were given to sing, the featured characters were better fleshed out, making them all prime nominees for Best Supporting Actress. Bituin Escalante's Aling Saling had very deep anxieties about Elsa's well-being. We get to feel more intimately the torment of Neomi Gonzales's devout Chayong. Like Gigi Duenas before, Kakki Teodoro may also win with her colorful, larger-than-life take on Nimia, the jaded hostess.
David Ezra has a big chance to follow Spanky Manikan's lead in winning the Best Supporting Actor award in the role of intrusive outside observer Orly, especially with that anguished confession scene. In the hands of Vic Robinson, Pilo came across a charming loverboy, than Pen Medina's more lecherous version before. Floyd Tena's Catholic priest did not tolerate the fanaticism of Elsa's disciples, and was more disdainful than Joel Lamangan's milder take.
Unlike the real gritty desert location of the original, the Cupang of the new version was obviously a film set, but this was distracting only at first, especially in scenes set in the hill. Vincent de Jesus's big dramatic songs transitioned very well onto the big screen. Ricky Lee's religious debate of a script, with its biting socio-political commentary, remain as complex and thought-provoking as it did before, which is why this story has timeless significance. 9/10
PS: Ms. Nora Aunor has a special participation in this film. Listen well and try to catch it.
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