The word “iconic” has been used too freely, with many cases unworthy of the term, but one of the few films that deserves this description is Ismael Bernal’s classic Himala. Also iconic is the line the heroine Elsa (Nora Aunor) says near the end of the film. With a number of our classic films reinvented as stage musicals, it was inevitable for Himala to get a similar treatment. And so we have the musical Isang Himala, which was first staged in 2018.
The creative team behind last year’s movie musical GomBurZa chose Isang Himala as its next project. Like GomBurZa, it’s directed by Pepe Diokno from a screenplay he co-wrote with National Artist Ricky Lee who wrote the 1982 film. Their new movie was an official entry to the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).
Isang Himala dares to cast only theater actors who can sing. There’s no major movie star in the film to distract the audience from the story. Elsa, the miracle worker, is played by Aicelle Santos, who played the role in the stage production.
Elsa is a 29-year-old housemaid who lives in a dreary provincial town of Cupang. She witnesses an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or so she claims. Her mother (Bituin Escalante) and parish priest (Floyd Tena) attempt to downplay the encounter, but Elsa’s newly acquired faith healing powers turn the townsfolk into believers. Cupang begins to draw the sick. The long lines of patients turn the sleepy municipality into a boomtown complete with brothel.
Being the biggest celebrity in Cupang has its downside, however, Elsa tells Orly (David Ezra), the aspiring filmmaker. He travels to Cupang to film a documentary about her, and she starts singing about her misery. She wishes to leave the barrio and her life as a healer.
Elsa’s revelation comes of out nowhere. This is the movie’s biggest flaw. Every twist or turn just happens without any buildup. Elsa’s joys and tragedies fail to win audience empathy. When she cures her first patient, we don’t get to share in her triumph. Everyone, including herself, accepts it as if matter of fact. We don’t hear from the parish priest either, who finally resurfaces only near the film’s end.
The heroine also gets lost in a crowd of supporting characters who each has a lengthy song to sing. Cupang even has a village idiot who does nothing to move the plot. The characters of Elsa, her two childhood friends, and her mother could have enjoyed more focus, and their characters stronger delineation.
Vincent de Jesus has written beautiful melodies for the original production. He won the Best Song Score and Best Song in the recent MMFF Awards night. Apparently, the Festival doesn’t make a distinction between music specifically written for the film and music adapted from a play that was produced six years ago. Some of the songs sound generic and similar to those of the musicals by PETA and Tanghalang Pilipino. The plot is also bogged down by too many slow ballads, a defect shared by most original Filipino musicals.
As in other musicals, once a song in Isang Himala is performed, it’s completely done with. There is no reprise or instrumental rendition that could have been used to underscore specific scenes. A short instrumental interlude would have helped create the mood of a few select scenes.
If I may mention a beloved musical that makes good use of its score—the classic film about the novice nun who marries a wealthy naval captain. After she sings about her favorites things, the film jumps to an outdoor scene of the nun frolicking with the captain’s children. This “R&R” sequence is accompanied by a lovely piano rendition of My Favorite Things—which has resonated down the generations. It’s also played as a majestic waltz in the lavish ballroom scene, and is reprised in the second act.
If I may disagree with what others have written, Isang Himala doesn’t offer a cinematic experience. It actually feels claustrophobic. The movie was filmed in a studio to ensure superior sound quality. It’s a musical, and so it’s imperative to perform the numbers in the most perfect way possible. According to a source, the actors performed their songs live, so each number had to be shot within the soundproof studio. Except for the impressive chorus, none of the leads lip-synched to a prerecorded track.
Each performance does look and sound authentic. The raw power and talent of each cast member is effectively showcased. The best thing about Isang Himala is it puts the spotlight on these theater actors who have so much to give in terms of talent.
As Elsa’s two closest friends, Kakka Teodoro and Naomi Gonzales, are standouts. Kakki Teodoro won the Best Supporting Actress Award and she deserved it. As the village flirt-turned-mamasan, she makes the most of the one lively and amusing number of the show. They ought to write a musical about the mamasan—like in the Maleficent vein.
Aicelle Santos as Elsa isn’t given a sing-like-there’s-no-tomorrow song, but she does have a beautiful voice. She’s a competent actress too, and she does what she can with an underwritten part.
Pepe Diokno is a talented director, but he showed too much reverence for the original material. Making a few omissions from the stage production isn’t a mortal sin. What works onstage doesn’t always work on film. It’s normal for movie adaptations to cut certain characters, scenes, and musical numbers. While Diokno does preserve the stage musical on film, he didn’t come up with an iconic movie. Despite the cast’s valiant efforts, they fail to elevate the film or offset the dour and sanctimonious script. The film tries to cover important social issues, but ends up short in providing a religious viewing experience. Nothing in it feels spontaneous.
So when it’s time for Elsa to shout out the immortal line in the end, the impact isn’t there. To be fair, Aicelle Santos is superb in the finale, but Noranians need not worry. Their superstar still owns the role.
