Sen. Imee Marcos has revealed all about the critically acclaimed movie "Himala" 40 years on - and how it was almost never made.
During an interview at the Marcos Mansion in San Juan recently, Imee admitted that she overcame obstacles before the movie hit screens on Christmas Day in 1982.
"Ang hirap niyang i-shoot. Ito yung pelikulang ayaw ma-shoot. Hirap na hirap kami. Every step of the way may sakit ng ulo," said Imee, when asked about what she remembered most about the movie. "The shoot took so long. Everything kept happening na parang this movie doesn't want to be made."
(The movie is hard to shoot. This is a film that doesn't want to be shot. We are struggling. Every step of the way there is a headache.)
"Himala," starring National Artist Nora Aunor and directed by National Artist Ishmael Bernal, is a movie produced by the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines under Imee. It premiered at the 1982 Metro Manila Film Festival where it won Best Film and Best Actress. The movie tells the tragic story of a young barrio lass named Elsa who claims to have seen the Marian apparition.
First indie film
Imee looked back at "Himala" which many movie fans considered as one of the best Filipino movies ever made. It started when Imee headed the newly created ECP, a production company aimed at promoting the growth of the local movie industry. Then ECP mounted a script-writing contest where some 220 entries were submitted. It was narrowed down to five until Imee gave a greenlight to "Himala" and "Oro, Plata, Mata."
"Wala pang pangalan noon pero eto pala ang mga unang batch ng indie films," Imee said. "Himala was more problematic for everyone else. But I loved it. I am a religion major so I have a fixation with cult activities, social movements. It's my thing. I read it. I loved it. I just loved it to death. Except the judges said walang manonood and they were concerned about the reaction of the Catholic Church because it's an evangelical cultic film. They thought it was grim. It's obviously one of the worst endings in the world. If we all grew up with happy endings in Hollywood, this is the worst ending we could make."
Imee continued: "It's a great story. But it's terrible. I can't do this! It's so malungkot. So tragic. Ang pangit ng ending. Wala siyang redeeming social value.
"All the judges liked it but we thought it's not film material. On the other hand, I thought it was. And then there's this iconic line 'walang himala.' Sabi ko hindi pwede 'yan kasi we live in hope. Gusto natin may 'Himala.' Di ba we are so upbeat?" she asked.
(I said that's not possible because we live in hope. We want a 'miracle.' Aren't we so upbeat?)
Yet Imee fully believed in the movie because of its brave lesson.
"So pinagpilitan ko kasi I thought there's an important lesson that in fact there was hope. Because ang 'himala' ay nasa sarili mo. What's more hopeful than that? They thought I was out of my mind. The point is huwag kang aasa sa kung ano-anong himala. Panindigan mo ang sarili mo. Pangatawanan mo. So for me that's a brave lesson," she said.
(So I insisted because I thought there's an important lesson that in fact there was hope. Because the 'miracle' is within you. What's more hopeful than that? They thought I was out of my mind. The point is don't rely on miracles. Stand up for yourself. So for me that's a brave lesson.)
Imee said that National Artist Ricky Lee, who wrote the screenplay, really wanted Nora to play the lead role.
"Oh my God, how are we gonna do that? That time Nora had a problem with a film contract. I remember it all came down to her for the lead character," the senator said.
Then Imee said Nora wasn't sure if she could do the movie when offered to her because of the contract mess with another film outfit. Finally, Nora's contract issue was settled. Armida Siguion-Reyna, also part of the ECP, suggested that the movie be shot in Ilocos Norte so that the stars can concentrate on the movie.
"Wala naman pupuntahan sila sa Ilocos para gumimik dahil alas sais pa lang ng gabi nasa bahay na ang mga tao at nagsasaing na. So everybody had to go to Ilocos. It's so hard parang penitensiya. Walang titirahan, walang costume," she added.
Real film person
At this point Imee sought the help of her father, former President Ferdinand Marcos who acted as "location manager" for the team.
"Yung tatay ko siya ang location manager ng 'Apocalypse Now.' Siya naghahanap ng mga sundalo, helicopter, tatawagan niya ang Clark. Location adviser ang tatay ko. So I told my dad we will shoot in Ilocos. He said, papaano 'yan walang kuryente at tubig. So pinatira niya sa baba ng Malacanang of the North. Yung boathouse doon ginawang dormitory," she said.
Imee said that his father is the real film person "kasi mahilig talaga siya manood ng sine to relax."
"Unpleasant siya pagkatabi kasi pag manonood ka ng Western or war films sasabihin niya, mali yan! Hindi mangyayari 'yan! Ganito dapat yan! Nakakaasar. Hindi siya masaya. Sobrang talino niya. Pag-thriller naman, ay alam ko na ang pumatay kung sino. Basta hindi siya masayang katabi.
Imee also said that his father believed in the power of film. "He owed a big part of his campaign for the presidency in 1965 to Dr. Perez's 'Iginuhit ng Tadhana' kaso nung ipapalabas na biglang nagTRO. So lahat kami nakabihis na for the premiere night. Suddenly my father announced that the film cannot be shown because there's a restraining order from the court. The people got very annoyed and upset. And he felt it helped the campaign which at that time was doing very well. The film turned things around. From there, it suddenly went uphill." ('Iginuhit' is a biographical film about former Senator Ferdinand Marcos who later became the 10th president of the Philippines.)
Shooting in Ilocos Norte
In Ilocos, Imee said that she was happy to learn that Nora would always wake up early for the shoot.
"Si Ate Guy, dahil wala siyang masyadong ginagawa, alas otso pa lang tapos na siya mag breakfast. Sabi niya ano ang i-so-shoot natin ngayon? Ready sya. Kasi naman ang aga niya matulog. Wala siyang ibang ka-chika. Hindi rin siya maka-eskapo. Nasa dulo sila ng daigdig so everyone else is ready," Imee said.
(Ate Guy, because she doesn't have much to do, she just finished breakfast at eight o'clock. She said what are we going to shoot today? She's ready. It's because she goes to bed early. She doesn't have any other friends. She can't escape either. They are at the end of the world so everyone else is ready.)
The senator said she never had the chance to visit the set of "Himala" and trusted the production staff on location.
"I was nervous. I have stage fright. Sa 'Maid In Malacanang' nga kung maaari lang, ayoko pumunta sa set. Pumupunta lang ako kung merong hindi sure si Darryl (Yap) na ginagawa. Otherwise I won't go to the set. First of all, I am so nervous because I have the worst stage fright. And secondly, ayoko ng nakikialam. I hate it," she added.
Then the movie had to be delayed after Nora suffered a broken bone during the shoot. "So happy na kami nun. Ate Guy was always on time, perfect. Then nabalian si Ate Guy. They had a break at naaksidente siya. Nabalian pa siya ng kamay sa car accident," she said.
Big Bernal fan
"I'm a fan of Ishmael Bernal. We had such great directors then. Before, if we're gonna go international, ang panlaban natin noon directors. Ang gagaling nila eh," Imee said.
Award-winning director Joel Lamangan also became part of the "Himala" production staff, she recalled.
"I spirited him away of the jail. Joel became the crowd director for 'Himala.' Galit na galit sa akin yung mga taga jail kasi nga tumawag ako. Bakit ko raw palalayain si Joel? Sabi ko, kailangan ko kasi ng director. At saka yan ang request ni Ishmael Bernal siya ang crowd director," the senator said.
Imee also remembered talking to Bernal on the phone for the last day of "Himala" shoot.
"They will shoot the crowd scene with more than 2,000 people. The sand dune was one of the worst places to shoot. FPJ used to shoot there all the time. The last one who shot there was Bong Revilla Jr. for 'Ang Panday.' So I told 'Ishma, you need to have one take. I have no more money. It's take one or die. So the last scene was take one. Kanya kanya na nga sila ng costume noon. The funny thing is Himala is personal as a result because a lot of people na nag extra are from Paoay, mga kapitbahay namin sa province," she said.
Imee said the budget for "Himala" has ballooned. "It started parang P8 or P9 million then dumagdag na at naging P13 million which at that time was a big amount of money. Tapos hindi mabuo yung cast at kung sinu-sino na ang pumasok na hindi naman artista talaga."
Happy ending for 'Himala'
Forty years later, "Himala" didn't have a sad ending after all.
"There's a 'Himala' festival in the sand dunes by the beach in Paoay, Ilocos Norte all week in May every year. It's huge. We have an estimated 8,000 crowd on the beach. It's fun. It also became the site of film tourism. There's a statue there of Nora, FPJ. There's even a statue of Temptation Island. Parts of Born of the Fourth of July were shot there. Ilocos was a stand-in for Mexico. They also told me the unang Mad Max some portions of the movie was shot there. Marami pa na hindi ako familiar with other movies.
"Yung film tourism pinauso namin at naging hanapbuhay. So isang himala talaga sa amin 'yung sand dunes kung saan nagshoot si Nora. Sinusumpa namin yung lupa na yun kasi puro sand dunes. Hindi matamnan, walang tubig, sobrang init, pati yung mga fishermen hirap kasi walang mapagsilungan.
"My dad made an effort at nagtanim siya ng pine trees. Pinakuha pa niya abroad. Nakakatuwa because it became the biggest sandbox and turns out na siya lang naging hanapbuhay ng mga taga Ilocos. They were turned into tourism sites and people make money there. Himala na ang nangyari sa kanila dahil kumikita na sila.
"So now, I think Himala didn't have a sad ending. For the people there, it changed everyone's lives in very real ways," Imee said.
On why her name didn't appear in the credits of the movie, Imee said: "I felt that I represented the government as Experimental Cinema of the Philippines. As a general rule, like in the BBC, you don't put your name like the president of the BBC. Now I regret it. They should have put my name. Maganda pala kasi yung movies. But I knew from day one, the movie was good. Hindi ako papayag kung pangit. Kasi there's no room for failure (in ECP)."
More citations
In 1983, "Himala" also won the Bronze Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. The same year, it was nominated for Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.
In 2008, "Himala" won the Viewers Viewer's Choice Award for the Best Film of All Time from the Asia-Pacific Region in the 2008 CNN Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
In 2012, "Himala" became the first movie to be restored under the ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project. Then it premiered at the Venice International Film Festival under the Venice Classics section.
"Ito ang pelikulang hanggang ngayon ay kailangan panoorin pa rin ng tao. Isa ito sa pinakamalaking pelikula na nagawa ko," said Nora on the film's restoration.