Himala (1982)
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Himala Movie Review
Himala is a 1982 Filipino drama film directed by Ishmael Bernal and starring Nora Aunor. It truly is a classic for the country and one highly provocative, thought-provoking viewing experience.
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“Lord Jesus will not create miracle
just to fill the gap in the people’s faith“
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Coinciding with a total eclipse when people believe that the world is ending, Elsa witnesses an apparition of the Virgin Mary on top of the hill where as an infant she was found and adopted. She starts “healing” people and apparently performing miracles, but eventually she reveals herself as a fraud and that none of what she was saying and doing was ever true.
This all leads to that truly powerful ending where the people still worship her because she ends up being killed after her big speech that is one of the greatest in Asian cinema history. Undoubtedly, this movie may seem anti-religion to the devout, but I personally found it way too complex to be put into that biased box. It’s so much more than that.
For one, the priest character is positively portrayed. That character and the overall religious theme and examination of blind faith reminded me so pleasantly of the recent Netflix miniseries ‘Midnight Mass’. Both are excellent at depicting false prophets. But the most important thing you get from this movie is its depiction of the desperation that would lead the destitute to believe in miracles, even when they are obviously non-existent.
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The movie cleverly never shows Elsa “performing miracles”, thus it becomes instantly clear that she is a false prophet. However, she is far from a bad person. Quite the contrary. I found this woman truly admirable in her beautiful care for her people and she showed genuine remorse that she couldn’t help them really. She did want to help them and that yearning counts.
The film’s portrayal of her followers and how martyrdom is born was very sophisticated. Even better is the depiction of the Philippines as a whole. It is easy to see why this movie is admired among the Filipinos and even regarded as their best film of all time. Himala depicts the country at its worst, but it was important to depict the poverty, religious fanaticism and desperation that the country faced and continues to face as well. The country being so heavily influenced by the Spanish religion and country was also very well touched upon here.
All of this is not to say that Himala is perfect. That is certainly not the case as the supporting characters left a lot to be desired. I did like the prostitute character and their conflict, but the overall exploration of how miracles would be diluted when done regularly was quite intriguing as the movie cleverly positions mysticism in line with spirituality. However, all of the other characters needed much better development and more screen time. The protagonist stole the movie for better and for worse.
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The cinematography was quite good and some of the imagery is striking. The score is terrific and the directing is fantastic. Another highlight is the acting from Nora Aunor. It is easy to see why she is so deeply respected in this country as she is a truly gifted actress and this was a powerhouse performance in a deep, stupendous role.
