Culture

'Himala' Best Movie of all time

by danesller0127 | November 13, 2008 at 09:59 am

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Cable News Network (CNN) entertainment website voted Ishmael Bernal's film "Himala" as the best Asia-Pacific movie of all time.

It tells of a young orphan Elsa (Nora Aunor) in a small village in the Philippines, who claims to having visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the rest of the residents of her, isolated the village find themselves questioning their own beliefs and values. Soon Elsa is healing people with a vareity of ailments, as word of this phenomenom spreads ; tourist, pilgrims, patients, and documentary filmaker, arrives on a quest to partake in the miracle.

The film is an exellent commentary on Third World Poverty and contradictory rural customs. This drama from the Philippines is based in real events.

It outclassed other entries; such as Akira Kurusawa's "The Seven Samurai," and Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dreagon."

Himala ("Miracle") is an award-winning Filipino film directed by the late Philippine National Artist Ishmael Bernal, and produced by Imee Marcos for the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines (ECP). With a budget of only PhP 3 million, Himala was filmed entirely in the most arid Philippine tourist spots in Ilocos Norte, in just three weeks. The film's scriptwriter and cinematographer were multi-award winner Ricky Lee and Sergio Lobo, respectively. Based on a 1967 incident and news report, Himala premiered at the 1982 Metro Manila Film Festival. In 1983, it became the first and so far only Filipino film to be included in the Competition Section of the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival. Since then, Himala has been exhibited in a number of film festivals around the world.

On November 11, 2008, Himala won the 2008 CNN Asia Pacific Screen Awards Viewers Choice Award for Best Asia-Pacific Film of all Time (voted for by thousands of film fans around the world, at www.cnn.com/thescreeningroom).[1][2][3][4] The CNN online voters hailed it as the "greatest Filipino film." [5][6]

The film stars Philippine superstar Nora Aunor, who is best known for her performance as the fake visionary Elsa in this film. Her portrayal is considered by most Filipino critics to be the best of her career.[7]

The APSAs is an international cultural initiative to honor films that best reflect their cultural origins and demostrate cinematic exellence in the Pacific Region. The nominees for this year's official selection were chosen from over 180 films from 43 countries.The 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards was held at the Australia's Gold Coast.

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danesller0127

at 10:13 on November 13th, 2008

Nora Aunor (born Nora Cabaltera Villamayor on May 21, 1953) is a multi-awarded Filipino actress, singer, and producer. Aunor has also topbilled several stage plays, television shows, and concerts. She is regarded as the 'Superstar' in Philippine Entairtainment Industry. She is the only movie actress to recieve the 'Centennial Honor for the Atrs' awarded by the 'Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1999. (source: Wiki)

catblox (not verified)

at 16:32 on March 24th, 2009

The storm of emotions and unspoken questions after watching this movie in class, made my classmates and i speechless. We were only teenage Filipinos, but Himala offered us a perspective on our society that, although we can sense, we could not as passionately articulate.