In the Philippines, the Lent is the most reflective and solemn week where the dominantly Christian population celebrates the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And while regular TV broadcasting halts to observe the religious events, classic movies aired on analog TV in lieu of the channels’ standard programming. Films featured are normally a mix of thought-provoking and culturally significant films taken anywhere from the 70s to the late 90s and beyond.
This Holy Week, we list down some of the most anticipated locally made films that easily make their way to the list of TV programming each year.
Oro, Plata, Mata (Peque Gallaga, 1982)
Set in the province of Negros during World War II, the movie traces the changing fortunes of two aristocratic families coping with the changes brought by the war. Written by Jose Javier Reyes, it starred an ensemble cast including Sandy Andolong, Cherie Gil, Mitch Valdes, Kuh Ledesma, Ronnie Lazaro, and Joel Torre, to name a few. The film was digitally restored in 2013 and premiered at the Cinema One Originals Film Festival in the same year.
Himala (Ishmael Bernal, 1982)
Often regarded as “The Greatest Filipino Film Of All-Time,” the film is the story of Elsa, played by Nora Aunor, a barrio lass whose supposed visions of the Virgin Mary changes her life, turning her into an overnight sensation and causing mass hysteria in a poor, isolated northern Philippine village suffering from a drought. The film is centered on the issues of religious faith and faithlessness, morality, and truth. Up to this day, the film is remembered for the iconic line “Walang himala” delivered by Aunor.
Magnifico (Maryo J. de los Reyes, 2003)
The multi-awarded drama, with 31 plaques and trophies under its belt, talks about a special boy who changes the lives of everyone he meets. Known to all as Magnifico (Jiro Manio), his name is Pikoy, a child of an impoverished family. His world is filled with a cast of characters in need of his special gifts of hope, determination, and love. He seeks nothing for himself, with his undaunted dedication to bring joy to everyone.
Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag (Lino Brocka, 1975)
Like one of films on this list, this landmark film, which had measly production budget extremely broad in terms of achievement, is often regarded as one of the best local films in history. The story centers Julio Madiaga (Bembol Roco), a young construction worker taking on the big, bad city in search of his lost love, the improbably-named Ligaya Paraiso (Hilda Koronel), who has been lured into a life of prostitution.
Tanging Yaman (Laurice Guillen, 2000)
Apart from being a box office winner, the film went home with nine awards during the Gabi ng Parangal of the 26th Metro Manila Film Festival. The reflective family drama centers on the long suppressed pains and resentments among three siblings (Johnny Delgado, Edu Manzano, and Dina Bonnevie) who argue over the prospect of selling a vast track of land left behind by their family’s patriarch. The process also brings to surface the hurts between parents and children, a likely spectacle of the “sins of the father visiting upon the children,” threatening to spill over to the third generation.
