SA NGALAN NG INA exceeds hype! Geniuses Mario O'Hara and Nora Aunor redefine Pinoy TV drama to top level filmmaking not seen in years.
Looking Back
I mentioned Ms. Nora Aunor. May bali-balita din kasi that time na uuwi na siya. I said "pag nakauwi sa Ate Guy, kilala ang grupo ang malapit sa kanya, baka pwede natin iabot ang script." The female director looked at the senior screenwriter-cum-creative consultant and said, "OK ba sa 'yo si Nora for this role? Physically mukhang bagay naman"Nabigla ako sa sagot ng award-winning senior screenwriter-cum-creative consultant when he replied: "Nagbago na kasi si Guy. Matigas na siyang umarte ngayon. Siguro dahil sa mga pinagdadaanan niya, naging jaded na siya. Hindi ko na nakikita ang vulnerability niya. Minsan tuloy sa pagpilit na umiyak at makapagpa-iyak, nagiging over-the-top. Hindi na siya gaya ng dati..."
Looking BackAbout two years ago, I sat in a meeting with a female director and a senior screenwriter-cum-creative consultant (definitely not Mr. Ricardo Lee). Isang indie film ang binubuo, pang-film fests overseas daw, etc. ang screenplay, naka-print out na. Maganda ang role-- Muslim woman. Nagbi-brainstorming kung kanino i-offer ang role. Several expected names were mentioned-- Cherry Pie Picache, Jaclyn Jose, Lorna Tolentino, etc.
I mentioned Ms. Nora Aunor. May bali-balita din kasi that time na uuwi na siya. I said "pag nakauwi sa Ate Guy, kilala ang grupo ang malapit sa kanya, baka pwede natin iabot ang script." The female director looked at the senior screenwriter-cum-creative consultant and said, "OK ba sa 'yo si Nora for this role? Physically mukhang bagay naman"Nabigla ako sa sagot ng award-winning senior screenwriter-cum-creative consultant when he replied: "Nagbago na kasi si Guy. Matigas na siyang umarte ngayon. Siguro dahil sa mga pinagdadaanan niya, naging jaded na siya. Hindi ko na nakikita ang vulnerability niya. Minsan tuloy sa pagpilit na umiyak at makapagpa-iyak, nagiging over-the-top. Hindi na siya gaya ng dati..."
The two artists were much more experienced and multi-awarded and ergo expectedly more knowledgeable, and also, bilang respeto na rin, I had to keep quiet.
But I must admit, the observation of that critically acclaimed senior screenwriter stuck with me since then. And considering she really didn’t have a full-pledged major acting vehicle on the wide screen for years, I found myself asking, "Totoo kaya ang observation ni sir XXX?"
Looking Forward Kagabi, sa premiere ng Sa Ngalan ng Ina, iyon ang binantayan ko. "Matigas na nga ba ang acting ni Ms Nora Aunor? Hindi na nga ba siya makapagpakita ng 'vulnerability' dahil naging 'jaded' na siya dulot ng kanyang mga karanasan? Bilang isang manonood, maaapektuhan pa ba ako, magkakaroon pa ba ako ng suspension of disbelief, ang makikita ko ba ay isang 'karakter' at hindi isang Nora Aunor na umaarte sa kamera, dito sa pinakabago niyang pagganap pagkatapos ng mahabang panahon?"
Ang lahat ng tanong ko, na nabuo mula sa isang komento ng isang napakagaling at nirerespetong screenwriter-director-creative consultant (hindi po si Ricardo Lee at hindi po si Jose Javier Reyes) ay nasagot lahat ilang minuto pa lang mula nang tumakbo sa telon ang Sa Ngalan ng Ina.
Hindi si Nora Aunor ang nakita ko sa big screen kundi isang reserved na babae at nerbiyosang asawa ng isang pulitiko.
Her breakdown scene at the morgue with Ellen Allan Guzman conveyed layers of emotions-- from shock, to helplessness, to grief, to confusion--all delivered within several seconds of performance on screen.
And that final scene, my personal favorite-- Christopher de Leon's grand, dramatic entrance, enveloped by a chant, could have totally been Christopher's own moment if not for that one shot, a side-view look of Ms. Nora, breaking the melancholia of the scene with her personal bitter, despiteful, suspecting, accusing eyes! Kay Boyet ang buong sequence pero kay Ate Guy ang eksena.
I got completely involved. I believed the truthfulness of her every scene. And I am totally relieved after the end credits rolled.
Ms. Nora Aunor may have either grown or recaptured or maintained her much celebrated acting prowess, challenged or enhanced deeper by her recent history. I won’t claim to know the answer.
Ang lahat ng tanong ko, na nabuo mula sa isang komento ng isang napakagaling at nirerespetong screenwriter-director-creative consultant (hindi po si Ricardo Lee at hindi po si Jose Javier Reyes) ay nasagot lahat ilang minuto pa lang mula nang tumakbo sa telon ang Sa Ngalan ng Ina.
Hindi si Nora Aunor ang nakita ko sa big screen kundi isang reserved na babae at nerbiyosang asawa ng isang pulitiko.
Her breakdown scene at the morgue with Ellen Allan Guzman conveyed layers of emotions-- from shock, to helplessness, to grief, to confusion--all delivered within several seconds of performance on screen.
And that final scene, my personal favorite-- Christopher de Leon's grand, dramatic entrance, enveloped by a chant, could have totally been Christopher's own moment if not for that one shot, a side-view look of Ms. Nora, breaking the melancholia of the scene with her personal bitter, despiteful, suspecting, accusing eyes! Kay Boyet ang buong sequence pero kay Ate Guy ang eksena.
I got completely involved. I believed the truthfulness of her every scene. And I am totally relieved after the end credits rolled.
Ms. Nora Aunor may have either grown or recaptured or maintained her much celebrated acting prowess, challenged or enhanced deeper by her recent history. I won’t claim to know the answer.
It’s enough for me that, finally, I would be be able to give an answer with complete confidence, when I meet my senior mentors again, that, no, we have not lost the great actress in Nora Aunor.
She is back, with her genius intact.
Whether as a Muslim or an aswang or an ex-con or even as a man, Ms. Nora Aunor is in fighting form. Let those fine roles come!
But for now, she is that naive wife-turned-governor whose travails and triumphs local tv audiences must discover and follow in Sa Ngalan Ng Ina.
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