Please read Part 1

Conclusion

MANILA, Philippines?At one point during the making in 1982 of Ishmael Bernal?s ?Himala??declared Best Asia-Pacific Film of All Time in an online poll conducted by the Cable News Network?a typhoon destroyed the set.

After that storm, the extras were on the verge of staging an uprising, production assistant Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil (now a filmmaker) related during a recent gathering of the cast and crew, ?because all they had to eat was sardines. Some got sick because they got caught in the rain.? A few were downed by dysentery because of contaminated water.

And production designer Raquel Villavicencio and supporting actress Gigi Dueñas almost got into a catfight over a missing costume.

?It was more like a cockfight,? Villavicencio recounted. ?As we argued, a crowd gathered around us. I think we got on each other?s nerves because we were cooped up in that isolated place (Paoay, Ilocos Norte) for three months.?

(Cast and crew were housed in a dormitory for government employees.)

The quarrel led to Villavicencio?s own tiff with Bernal. ?For a time, I ignored him,? Villavicencio recalled. ?One day, he said, ?Friends na tayo ulit ha??

Going mad

?We were going mad out of boredom,? said Marfil, who also played one of Dueñas? prostitute-pals. There was nothing to do at night, producer Imee Marcos (for the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines) confirmed.

?Our only source of entertainment was Vangie, who regaled us with bawdy stories about her sex life,? Villavicencio quipped.

?Because of my stories, Ama married Gamaliel Viray after the shoot,? Labalan claimed.

Between takes, Bernal would also lead the cast and crew in singing Broadway show tunes under a tree on the beach, Villavicencio said.

Ah, yes, the trees.

Another miracle on the set concerned the barren tree on the hill where Aunor, as the mystic, supposedly communed with the Virgin Mary. ?The movie is about a small town reeling from a drought, but when we arrived, the area was lush with all those trees. Ishma told the art department to look for a dead tree,? Villavicencio recounted.

Not so dead

It took 10 men to transport three dead trees to the set. When it came time to shoot the scene, the tree sprouted leaves. ?We all screamed: It?s a miracle!? Villavicencio said. ?Turned out, it wasn?t dead. It was just a sineguelas tree that shed in summer, but grew back its leaves in the rainy season.?

Since ?Himala? is ?a product of blood, sweat and tears,? Villavicencio pointed out, the belated recognition from CNN is sweet vindication.

?My hope is that the CNN honor would lead today?s youth to rediscover this film,? said Charo Santos-Concio (who was executive producer). ?So that it will be appreciated by a new generation of viewers.?

Scriptwriter Ricky Lee has a theory on why this ?little miracle of a film? remains as relevant now as when it was first shown over two decades ago:

?It?s like holding a mirror to Philippine society. It still speaks to us as a people. It shows our desperation ... an entire community clinging to a tiny sliver of hope?which can come in the form of rainfall or a Marian apparition. But it also highlights our faith, strength and resilience as a people.?