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1. #41  Yazmeen143

   

   CONGRATS SA TEAM NG “HIMALA”. Kahit ano sabihin ng iba kayo pa rin ang nirecognize voting poll man ito. Para kasi sa akin ang movie na ito kasi ang mas malapit sa katotohanan ang istorya. Kung baga totoong nangyayari sa pinas. Ang iba kasing napasama sa top 10 ay parang di na totoo. Alam mo yung parang movies lang isa talaga as in. Walang bahid ng pagkatotoo. Di ka makarelate. Sa HIMALA kasi even other nationality kapag napanood nila ito may isip na paniniwala kasi alam nila na relihiyoso talaga ang pinoy. Anyway CONGRATS MS. NORA AUNOR AND MR. ISMAEL BERNAL. Meron pa sanang isa noon kaso lang hindi iyon ang ipinasok noong panahon na iyon. Flor Contemplacion Story kung ito sana noon ang ipinasok sa CANNES at OSCAR kaso hindi ito ang isinali political scam kasi eh kaya iba ang isinali. Ayun di man lang tuloy umabot sa pinagpilian. Kasi naman scam. Hay Pinas kailan ka maghihimala……

   09/02/07 04:38

2. #40  roberto

   

   Himala deserves all the belated recognition after 26 years…..way to gooooooo Nora!!!!!!

   09/01/04 20:30

3. #39  yasmien

   

   kahit di online voting mananalo pa rin ang “walang himala” because the movie is very realistic unlike other films nominated which i have seen.  look guys, noon sa ms photogenic sa miss universe, dati US resident lang puwedeng bumoto kaya ang parating wagi sa ms photogenic Puerto Rico, research nyo ms photogenic award sa miss universe from 1998-2004

   08/11/24 07:28

4. #38  Dingdong

   

   Well, much has been said….may favorable…may unfavorable….may kind comments at may harsh comments din…….one thing is sure, it has been written in history and nobody can dispute it anymore, HIMALA IS OFFICIALLY ASIA AND THE PACIFIC’S BEST FILM OF ALL TIME…sorry guys!!!!

   08/11/22 14:39

5. #37  vini

   

   Nakakatawa ka rico mambo. But you’re probably right! He he he

   08/11/20 18:37

6. #36  rico mambo

   

   HAY NAKU ANG MGA BAKLANG TO, KULANG LANG KAYO SA BURAT!!! world peace! walang himala ang himala ay nasa TARUGO…

   08/11/20 03:07

7. #35  rommel

   

   HIMALA maybe not as big movie as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon pero on line poll ito,dapat nga manalo ang mga chinese movies na finalist pero bakit nila sinuportahan sapoll,kasi dito lang nakaka bawi ang mga pinoy sa mga ganitong pa contest na hindi pwedeng dayain ang resulta,mas maraming internet afficionados na pinoy all over the world.Sa lahat ng contest na ganito may talagang mas deserving pero may dapat manalo kaya wag ng bitter ang iba dito na nanalo ang movie ng pinoy e bakit di kayo bumoto sa gusto niong movie na finalist sa contest na to?What ever sa mga pumupula,you are the epitomy ng isang crab mentality wala ng iba pa.

   08/11/20 01:25

8. #34  hmm

   

   Thank you.
   Finally someone gets it.
   RUSTCELL…  you nailed it. My sentiments exactly.
   Some of these commentors just dont get it.. and too kitid or slow to even try to get it.

   08/11/19 21:10

9. #33  rustcell

   

   Klaudina, I prefer ‘cinephile’ to ‘connoisseur’. It’s very well possible na the same voters who voted heavily for Miss Photogenic sa Miss Universe are the same kind (’kind’ ha, not the exact ones) who voted for “Himala”–blind followers of anything Pinoy that’s remotely good or plain bad. And why not? Pinoys have gotten a reputation of winning web polls. Hindi lahat ng criticisms of any Pinoy product can be reduced to crab mentality o ‘malisya’. Pinoy films HAVE to be criticized thoroughly para gumanda. You can’t just support something dahil Pinoy. In fact, if it sucks it HAS to be heavily criticized. Yes, “Himala” is a great film pero among this list of greats its shine dims a little a bit. And as well-written (if a little too tedious) as Ate Vi’s response is, I have to say na (1) misplaced ang essay na ‘to sa comments section of a blog (it deserves its own forum–and no offense Migs, you know what I mean) and (2) “Himala” IMO actually looks outdated in some parts.

   I still insist on this question: AMONG VOTERS WHO REALLY HAS SEEN ALL OR MOST OF THE FILMS? Otherwise, kung boto ka lang boto eh isa lang namang pelikula’ng nakita mo (your own country’s) eh di blind patriotism na ‘to and not a FILM competition at all.

   I guess there are 2 different kinds of people (among many kinds) among those who kept voting for Miss Philippines sa Miss Universe, yung boto lang ng boto dahil Miss Philippines s’ya o those like me who wouldn’t vote for her because merong mas maganda sa kanya. I thought it was actually embarassing and dishonest na Miss Philippines kept on winning year after year regardless kung pangit ang contestant natin o hindi.

   08/11/19 19:19

10. #32  Klaudina

    

    Very well said, Ate Vi and Sharon. Kaya yung mga talangka dyan na nagpapaka-connoisseur kuno sa movies, learn to appreciate our very own ng walang halong malisya. Dahil lang sa nangyaring Miss Photogenic ekek dati, iniisip kaagad na ganun rin ang case sa Himala.

    08/11/18 12:45

11. #31  rustcell

    

    Aren’t we overly complicating this? No offense pero ‘di ba bawal ang words like ‘didactic’ sa mga blog comment areas? ;D  Ang issue (at least I think so) is deserving ba’ng “Himala” na winner among a really superlative group of films o nanalo lang ito dahil sa mga Pinoy na boto nang boto blindly via the web? As ‘doctorcrab’ said, I bet some who voted for “Himala” haven’t even seen it. About a year or so ago “Himala” was shown in the big screen sa NYC–an extremely rare thing to happen since there are very few prints of it in the world supposedly–but how many Pinoys watched? Less than 10. “Dubai”, that horrifyingly bad Aga film, shown at the same time, had like 10x more people! I’ve seen “Infernal Affairs”, Wong Kar-Wai’s “Chungking Express”, Ang Lee’s “Crouching …”, and Park Chan-wook’s “Oldboy” and as much as I think so highly of “Himala”, it is NOT better than “Oldboy” and at most is at the same level as “Crouching …”. Of course it goes without saying na subjective ‘to pero that doesn’t make the win more legit. It could also just be that there are more Pinoys who believe in bogus ‘international awards’ or, let’s face it, are desperate for ‘international anything’. “Himala” is not even the best Pinoy film IMO, a close 2nd but Lino Brocka’s “Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag” is THE Pinoy film for me.

    08/11/18 12:07

12. #30  Fair Game

    

    Well it’s fair game for all. So what’s wrong if we’ve won? Surely there was no law being broken by voting religiously.

    08/11/18 05:15

13. #29  ATE VI AND SHARON

    

    Himala is not a good film. It is a great film. That said, the shortlisting of the film as one of the Top 10 Asian Movies of all time in CNN Asia-Pacific Screen Awards, merely called everyone’s attention to the film and its merits. Now, Himala is CNN APSA Viewers Choice Award for Best Asia-Pacific Film of All Time, an award that does not diminish the sterling qualities of other excellent films coming second or third to the Filipino film. The award rather underscores the greatness of Himala now that it is in the official list of great films.
    Other sectors may criticize the path of greatness this film has taken, which was through online voting, but Himala is a film that one can vote for anytime. It is a compelling film and no marketing group will ever lose face if it decides to sell the film and inform the world that from a poor country, there was once this work that took on the theme of miracles and questioned the very religion on which many miracles were deemed true. As it was, the Filipino film industry had no funds to spend so that the international society of film viewers and readers would be informed of the films we produce. The Japanese had and still have.
    Read Donald Richie’s book and there you would see how in the ’50s the Japanese film industry really prepared for their debut in the world market of cinema. Even before Rashomon was sent as entry to the 1951 Venice Film Festival—and winning the Golden Lion—the Japanese had an office set up in the country, a kind of trading firm that would take care of the public and press relations for Japanese film producers. It was not as if the world just suddenly discovered there was this thing called Japanese cinema. They worked on creating an awareness of their cinematic outputs. From that awareness, it was a short step to critical acclaim as the products they were selling were indeed above the good.
    We did not have that hindsight and we do not have that luxury at present. Here comes this list and the film is given a chance to be read once more. From this recognition, it is indeed a short step to being declared “great” and “legend.”
    After teaching Japanese cinema for almost 20 years, I would always vote for Ishmael Bernal’s Himala over Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. This vote, however, has nothing to do with the spellbinding exoticism and monumentalism of Japanese films. Or with the visual splendor of the Taiwanese/Chinese Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
    My vote has something to do with the film that resonates with the realities that I deal with both as an individual and as a member of a community. These realities are manifold: a country that lives off a monolithic religion from which a structured inequality springs forth, and a religion that seems to be a wellspring of tales about apparition. In this country, pathos and faith mix in a cauldron that is always threatening to spill over and either feed the believers of lessons and dire warnings, or scald those whose body refuse to walk the line.
    Himala has all these themes and topics that bother me.
    The first time I watched the film, I was coming from a vacation in the province. The long Christmas season was almost over and the film just stayed on in moviehouses because it had won many awards in the 1982 Metro Manila Film Festival.
    As far as I can remember, the film was not well-received by the writers in local movie magazines. Himala was seen as too dark, too confrontational. It attacked miracles, which even now are almost always a welcome respite from the dreary lives of the populace. It had very odd scenarios: a rape scene taking place in a pigsty, a photographer documenting another rape scene as if it were not a crime, just to cite two examples.
    The film came on as intellectual and, more than that, intellectualized, viewers commented then. There was no attempt at all to engage the viewers by giving them a rope to hold on. There was no love story that would commit people to feel with the actors. There was no success story to inspire at the end. When the script called for the energy to be low, the tension onscreen was almost dissipated. When massive mise-en-scene takes place—and Himala has many—the impact was overwhelming.
    The arc of Elsa, the lead character, took on a high-low dynamics. First, she was seen in a beatific mood, as if being touched by the Divine; then she was raped. It was a humanization for a visionary, and it was also dehumanization. The rains came and the unbelievers ascribed to her the miracle; the epidemic arrived and the people attributed to her the plague. She healed other people but she could not cure her friend’s children. Elsa decided to confess about the falsity of miracles and she was shot.
    Disputably Ricky Lee’s best work, Himala took on glare for glare the problems of colonial religion and left the first audience gasping for breath.
    Still, the film worked. It works even now. Like any classics, Himala never looks dated. And Nora Aunor, the fulcrum of the moving actors and other objects in the film, remains singularly compelling.
    She is conflicted and complex as Elsa. She uses her body and that face as a palette from which she could draw tonalities and shading and—to her rabid fans—even blood to incarnate this young girl who saw the Virgin. Is she bored with her drab rootless identity? Is she using the language of her religion to remove the curse from her village? Is it dementia that comes from a belief system imposed from outside?
    Whatever is your answer, the questions posed by Nora Aunor as Elsa in Himala are not didactic. They are, in fact, the visualization of a script that needed another genius, one that relied on instinct. Aunor is this instinctive artist. Marvel at her body language in scene after scene. Looking out of the window, she looks down upon a prankster making fun of her role as a conduit of heavenly messages. Her eyes are downcast and squinting, almost defeated but nearly scheming. Up on the hill, with her head bent backward, Aunor is lost as if God or some angel is communicating with her. This is the puzzle that the actor brings to her role: Is she really in touch with the Almighty or is she using with might the language of conversion and prayer that our religion has embedded in our consciousness? This scene is also our problem: Maybe she is the real thing.
    Bernal does not commit an answer. He merely leads us into an avenue of criticism and question. With Nora, at her loveliest, as the messenger of Bernal’s own vision.
    Much quoted are the lines before Elsa was shot. Walang himala! Ang himala ay nasa puso ng tao! The conviction of those lines, however, is laid in the few precious seconds before they are uttered and in the revelatory lines that Elsa would say after. The aural and visual peaks at the ending when before declaring that there are no miracles, Aunor as Elsa looks first at her adoptive mother (Vangie Labalan, unforgettable in her ordinariness) then tilts her head a little to the left, assuming the lambent posture of the black-clothed Dolorosa behind her. It is a triumph of ideology made more seductive by a director unflinching, a cinematography that has been described as austere and performances as accomplished by Iran News.
    At the center of hundreds of bit players—most of whom responded to the call over the radio by Aunor—and a host of performers hitherto unknown in commercial films (Gigi Duenas, Laura Centeno and Spanky Manikan, to name a few), is Nora Aunor herself, no less a miracle of the Philippine film industry.
    As for me, I am walking now with my head held up high, in the land of Kurosawa, Mizoguchi and Kinoshita, and feeling so No. 1. ###

    08/11/18 01:05

14. #28  Dingdong

    

    Believers and unbelievers, please read:

    http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2043:reeling-himala-a-film-for-all-seasons-listed-or-unlisted&catid=32:life&Itemid=68

    08/11/17 23:06

15. #27  Dingdong

    

    and this:

    http://citizenonmar s.blogsome. com/2008/ 11/13/himala- a-cinematic- achievement- in-a-time- of-cinematic- doldrum/

    08/11/17 23:04

16. #26  Dingdong

    

    See the film first and judge for yourself…..it is really a great movie worth the recognition. The entire cast, most of which were unknown when the movie was shot, acted superbly…from the multitude of extras to Nora Aunor herself. Himala is Bernal and Aunor at their very best!

    08/11/17 22:18

17. #25  doctorcrab

    

    i also agree with you ric. but not all who voted are like you. ipupusta ko physician’s license ko, hindi lahat ng bumoto ay napanood ang Himala.
    btw, the dvd is out now, distributed by star cinema.

    08/11/17 22:02

18. #24  jake

    

    mabuhay si ate guy! isa siyang icon …

    08/11/17 20:53

19. #23  BON

    

    Barok…..thanks 4 making me laughed.

    08/11/17 16:45

20. #22  Bewired

    

    I crtainly agree with you Ric. 

    08/11/17 03:27

21. #21  ric

    

    Taking aside the “technicalities” of a film, a best picture for a person is always subjective. How do you tell a story? There are so many ways. I think, the films which are already in the top ten are all thematically superior compared with the others. So, it boils down to how the story presented in the film touched the persons who have voted for them. I have seen so many Asian films but I will still consider Himala to be the best film for me? Why? It touches me more than the others. Reality cannot just be taken out of context. I also respect others’ opinion. They have their own valid reasons. Remember “Brokeback Mountain”?

    08/11/16 11:51

22. #20  mick

    

    vini, that was a sarcastic remark. plus, the only reason why cnn called it a worldwide vote is that online voting is accessed by anyone in the globe. also, this isn’t an election. anyone can vote as many times as he/she wants. hence, there’s no need to rig it.

    i’m not saying that walang himala is a bad film. in fact, i think it is brilliant. however, i just believe that akira kurosawa’s the seven samurai deserves the trophy.

    08/11/16 00:15

23. #19  matthew

    

    HIMALA is a good film..but definitely NOT THE BEST IN ASIA. IT’S NOT EVEN THE BEST FILIPINO FILM OF ALL TIME.  Seven Samurai and Crouching Tiger, which were recognized by THE OSCARS, are FAR more deserving of the award.

    I am PROUD TO BE A FILIPINO.  Pero dapat lang nman, maging makatotohanan tayo.

    08/11/15 23:48

24. #18  rustcell

    

    Miss Photogenic, anyone? ‘Di ba kinansel daw ang online voting ng Miss Universe Ms. Photogenic ‘coz Ms. Philippines kept winning? I adore this movie, I own the DVD, easily one of our best, Nora Aunor’s performance is iconic, but I can see at least 2 films sa listahan which are better: “Crouching …” and especially “Oldboy”. ESPECIALLY “Oldboy” … sa hindi pa nakapanood, I strongly suggest watching this mindblowing film. Sorry, walang kwenta ‘tong award na ‘to. Misplaced Pinoy Pride, in fact, nakakahiya na. If I was at the awarding ceremony (kung meron man), I would’ve been embarassed and/or refused the award (o, ‘di ba, OA!).

    08/11/15 23:38

25. #17  vini

    

    Let me just add:

    Don’t get me wrong. I don’t throw a party and go ga-ga over “international” recognition that easily too; that if something doesn’t have a “seal of approval from abroad” it means it was no good when it was ONLY known locally — no sir. True. Unfortunately, Pinoys are notorious for routing for whatever “Pinoy.” At basta may konting bahid ng lahi natin aangkinin at papuputukin na agad ng press. Pride by association kumbaga. Maybe it should have been called THE MOST POPULAR ASIA PACIFIC FILM OF ALL TIME and not THE BEST. And honestly, hindi naman of earth-shattering importance itong recognition na ito. But let’s not to reduce HIMALA into something less than what it is — a truly great Filipino effort. 

    Be that as it may, for me, HIMALA will always be in my shortlist of BEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME because not only was it brilliantly crafted in it’s simplicity, but it also reminds us of how good Pinoy filmmakers can be when they are motivated by something greater than money. 

    Peace out.

    08/11/15 15:05

26. #16  Klaudina

    

    Ang mga talangka, bow.

    08/11/15 14:38

27. #15  vini

    

    Such is the nature of an online poll. Maraming bumoto all over the worl, not only Filipinos — eh di nanalo! Simple. It wasn’t rigged, nobody paid anyone anything. Nanalo lang kaya chill.

    I’m sorry but an otso-otso movie would never be voted as anything. People are not as aesthetically stupid as you think. 

    08/11/15 11:03

28. #14  Kit

    

    if cnn said that the vote was casted by internet users all over the globe, then i think we should give nora aunor’s movie the credit. we have to admit, it’s really beautiful.

    08/11/15 02:28

29. #13  barok

    

    Natalo ng “Himala” (Phil) ang “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” (China), “Seven Samurai” (Japan) at “Pather Panchali” (India). Isa lang ang napatunayan nyan: mas marami palang Noranians kesa Intsik, Hapon at Bumbay combined! Hahaha. Mabuhay si Ate Guy!

    08/11/15 01:43

30. #12  mick

    

    i’m not sure if we should be happy that we can only win by massively voting for ourselves. most of us don’t even vote for the right reasons. we only choose the ones that have our label on it. heck, it could have been otso-otso the movie and filipinos would still vote for it!

    08/11/14 23:47

31. #11  vini

    

    Guys, why can’t we just be happy?

    08/11/14 20:50

32. #10  doctorcrab

    

    yes fuji, not fiji.

    08/11/14 17:12

33. #9  my yellow shirt embellished

    

    I forget that De Leon Aunor movie that goes like a one act play.

    08/11/14 13:55

34. #8  Kisses

    

    SEVEN SAMURAI SHOULD HAVE WON. It’s thematically and aesthetically superior than the rest of the entires. Disappointed with the results really.

    08/11/14 09:42

35. #7  the_bashhh

    

    Doctor Crab, baka you mean MOUNT FUJI. Himala is good at kung internet voting ang pinagbabasehan talagang mananalo yan dahil ang Pinoy pa.. eh todo support. How can you believe na nananalo si Abbygale Arenas sa Miss Photogenic dati? Hehehe…

    08/11/14 03:45

36. #6  hmm

    

    Im all for pinoy pride…  but does winning this, the way we did, really make us proud? how we won because matyaga tayo mag VOTE online..i mean jeez…  What cant we win?   I bet the people who voted have not even seen the other films in the running.. HIMALA was and is a fine movie, but come on..  The BEST in the REGION??  you think? really.  I mean pinoy pride is one thing..  but if we keep this up, we’ll really be a JOKE (moreso)…  First – winning all the Miss Photogenic awards (who arent really)..  then there was that ridiculous “chocolate hills as 8th wonder of the world” online poll…  now this……………   after a while, the international community will catch on, if they havent alreaDY.  So, if this makes you proud., good for you all….Coz Im the farthest from proud na we got to “naka isa” lengths just to get some recognition.

    I mean jeez. really?
    peace out.

    08/11/13 23:50

37. #5  mick

    

    what? even akira kurosawa’s seven samurai?

    now that’s a miracle.

    08/11/13 23:16

38. #4  doctorcrab

    

    I dont wanna sound a crab. Yes, hands down this Ishmael Bernal’s msterpiece is one of best, if not the best, movie  a Filipino director ever made. But for me Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai is better, one of the world’s influential movies. It became a template to numerous films done, even Hollywood’s.
    If Id be asked what is the Best Asia Pacific Film of all time, Id rather not answer, because of the ten films, Ive only seen 3 (Crouching Tiger, Seven Samurai,  and Himala), and I dont think I have the right to tell which ones the best.

    Actually, there are more “most photogenic” awards for Filipinos. There’s the Mayon Volcano, the now less perfect cone volcano, making it to the Top10 of the search for 7 wonders of nature. Hey, Mount Fiji looks more stunning. (No, I am not a Japanese to prefer Kurosawa and Fiji.)

    This “desperation of Filipinos for global recognition” has been perfectly discussed by Lourd de Veyra on a Metro Him Mag. Read here: http://bobmasterr.multiply.com/journal/item/118/PINOY_ACHIEVEMENTS_DEPARTMENT

    I’m just wondering.. If they used the text/online poll to determine who would take the International Court of Justice seat, Miriam could have won with “an avalanche of raging [insanity].”

    08/11/13 22:35

39. #3  Dingdong

    

    Truly deserving of this Highest Honors!!!
    Himaly simply offers directorial and acting masterpiece at its best!
    Kudos to Ishmael Bernal and Ms. Nora Aunor (Philippines and World’s Greatest Actress of All Time!)

    08/11/13 22:17

40. #2  Nicko

    

    Hehehe…nanalo ba?..bomoto ako dyan..at pinag kalat ko yung links para maka vote din yun ipang pinoy…..anyway..congrats…Ate Nora A. and to all the character and staff of this movie.Mabuhay ang pilipino~

    08/11/13 22:07

41. #1  eponine

    

    this is one of the best filipino films.  i watched this a lot of times.

    08/11/13 21:24

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