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Jose Lorenzo “Pepe” Diokno, Isang Himala, 2024. 145 min.

Isang Himala (A Miracle), directed by Jose Lorenzo “Pepe” Diokno, is an adaptation on three levels—of the screenplay by National Artist Ricky Lee, of the screenplay that was realised in the film Himala (Miracle) directed by National Artist Ishmael Bernal, and of the musical that is Himala: Isang Musikal (Miracle: A musical) with music by Vincent de Jesus. In this manner, the film, by its existence, already invites comparisons, perhaps even in the manner Chayong, Elsa, and Nimia evokes as Nimia sang in the song “Ako’y Mayroong Kuwento” [“I Have a Story”]. Despite this, the film manages to position itself as a middleground, and in so doing, as a new material worthy of inspection uneclipsed by its predecessors.

The constructed Cupang, the setting of the film, allows for a theatrical suspension of reality. Hence, abrupt changes in lighting crucial to the development of the narrative is not as jarring as it would normally be. The sky darkens, lightens, reddens, goldens in accordance to the character’s movements—both internally and externally. To echo and comment on a conversation with Liwag (2024), the artificiality of Isang Himala seems to be a reaction, if not a subversion, of the obscene realism of its source material, with Himala having a crowd of 3000 bit players. Yet Isang Himala still managed to make it work. The constructed location already presented a limitation of space, which was maximized to its full capacity, to an approximation to the effect of Himala with a fraction of players. This artificiality, in a way, also allowed for a blurring of the line between film and theatre, perhaps in a way that proshots (like Hamilton (2020)) and “complete” adaptations (like Wicked (2024)) cannot recreate. This also signals that the Cupang in which Bernal had shot the original realisation of the script has completed its full characterisation, that in its creation, it has become a character, molded to the vision of Diokno.

While it can be said that comments on the musicality and the narrative could be relegated to its source material, as a filmic experience, this totality needs to be (re)evaluated. As a musical that also tried to stay faithful to the original script, it can seem like it is the script that drives the creation of the melody, to the point that it can be challenging to identify melodic movements within one song, save for the leitmotif of the iconic line “Ang himala ay nasa puso ng tao” [“The miracle is all inside us”]. However, whenever the music allows, the film was able to embrace the crests of intensity of the musical as a form as with Elsa’s internal movements in her prayer to the Virgin Mary in “Magpakita Kang Muli” [“Appear Again”]. This musicality also adds to the interiority of the film, and combined with powerful performances from the cast, notably Elsa (played by Aicelle Santos) perhaps even more than that of Himala.

Despite this, it cannot be discounted how the absence of melodious moments and melodic direction in the song numbers could distract the flow of the narrative itself. A particular notable moment in the film was not even a song number. In the scene where Orly (played by David Ezra) and Aling Saling (played by Bituin Escalante) talk about Elsa’s history and childhood, Escalante’s brilliant delivery of her lines and Diokno’s vision and reframing of the scene make it seem that the movie shifts towards a documentary. All the while expecting her to sing in this faux interview, there are no songs. Just remarkable acting and directing.

As a matter of first impression, Isang Himala is an adaptation that, while complete in itself, points the viewer to its sources. To return to the Bernal’s Himala and (re)experience National Artist Nora Aunor’s Elsa. To yearn for a restaging of Himala: Isang Musikal and hear all the other songs that were cut in consideration of runtime. This is not a detriment, as the film thrives even more in an abundance of itself as it points one to experience more art—filling in the gaps of what was unsaid, reframing and repositioning itself to what it said instead. For in all these, the hand of National Artist Ricky Lee was present in the shaping of the generous narrative of Himala from one adaptation to another to another.

Lastly, extrafilmic parallels could also enrich the appreciation of the film—of how Himala and Isang Himala were released under the Marcos regime. As part of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), as with the other entries, a video greeting from Marcos prefaced the film itself. The film becomes yet another rehearsal and a retelling of the times. What this entails, as we do in mathematics, is left as an exercise to the reader.

How to cite: Flores, Richell Isaiah. “The Miracle of Adaptation in Pepe Diokno’s Isang Himala.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 7 Jan. 2025, chajournal.blog/2025/01/07/isang-himala.

Richell Isaiah Flores is an instructor at the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. He finished his degree BS Applied Mathematics – M Data Science with a minor in Philippine Literature from the same university. He is also a member of Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA) [Center for Imagery, Rhetoric, and Form]. His poetry was published in Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine and HEIGHTS, Ateneo’s literary folio. Visit his website for more information. [Read all contributions by Richell Isaiah Flores.]