the youngest norarian

over an hour before the screening of nora aunor's latest film -- hustisya (justice) -- at the cultural center of the philippines, a long queue was already formed at the side of tanghalang aurelio tolentino theatre, the biggest in the complex. the film was one of the entries to the directors' showcase of this year's cinemalaya, which is also the tenth year of the festival for independent films.

ahead of me in the line was a mother and her teenage daughter. the mother, in her early forty's, was posing in front of the movie's poster, as her daughter took some photos. after a few more shots, with the mother asking her daughter to show to her the shots and when she didn't like it, she would ask her to take some more photos, the photo shoot was over.

when the daughter was standing in front of me, i smiled at her. she smiled back, bit shyly. her mother smiled at me too. there was already a camaraderie among us fans even if we haven't officially met. that happens a lot of times. then i asked the daughter how old she was. fourteen, she said in a soft voice that i had to stay closer just to hear her speak. are you a fan of nora aunor? she smiled sheepishly, pushing some hair on her face to the side of her ears. yes. how come? my mother always takes me with her every time she watches her movies. her mother laughed.

you must be the youngest in the line, i told her. her mother, who has been listening to our conversation, finally joined us. she said it was also her mother who introduced her to nora aunor. at that time, she said she was a big fan of snooky serna, maricel soriano and dina bonnevie, then the hottest young stars over at regal films, the country's biggest production company at that time. but her mother insisted on taking her to watch nora aunor's movies and after seeing her films a few times, she started appreciating her, her acting, and the movies that she was in.

there you go, i thought, three generations of norarians. how can you beat that? this will ensure that the legacy of the so-called superstar of philippine movies will endure and linger.

what's your favourite? i asked them both.

daughter : pacita m.

mother    : only one?

me          : name as many as you want.

mother   : (smiling) i have a lot actually.

me         : it's alright. name them.

mother   : bona, himala, tatlong taong walang diyos, minsay's isang gamo-gamo, pacita m., beloved, ina ka ng anak mo, t-bird at ako, bilangin mo ang bituin sa langit. there are so many. i like almost all of her movies, except the ones she made during her  younger years with her then love team, tirso cruz.

me         : they are my favourites too. except pacita m. i have not seen it yet.

daughter : you should. it's one of her best movies. i have seen it countless times on cinema one (a cable channel showing old filipino movies). every time i see it, i always cry.

i smiled. i will, i said.

then the line started moving and we said our goodbyes.


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it was also my mother who initiated me into the nora aunor fandom. if i remember it correctly, i was five years old when she took me to watch banaue, where nora played a mountain lass with long, black hair, and where she was paired with her real life boyfriend christopher de leon, whom she eventually married, had a son, then split up, or divorced (?) later on.

then when i was already in high school, i would watch some of her movies on betamax ( a sort of dvd or blue ray, but more tedious since you need a separate machine to rewind the tapes containing the movie). just like a typical fan, i love her in himala (where she played a faith healer who was brutally raped and got pregnant), tatlong taong walang diyos (another movie with christopher de leon. here she played a young filipina who fell in love and married a japanese soldier, angering their barrio. it was set during the japanese occupation and filipinos at the time were not pleased with their conquerors), merika (a nurse who is working in the united states for a better life), among others.

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but unlike some of her rabid fans, i was never repelled by her so-called rival vilma santos. in fact, i also love her. i enjoyed watching her movies. she has her own way of interpreting her roles and excelling in them. in my book, she is just as good as nora aunor.

among my favourites of her movies are pag-itim ng tagak, pag puti ng uwak (with nora aunor's husband christopher de leon. in fact, most of vilma's memorable films such as broken marriage were made with christopher), burlesk queen, broken marriage, sister stella l., t-bird at ako (where she shared equal billing with nora aunor), relasyon, pahiram ng isang umaga, dekada 70, to name just a few.

until now, i am hoping that the two of them will do another movie together. that would be a great treat and tribute to their countless admirers.

last year, vilma santos' cinemalaya entry -- ekstra (bit player) -- was the festival's top grosser in terms of ticket sales. the film also won for vilma the best actress trophy. it was vilma's first time to join cinemalaya.

this year, it's nora aunor's turn. her movie was also the highest earner among the entries. she also won the best actress award. just like vilma, it was also her first time to have an entry in the festival.

here's hoping that a director or producer will successfully convince the two of them to star in a movie that will be part of next year's cinemalaya festival. that will be something to watch out for!

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inside the theatre, it was full house. most of the fans were in their forty's and fifty's. there were also a lot of gay men, who were already discussing the possibility that nora will win the best actress trophy, even if they haven't even seen the film yet.

one gay man in his fifty's (greying hair, huge belly, wearing thick eyeglasses and a yellow hawaiian shirt and fedora hat) remarked bitchily : tingnan ko lang kung anong sasabihin ng mga punyetang vilmanians na yan pag nanalo si ate guy ulit ng best actress.

his friend, another middle-aged gay man, answered that this will also show malacanang how powerful the superstar still is. it would be noted that norarians and lovers of philippine cinema were mad as hell on the president and malacanang for not giving nora author the national artist award because of her previous "detention" in the united states for alleged drug use.

indeed, months after that snob, the president's approval rating went down dramatically! haha. no, i am not saying it was because of the nora aunor brouhaha.

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after the movie, i saw mother and daughter again at the lobby.

did you like the movie?

mother     : she is very good in it. but the movie is not among her best.

daughter  : i agree. what about you?

me            : same here. her performance is excellent and i won't be surprised if she wins the best actress award (she did). but the movie is something else. it's all cliches.

mother      : true. and to think that it was written by ricky lee.

me            : indeed.

then we said another goodbye. i headed to starbucks right across the ccp complex, while they went to the lobby to wait for the screening of another movie in the festival.

(next, a mini review of hustisya and the best film, in my book, in the festival -- the beautifully shot k'na, the dream weaver.)