Bona

“The artist is always a participant. He tries to be true not only to his craft but also to himself. For it is the supreme duty of the artist to investigate the truth, no matter what forces attempt to hide it […] We want to do works that will hurt, films that will disturb, films that will not make you rest. For the times are really bad, and given times like these, it is a crime to rest.” Lino Brocka, Artist as Citizen

Playing against type, Philippine superstar Nora Aunor is Bona, a schoolgirl obsessed with movies and infatuated with a hunky supporting actor in particular (Brocka regular Phillip Salvador as the noxious Gardo). She hangs around film shoots so much that Gardo doesn’t object to her moving into his shantytown shack after quarreling with her father — after all, she’s willing to do anything for him.

Bona’s devotion will be sorely tested by his arrogant indifference. At times the film edges into Bunuelian absurdity, with the girl as a deluded saint. But she — and the movie — ultimately go a very different direction.

As with Brocka’s other political films, Bona melds social realism with melodrama. Shot on the streets, it’s a vivid portrait not only of Manila, but a record of how the local film industry operated at the time. It’s a crisp, “kicky” film, driven by two perfectly complementary powerhouse performances.

Believed lost for years after its negatives were destroyed in a fire, Bona can now be seen looking better than ever in a painstaking new restoration that has helped return one of the supreme masterworks of Filipino cinema to its rightful place in history.

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