Bits of behind-the-scenes
trivia about the 30-year old film “Hindi Nahahati Ang Langit”
For many years now, the 1985
film “Hindi Nahahati Ang Langit” has held a special appeal to me. A friend of
mine who is a diehard Lorna Tolentino (LT) fan says it is his favorite LT
movie; his delight towards it piqued my interest.
That it is a drama directed
by Mike de Leon also fueled my attraction. De Leon, after all, is considered a
master by young and even older filmmakers. Since he began his career in the
1970s, the famed director has made only eight features and “Hindi Nahahati…” is
one of them. Since he rarely makes films (de Leon’s last was “Bayaning Third
World” which was shown 14 years ago) and has purposely shied away from the
limelight, his completed works are regarded as treasures by his
ardent admirers.
But admittedly, the biggest
reason I’m drawn to “Hindi Nahahati…” is a story behind it. When I was a
production assistant at Star Cinema, I remember one of my bosses (someone who
worked on the film) saying that de Leon’s name is absent from the film's credits. The
movie is perhaps one of the few, if not the only one, in which the opening
credits end with the name of the assistant director (A.D.) instead of the
director.
Being in an industry wherein
people are so conscious about billing and credit, here was a fellow—the
director, the captain of the ship at that—who was not acknowledged as maker.
Another story that reached
me was that the director, although he completed the film, decided not to put
his name on it. Why? Is he not proud of it? Is he not happy with his work? To
put it frankly, “Is ‘Hindi Nahahati Ang Langit’ so bad that Mike de Leon did
not want to be associated with it?”
However, my friends who had seen
it attest that it’s a good film, so good that ABS-CBN decided to remake it into
a teleserye entitled “Walang Kapalit”
in 2007. The TV series starred Claudine Barretto and Piolo Pascual as the
warring stepsiblings Melody and Noel.
When I was working for
StarStudio Magazine in 2007, I suggested to my editor-in-chief Cherry Pineda that a nostalgia
piece about “Hindi Nahahati…” be written since there was going to be a TV
remake. Our E-I-C approved the pitch,
and so I set off to interview those who were involved in the film.
And the stories I culled
from my search were, in showbiz parlance, “juicy" to me.
But first, a background
about the plot: “Hindi Nahahati Ang Langit” is based on a komiks
serial written by Nerissa Cabral, considered one of the most notable writers of
the genre. She is the writer behind komiks-turned-iconic films like “Bituing
Walang Ningning,” “Bukas Luluhod Ang Mga Tala,” “Palimos ng Pag-Ibig,” and others.
“Hindi Nahahati…” tells the
story of stepsiblings Noel and Melody (played by Christopher de Leon and Lorna
Tolentino, respectively) who’ve been fighting ever since they were young. The
respective parents Ariston (the late Nestor de Villa) and Agnes (Gloria Romero)
tried to intervene and encourage the stepsiblings to accept each other like real brother and sister. But the gap between Melody and Noel
widened especially when their parents passed away. The conflict worsened when
Melody married Ronald (Edu Manzano) whom Noel hated. Noel then married Cynthia
(Dina Bonnevie) who, in spite of Noel’s assurance, was still jealous of Melody.
For my StarStudio
assignment, I got to talk to a few of the stars and production team of “Hindi
Nahahati Ang Langit”— screenwriter Mia A. Concio, actress Dina Bonnevie, and the
producer, Ms. Charo Santos-Concio.
Mia Concio was the
continuity supervisor of the film. But, as she recounted to StarStudio, she ended
up with screen adaptation credit because “There was already a working script
but while we were working on the film, Mike kept revising and revising it. He
kept telling me to write and rewrite scenes!” The film “Hindi Nahahati Ang Langit” became
the first of many screenplays Mia would write.
Dina, meanwhile, related to
her character Cynthia whose marriage to Noel was rocky because her own union
with then husband Vic Sotto was also problematic.
Back then, Edu Manzano was
reportedly also having problems with then wife Vilma Santos. Someone connected
to the film shared that the Mercedes Benz picture vehicle that Edu’s character
Ronald was driving was actually Edu’s and Vi’s. Edu was supposed to have said to the
film’s staff, “Paano ‘yan kung
maghihiwalay na kami ni Vilma? Hindi
na natin magagamit ang kotse (sa
shooting).”
As to the “mystery” why Mike
de Leon’s name is absent from the credits, Ma’am Charo (who starred in de
Leon’s films “Kakabakaba Ka Ba?” “Kisapmata” and “Itim”) offers this
explanation:
“I guess Mike was pressured
and we didn’t have enough funding at that time. It’s very frustrating for a
creative person when resources are limited. Meron
pang gustong gawin si Mike na wala na kaming ma-offer na pera. Medyo nagkakaroon na ng
misunderstanding and the pressure was building up na.
“One day, he sent word to
remove na lang daw his name in the
credits. I talked to Simon (Ongpin), my (executive) producer about it… Sabi niya, ‘It’s really up to you Charo,
you make the call.’
“It was difficult for me to
make the call… I said, ‘Well if Mike wants his name struck out from the
credits, alisin natin. If that was
going to make him happy, Mike and I don’t have to fight over this.”
I had never watched “Hindi
Nahahati…” in its entirety except at the premiere of its digitally restored
version held last November 11, 2014.
I was struck by the awesome
performances of the cast. I agonized over Melody and Noel keeping their true feelings from each other because a relationship between stepsiblings was deemed incestuous. I was touched by the message of the story and awed by the
depth of the characters’ struggles.
Perhaps as a komiks melodrama, “Hindi Nahahati Ang
Langit” does not possess the gloss and the opulence of say a Viva Films
production. And maybe director Mike de Leon had to contend with modest means and limited resources. In the process, he might not have fully achieved his
vision for the film. But that does not diminish the beauty of the film. Actually, I feel it is more touching because of its simplicity.
So when Manet Dayrit of
Central Digital Lab told me that their company had done restoration on “Hindi
Nahahati Ang Langit,” and that Mike de Leon had agreed to put back his name in
the credits, I felt like a kid on Christmas Day.
To me who had sort of
followed this story since my PA days at Star Cinema, the news was very
significant.
First, because another Filipino classic was
restored and that meant that many more viewers could enjoy and learn from the
movie for several years to come.
Second—and call me
overthinking if you want—I just felt that the director’s return proved that, yes, there is heaven on earth, and good things that are meant to be (like the love of Melody and Noel) do come to fruition.
