Spectacle Theater will present “Gripped by Hysteria: Ishmael Bernal x3,” a monthlong retrospective of three films by Ishmael Bernal, the Philippine National Artist for Film whose sharp, socially conscious work helped define the Second Golden Age of Philippine cinema.
The series, which opens Thursday, Sept. 3, features rarely screened 2K and 4K restorations of “Nunal sa Tubig” (1976), “Tisoy!” (1977) and “Himala” (1982). All screenings will be in Tagalog with English subtitles at Spectacle Theater, 124 S. Third St. in Brooklyn. Admission is $5, with online ticketing fees potentially applying.
For Filipino audiences in New York and for moviegoers interested in cinema shaped by political pressure, social inequality and cultural memory, the program offers a rare chance to see Bernal’s films in a theatrical setting.
Cinema under martial law
Bernal was among the most important filmmakers of Philippine cinema’s Second Golden Age, which unfolded during the 1970s and 1980s under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Despite censorship and political repression, the period produced boundary-pushing work by filmmakers including Bernal, Lino Brocka, Kidlat Tahimik and Mike de Leon.
Their films used melodrama, satire, documentary-inflected storytelling and social realism to examine the lived realities of Filipinos, often criticizing systems of power without directly naming them. Spectacle notes that a comparatively liberal censorship-office head allowed some bold films to reach audiences, while their artistic and commercial success gave the Marcos government reason to tolerate a degree of cinematic dissent.
Bernal stood apart for his incisive wit and willingness to use women’s lives as a lens on institutional hypocrisy, gender inequity and social decay. Openly gay and a committed feminist, he wrote in his essay “Why the Martial Law Will Affect Your Sex Life” of a people “practically ruled by a stranger” and warned that the response would be to be “gripped by hysteria.”
That phrase lends its name to Spectacle’s series and captures a recurring Bernal concern: how fear, deprivation, spectacle and authority can shape private lives and collective belief.
From water to hysteria
The series begins with “Nunal sa Tubig,” presented in English as “A Speck in the Water.” Set in the impoverished fishing village of Santa Fe, the 1976 film follows a community affected by dying milkfish, failed livelihoods and a love triangle whose consequences turn tragic.
Benjamin, a boat owner played by George Estregan, carries passengers between the village and town. Two women in his orbit—Chedeng, played by Daria Ramirez, and Maria, played by Elizabeth Oropesa—are close friends who do not know they are both involved with him. When Maria becomes pregnant and Chedeng is drawn into her care, the story moves toward disaster.
The 118-minute restoration is based on the sole surviving 35 mm print and includes hardcoded Japanese subtitles. It screens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3; 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19; and 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25.
“Tisoy!,” released in 1977 and based on a popular comic strip by Nonoy Marcelo, takes a more playful but no less critical approach. Christopher de Leon plays Tisoy, a bohemian balikbayan searching for his father while reconnecting with friends and a high school sweetheart in Metro Manila.
The 120-minute film uses gags, nested stories and meta-humor to satirize urban life, consumerism and the contradictions of martial-law-era Manila. It screens at midnight Friday, Sept. 4; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9; and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19.
‘Himala’ endures
The retrospective concludes with “Himala,” Bernal’s 1982 masterpiece starring Nora Aunor as Elsa, an orphan in an isolated village who says she has seen the Virgin Mary.
As Elsa begins to heal people, word spreads quickly. Pilgrims, tourists, patients and a documentary filmmaker descend on the village, each bringing private desires and competing ideas of faith. The film becomes not simply a question of whether a miracle occurred, but an examination of why people need one to be true.
Bernal described “Himala” as the story of “a society that is ill,” one with “no recourse but to cling to apparitions and miracles.” The film’s questions about belief, desperation and public spectacle have helped sustain its reputation as a landmark of Philippine cinema.
“Himala,” also known as “Miracle,” runs 124 minutes and screens at 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6; 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12; and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22.
Bernal’s work has been difficult to see internationally in recent years because of print scarcity. Spectacle’s partial retrospective, supported by Thellie Castro-Palanisamy and Cathrina Lim-Achacoso of ABS-CBN, offers an overdue opportunity to revisit a filmmaker whose influence continues through later generations, including directors Lav Diaz and Raya Martin.
Tickets and additional information are available through Spectacle Theater’s series page.
