Released in 1965 and restored in 2015, it is as crisp and beautiful as it was 60 years before. You aren’t a film connoisseur if you haven’t seen this for at least once in your life.
A Film by National Artist Lamberto Avellana/Diadem Productions
Written by: Nick Joaquin (written as A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino: An Elegy in Three Scenes).
Cast: Daisy Hontiveros-Avellana as Daisy H. Avellana (Candida), Naty Crame-Rogers (Paula), Conrad Parham (Tony Javier), Vic Silayan (Bitoy), Sarah Joaquin, Nick Agudo, Pianing Vidal (Don Lorenzo Marasigan), Koko Trinidad, Oscar Keesee, Veronica Palileo, Nena Perez-Rubio, Manny Ojeda, Rino Bermudez, Alfred Burgos.
There was an earlier feature of the movie Ang Larawan which pretty much tells the same story. Click on the link to read the synopsis. This had the same setting, same characters, and same timeline. The people still straddled between the American era and the incoming Japanese reign. It was that moment when the people’s carefree attitudes were let out for just one last, brief moment.
Apart from the 2017 adaptation being a musical, it was different because it gave an enigmatic impression especially on the role of the father. I could say that I prefer this earlier version to the contemporary one because there are three National Artists at work here (namely Nick Joaquin for Literature; Lamberto Avellana for Theatre and Cinema; and Daisy Hontiveros-Avellana for Theatre) but the 2017 adaptation also did justice to the famous litterateur’s work.
The 1965 characters were *speaking in English, of course, as it was how Nick Joaquin wrote it. And since this was the 60s filmmaking, the scenes were babad or lengthy so they had more time to build the liaisons among the characters. We delve deeper into their lives, more so into the Paula-Tony romance (er…was there love enough to call it a romance?), and even into the depression that was slowly eating Don Lorenzo.
I like that Avellana showed the workings of the painter’s mind and not just told in limited narratives. Depression is real and it does take hold of the greatest minds; it is so real that I am currently writing a Wattpad novella about this mental state and how it has devoured many before us and is still wreaking havoc in today’s society.
I digress. Another laudable feat that Bert Avellana did was to encapsulate different members of the Filipino society into each of the major characters, with Don Lorenzo being the representation of artists, performers and towering intellects of a bygone Spanish era, and Tony Javier as the epitome of Americanism during that time as is evident of his twang and materialistic nature.
Candida and Paula are the Filipinos being tossed to and fro by forces that are beyond their control, the former being more vocal about her feelings and the latter being timid and gullible.
There are two successive colonizers with another one just looming around the corner. All the signs paved the way for the Filipinos’ impending doom as the blackouts kept recurring and more shady characters appear with each passing minute.
Such was the fate of our nation. We’ve been led and abused for so long that we technically need crutches just to stand on our own two feet. We’re still living in a society that’s being circled upon by vultures (other nations that want our resources for themselves). So, are we really ready for democracy?
I’ll leave the answering to you.
*History records that Filipinos were educated in the American-style public educational system with English being the medium of instruction. This resulted in 20% of Filipinos speaking the English language in their communities. was only declared as the national language in 1937 so most Pinoys spoke fluent English more than Tagalog in the prior years. Most were still excellent Spanish speakers. Read about the proclamation of the national language on this link — EXECUTIVE ORDER No. 134.
The restored version of the movie is free to watch on iFlix.
Bantay Pelikula 
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