The Ishmael Bernal According to Vilma and Maricel

Boy Abunda, host of Inside the Cinema in Cinema One, interviewed Vilma Santos and Maricel Soriano in separate features. He asked them about their memorable experiences in working with the late Ishmael Bernal.

Ishma gave Vilma her first grand slam award via Relasyon. (It was also the very first grand slam award of any actor in the Philippines!) Their team-up was immediately followed by Broken Marriage.

She says that during one of the shoots, dumating siyang medyo high pa sa natamo niyang karangalan. She couldn't deliver her best in one of the scenes. Ishma immediately called her attention, "O, bakit parang kang lutang diyan? Porke't naka-grand slam ka, feeling mo, magaling ka na?!"

With such statement, bigla raw bumaba siya sa langit at tinuntong sa lupa ang mga paa. Na-realized niya na hindi nga dapat pumasok sa kanyang ulo ang mga award na napanalunan niya.

Minsan naman ay kinulong siya ni Ishma sa banyo dahil hindi siya makapag-react ng tama sa eksena. After one hour he comes back to her and asks kung OK na siya. Sa sobrang lungkot daw siguro ng pag-iisa sa banyo ay na-motivate niya ng husto ang sarili sa pag-arte ng tama.

With Maria naman, she relates the story when they worked together in Hinugot sa Langit. (They've already worked several times before the said film, but that was their first dramatic movie together.) She says that Ishma made her undergo acting training on his lead. Never pa raw niya ginawa iyon kaya medyo nanibago siya. He would sit with her and talk about scenes and how they should be attacked.

Dahil daw sa magalaw ang expressions ng kanyang mukha, hirap siyang pigilin ang mga ito. Nakasanayan na niya at hindi niya mabago ng madalian. Sa pagkairita sa kanya, Ishma yells to the whole team, "Walang kakausap sa babaeng iyan! Maupo ka riyan at mag-practice!"

Mangiyan-ngiyak daw siya sa mga sandaling iyon. Not only that she felt humiliated, but because for someone who's as talkative as her, mahirap na walang kumausap sa kanya at hindi siya magsalita.

Ishma then comes to her and asks her, "Anong oras ka tao?"

She laughs.

"Anong nakakatawa?"

The smile on her face dissolves. "Ah, wala po."

"Anong oras ka nga tao?"

"Ah, one o'clock po?"

"So, 'pag one o'clock, tao ka na? Makakaarte ka na?"

Tumango na lamang siya.

Isang beses din daw ay sinabi niya kay Ishma na hindi niya kayang umarte that day. Nilapitan siya nito at tinanong, "Ano bang gusto mo?!" Right there and then, natauhan siya. Instantly, acting mode na siya uli.

That was how Ishmael Bernal treated his actors. He wanted the best in them. Hindi siya biased sa stature nila sa showbiz o sa mga award na napanalunan nila. He treats them differently the way actors should treat their roles differently every time they would do a new movie.

The industry needs someone like Ishmael Bernal today! A director who would make his actors act according to what roles are needed in particular films. A director who would make the actors become the characters they portray. A director who would break a certain actor's type of acting to create a new one. A director who would reboot or reformat his actors when they continue to do the same thing or commit the same mistakes time and again. A director who would remind actors that acting on screen is very much different from acting on TV.

Asan ka na ngayon, direk Ishma? Sana ay nanatili ka sa piling namin ngayong kailangang-kailangan ka namin.