INA', GRITTY DRAMA
MANILA,
OCTOBER 22, 2011
(MALAYA) BY ARNEL RAMOS At the late September press preview of "Sa
Ngalan ng Ina," Nora Aunor's return to TV drama after an eight-year hiatus,
the scene inside the venue was reminiscent of how it was when the legendary
actress' Elwood Perez-directed mother-and-daughter drama "Ang Totoong Buhay
ni Pacita M" was being shown in theaters in 1991. This was way before the
advent of mall cinemas and Nora Aunor loyalists would burst into a
thunderous applause at her every dramatic highlight.
Where Nora was largely over-the-top as the self-sacrificing mom in Pacita
M, she delivers a fine performance as the wife who becomes governor in TV5's
"Sa Ngalan ng Ina." Unlike the regular soap that proliferates on the tube,
"Sa Ngalan ng Ina" is far from glossy and convoluted. It is, thankfully,
both gritty and theatrical. The theatrical touches are, of course, to be
expected since the one at the helm is Mario O'Hara who remains a presence in
the local theater scene.
And because theatricality calls for huge, spectacular scenes, logic is
sometimes sacrificed. Consider the scene where Nora had to walk through the
rubble after the explosion that killed her husband in the series (played by
Bembol Roco). Why in the world was Nora without a mobile phone so that her
children could have just called her and relayed the news? O'Hara was clearly
striving for effect at the expense of logic.
Other than little quibbles like this, "Sa Ngalan ng Ina" is still rather
refreshing to watch. Aside from Nora, Eugene Domingo (as Nora's sister),
Edgar Allan Guzman as one of Nora's two sons and Karel Marquez (as the
willful daughter of Christopher de Leon and Rosanna Roces) offer
performances that bristle with quiet power. We would have wanted to sing
hosannas to Alwyn Uytingco as the renegade son of Nora and Bembol but his
portrayal strikes us as too blustery for comfort.
The ratings are none too impressive – 4.3% of the audience share for its
pilot episode according to AGB Nielsen – but the month-long series which
started airing last October 3 on TV5 is loaded with commercials and is
praise-worthy if only for its being briskly-paced and quite gripping. If the
Manny Pangilinan-owned station is aiming for prestige, their efforts had not
entirely gone to waste.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
