Magkabigkis ang pangunahing tunggalian sa pelikulang Bomba Star (Regal Films, Inc., 1980) ni direktor Joey Gosiengfiao. Labag sa kalooban ni Estrella Montana (Celia Rodriguez) ang kagustuhan ng anak nitong si Estellita (Alma Moreno) na maging artista tulad ng iniidolong aktres na si Stella Fuego (Marissa Delgado). Sa isang pagkakataon ay hinubaran si Estellita ng kanyang ina sa harap ng taong bayan at labis ikinahiya ng dalaga ang kinsangkutang iskandalo. Sa tulong ni Joey (Ricky Belmonte), naabot ni Estellita ang kanyang pangarap. Umibig ito kay Mike Moreno (Roel Vergel de Dios), ang kapareha sa kanyang kauna-unahang pelikula. Sa huli, kakailanganin niyang mamili bilang artista, anak at mangingibig at nasa paglalahad ng dramatikong tensiyon at paggalugad sa mga konteksto ng bubuuing pasiya ang kabuluhan ng pelikula. "Bomba Star" na maituturing si Estellita sa mata ng palaos nang si Stella Fuego. Matapos mapagwagihan ang parangal bilang pinakamahusay na aktres sa simula ng pelikula, naging abala ito sa pagpupumilit na maisapelikula ang nobelang Bomba Star ngunit nais ng manunulat ang higit na batang artista upang gumanap sa pangunahing tauhan. Lingid sa kanyang kaalaman ang pagtuklas ng prodyuser (George Estregan) ng bagong mukha upang ilunsad sa pamosong proyekto. Nang mapili si Estellita, binigyan ito ng bagong pangalan at nakilala bilang Stella Amor. Isinama sa gagawing pelikula si Robert Rivero (Eddie Gutierrez), dating kapareha at mangingibig ni Stella Fuego. Iigting ang takbo ng kuwento sa unti-unting pagpanaw ng katinuan ng pag-iisip ni Estrella bunga nito, mapipilitan si Ramon (Dindo Fernando) na dalhin ang asawa pa-Maynila upang ipasok sa isang institusyong pang-kaisipan. Hindi pa rin naging madali para kay Estellita ang situwasyon. Bukod sa pagtupad sa kanyang responsibilidad bilang artista, kailangan niyang hatiin ang sarili sa ama at nobyong kapuwa nanganailangan ng kanyang atensiyon. Sa pagsapit ng kasukdulan ng naratibo, wawasakin ni Stella ang lahat ng pangarap ni Estellita nang dumalo ito sa premiere night ng "Bomba Star" at isa-isang binaril ang mga taong nasa likod ng matagumpay na pelikula. Nagkagulo sa loob ng sinehan at naging sanhi ng pagkasawi ng mga manonood.
Pinatitingkad ang pelikula ng mga katangian ng sineng bold ang oryentasyon sa ilang ipinamalas nitong kumbensiyon. Pangunahin sa mga katangiang ito ang pagtatampok sa katauhan ni Estellita. Bilang anak, kailangan niyang tiisin ang pagpupursigi ng inang iwaksi ang sariling pangarap na maging artista. Bilang aktres, kailangan namang ilatag ang hubad niyang katawan upang maging isang ganap na bituin. Maingat na binuo ang karakter ng mga tauhan kaya naman kahit kumikilos sila hindi ayon sa paghuwad sa mga gasgas na karakterisasyon kundi ayon sa maingat at matalinong paghimay sa iba't-ibang mga tensiyong kinakaharap ng mga tauhan. Ang inang si Estrella na sa simula'y dagdag na pasanin kay Estellita ay labis na pinagsisihan ang kalupitang nagawa at bago matapos ang pelikula ay makakamit ang lubos na pagpapatawad ng anak. Ipinakita naman sa katauhan nina Joey at Robert ang salimuot ng nakatagong pag-ibig at ang malagim nitong kinahinatnan. Itinampok rin sa Bomba Star ang prosesong pinagdaraan ng pelikula sa mapanuring sensura at kung paanong nakikibaka ang mga prodyuser sa institusyon at estruktura ng Bagong Lipunan. Ipinapahiwatig din ng pelikula ng kabatiran tungkol sa pagkatao at lipunan at ng posibilidad ng paghuhunos sa anyo ng bold sa sineng Pilipino.
Direksiyon: Joey Gosiengfiao
Dulang Pampelikula: Toto Belano
Sinematograpiya: Peping Austria
Musika: Lutgardo Labad
Editing: Rogelio Savador
Disenyo: Dez Bautista
Produksiyon: Regal Films, Inc.
4:39 AM
The opening scene where Marissa Delgado accepts her Famas statue and being interviewed by Dexter Doria was so hilarious. BOMBA STAR has parallelisms to Bernal's PAGDATING SA DULO.
6:45 AM
Hi Ronald!
That's true the openung scene was indeed hilarious and there were some similarities to the Bernal classic but Bomba Star has its own merits. I just wished Gosiengfiao dealt more with the issue of censorship and the gay relationship between Ricky Belmonte and Eddie Gutierrez. As expected, the film benefits from its rich visuals and the music was more than adequate. I prefer Alma's performance here than in her FAMAS nominated role in Mrs. Eva Fonda 16.
5:56 PM
napanood ko to sa cinema one,how bold was this movie jo? that scene of alma in the lubluban ng kalabaw was shown on tv.cant remember the opening scene,pero tanda ko yun pictorial ni alma,un habulan scene sa bayan nina alma at celia tsaka yun death scene nina eddie at ricky.
6:23 PM
Bomba Star was a bold movie alright but not as bold as Nympha. I haven't seen it on Cinema One so I have no idea which portions of the film was edited for TV.
3:13 AM
Alma was so hot and good here but she was most daring in Gosiengfiao's NYMPHA. I can't wait to see that in uncut glory. Bernal also squeeze some nice performance out of her in LAGI NA LAMANG BA AKONG BABAE?
Jo that scene inside the church in BOMBA STAR was very Almodovar.
4:28 AM
I've always thougt that Alma exuded sexiness in all of her films with the exception of the ones she made with Dolphy. She delivered a convincing performance in Lagi Na Lamang Ba Aking Babae and Manila By Night although I thought Alma was quite good in this film as well, she fits it to a T. I also thought that the scene in the church was very Almodovar but it was Gosiengfiao who did it first. Bomba Star was shot in 1979 but wasn't shown until 1980.
10:23 AM
Hi Jojo,
Saw a clip of this in YouTube, it's very Almodovar, he he he. The picture quality looks good too...
RSE
5:15 PM
Hi Ron!
Most filipino film buffs compare Gosiengfiao to Almodovar but in my opinion the former is much better than the latter. Proof of which would be his earlier films such as La Paloma and Lulubog Lilitaw Sa Ilalim Ng Tulay. In Babae... Ngayon At Kailanman we saw his serious side even in Bomba Star, at first it seemed like it was an inferior version of Bernal's Pagdating Sa Dulo but surprisingly he had something else to say about the movie industry.
12:34 AM
The Almodovar-Gosiengfiao comparison is superficial at best. Almodovar's movies came out of a post-Franco Madrid punk context that encouraged a freewheeling looseness even in his most tightly controlled plots (especially in his most recent ones, which by and large only exist to tarnish the greatness of his earlier movies). Gosiengfiao on the other hand is much stricter in his construction, with clearly delineated "themes" and processes of fleshing out those themes (maybe a product of the fact that he was still working within the confines and demands of a national film industry). In addition, Almodovar, deriving much inspiration from daytime television, was less daring in his camera work and cinematography. Gosiengfiao on the other hand was pure film: his camera tells the story and his framing went beyond Almodovar's preferred upfront medium-shots and Hollywood-laced editing style (just look at the second chapter of Babae to see how elaborate he can get with his visuals; the most daring I remember Almodovar got was when he did an ode to Bergman in the end of Tacones Lejas).
Sure, their styles are fancy, but in that sense you can extend the parallels to John Waters, Kenneth Anger, Tropicalismo, and maybe even Seijun Suzuki. But really all this emphasizes is the inadequacy of using that as a standard of comparison.
4:15 AM
Hello po Kuya John!
I agree on your thoughts about the comparison with Almodovar. I remember an interview with Elwood Perez and he said that direk Joey was a visual artist. I agree with him in many points. In films like Lulubog... Lilitaw, he certainly pushed the limit in terms of visuals. The colors were wild and the scenes highly imaginative. Noel Vera had said before that he believes Gosiengfiao is a much better filmmaker than Almodovar.
6:31 AM
Hi! Do you have a copy of this movie? I've seen it before, and all I can say is that it's campy and straightforward!
5:42 PM
I do have a copy of Bomba Star... most of the movies featured in my blog are from my video collection.
1:54 PM
Hi,
How was the gay scene between Eddie & Ricky presented? I haven't seen this yet. Thanks.
5:45 AM
It wasn't much. There was scene in the gym where they were playing around, that's all...