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Apart from the stupefying contribution of overzealous guardians of public morality among members of the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures, other factors have made Nympha (Regal Films, Inc.) a landmark of sorts in the history of contemporary Filipino movies. Nympha has given Regal Films its first certified box office hit for 1980. Also, no other Filipino film in recent memory has been given such thorough coverage in media, a phenomenon in itself considering that outside of the showbiz magazines and television talk shows, local movies hardly get enough unpaid notice in broadsheets and primetime programs. Nympha has also catapulted star Alma Moreno as an actress lauded no longer for her candor but for her potential in dramatic roles. Lily Monteverde, the Regal matriarch wondrously succeeded in raising the issue to the level of principle, it was a struggle for freedom of expression which the Marcos dictatorship curtailed. Joey Gosiengfiao from Regal's stable of directors will henceforth be identified as the filmmaker who has made sheer boldness visually accessible in a mainstream Filipino movie. By itself, this is not what constitutes artistic achievement, but the distinction is significant, for it has advanced in no small way the struggle to disengage the Filipino film from the holy clutches of the BCMP who do not seem to have any concept or context when they find in a film a detail that deviates from the proscription of traditional moralism. Combined with an eye for the incongruous and a feel for the ironic, this pictorial sense makes for movie making that holds our interest, not so much because he has a story to tell, but because he allows us to observe people and events as these have eluded our senses as we live through the day. Gosiengfiao has learned how to win over the traditional audience for Filipino films and more importantly, how to handle the the obligatory sequences in Filipino melodramas with taste and restraint. In Nympha, taste and restraint are the redeeming virtues of this genre film about a young woman's search for dignity and affection. Both qualities are especially evident in the scenes made notorious by the obsessively numerical concern by certain board members over the frequency of characters making love.
Screenwriter Toto Belano had been an engaging writer of numerous Regal produced melodramas. In the scripts he's done, characterization has always been a strong point. As the narrative progresses, Belano invents details that unfold a personality subjected to pressure from her immediate environment and the social milieu. In Nympha he went minimalist in focusing on the simple story of a young woman who commits the error of daring to hope for redemption in love. To date Nympha and Marcial are Belano's most sympathetic principal characters, contrasting types that have been given flesh and blood by Alma Moreno and Alfie Anido in his first starring role. The woman cynical but vulnerable, the young man impulsive, naive and ultimately, uncomprehending. The straightforward plot is formulaic, but Belano's sense of irony refuses the temptations of sentimentality, giving Gosiengfiao's film a certain solidity through secondary characters played by Ricky Belmonte as Alberto, the confidante, Rosemarie Gil as Carmen, the stepmother and Orestes Ojeda as Danny the psychiatrist. The success of Nympha is a personal triumph of Alma Moreno who, by virtue of her performance as Nympha Monteverde is the threshold of joining the rank of serious actresses in Philippine movies. Without discounting the help of a producer who moved the world of media, culture and the arts to transform a bold star into a dramatic actress, of a director whose innate good taste guided him in handling her delicate scenes, and a scriptwriter whose lines and motivations made it easy for one who is essentially a neophyte actress to be believably both hard and tender, Alma Moreno must be credited with the spunk and sensitivity that made Nympha Monteverde a character the moviegoers would care about. Her acting is luminous because it is unaffected, drawn from a sensibility that is fresh and candid. One shortcoming Moreno has to overcome if she is to aspire for greatness in the company of such dramatic actresses as Nora Aunor, Vilma Santos and Hilda Koronel however, is the flatness of her voice and an intonation pattern lacking in nuance. For that she would need a proper voice coach. That she was able to create a memorable human being out of her role is proof enough that she has what it takes to be a fine actress. As a fresh talent, Alma Moreno would do well to learn to mine and manage her emotional and intellectual resources wisely in undertaking roles for other producers, directors and scriptwriters.
Directed By: Joey Gosiengfiao
Screenplay: Toto Belano
Director Of Photography: Caloy Jacinto
Music: Jun Latonio
Film Editor: Rogelio Salvador
Production Designer: Danny Evangelista
Produced By: Regal Films, Inc.
Release Date: March 7, 1980
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9:20 AM
one of my favorites.
10:51 AM
Hi Jojo,
Another great review. How is it compared to Bomba Star?
Regards,
RSE
2:03 PM
Bomba Star still remains to be a personal favorite... baklang-bakla kasi eh...
2:08 PM
Hello Ron!
Thanks a lot! Bomba Star is campy and fun while Nympha features Alma Moreno's best dramatic perfomance in all of the films she made with Gosiengfiao. Nympha is a lot more focused than Bomba Star and features Alma in her boldest and most daring role ever.
5:21 PM
Although i was still a kid during Alma Moreno's reign as bold queen of Phil. movies,i was fascinated by her lovely face when i first saw WAIKIKI on tv in the early 80s.She was so sikat,along with Rio locsin & Lorna T.,i remember there were free little cardboard figures,cartoon type,named after them,inside a chichiria snack and i would collect them when i was in Gr. 1 in 1979.Jojo,i hope you come up with an Alma Moreno tribute with nice photos.
5:26 PM
Jojo,alma already had a son when she did this movie right? i hope you review Alma's dyesebel,that was the first alma movie i saw on the big screen.
7:35 PM
I liked the opening scene in this film, the rescue operation....panis yung helicopter scene in TEMPTATION ISLAND. Might be Gosiengfiao's homage of sorts to THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Its the camp master's most daring and perverse work. Jojo how did this movie end?
1:30 AM
Hi Dexter!
Alma reached the peak of her career in the 80's along with Lorna Tolentino and Rio Locsin. I also think that she has oe of the loveliest faces in Philippine cinema... her variety show was entitled Loveliness di ba? I do remember the cardboard figures you mentioned although I never actually saw them. I will post a tribute to Alma very soon...
1:34 AM
Alma gave birth in late 1979 and Nympha was her comeback film. Anthony Taylor's Dyesebel was a horrible movie. It was so bad that most critics lambasted it saying that it was such a waste of film.
1:40 AM
Nympha's opening scene is quite impressive with Alma unconscious, lying naked on top of a hill. This film is really Gosiengfiao's most daring work. Nympha eventually discovered the truth about Alberto and got back with Marcial.
6:32 PM
Did you notice the reaction on Ella Luansing's face while talking to Ricky Belmonte after the rescue operations? That was so fucking hilarious! Reminds me of Almodovar's DARK HABITS. And I agree with you.....Alma should have been recognized by award-giving bodies in this film.
2:57 AM
Ella Luansing was a terrific actress, such a scene stealer! Alma has never been favored by critics and but so was Gosiengfiao. Most of his notable works were dismissed by these award giving bodies as well.
1:50 PM
Hi Jojo,
I hope you'd also do Rio Locsin tribute as she was one of the better "bold" actors of her time. I've always thought that she was a more "natural" actor than Alma and could have just as easily reached the heights of Lorna's film career had she only done better projects.
5:32 PM
Hello Carlo!
I've written a number of posts on Rio's movies. I agree with you, Rio was first of the three (with Alma and Lorna respectively) to show promise in the acting department, thanks in part to her participation in Brocka films such as Ina, Kapatid, Anak and Init. Lorna went on to become a fine actress herself, leaving Alma behind. In Nympha, Alma showed that along with her voluptuous body, she can also deliver a notable performance which is what she accomplished in this film. Unfortunately, Alma made the wrong choices in the projects she did after Nympha. With the exception of Manila By Night that same year, she instead starred in forgettable movies like Lumakad Kang Hubad Sa Mundong Ibabaw and Bawal.
7:50 PM
They shown this movie before on Regal Presents back in the late
80's with heavy cuts almost 30 minutes of the film was deleted. At the recent Gosiengfiao retrospective on Sm Megamall, the idiots at the MTRCB didn't allow also the film to be shown inspite of the consent of Cinema One for the cuts......
3:05 AM
Most movies shown on TV are edited for content anyway. I guess since SM Cinemas doesn't allow showing of R-18 rated films Nympha's adult content was probably the reason why the movie wasn't included in the retrospective even with cuts...
2:42 PM
How did Alfie Anido fare in his first movie? was that him really,in the shower,buttnaked? who discovered him? what month was Nympha shown? i have a 1980 new year issue of Jingle Extra Hot Magazine and Alfie Anido was touted as a new discovery then.
3:34 PM
Alfie Anido was quite imoressive in his fim debut. Yup! That was him butt naked in the shower. Alfie never did another scene similar to this one in hs succeeding films. Nympha was shown in January, 1980 which marked Regal's first certified box office hit that year and making Alfie Anido a bonafide star.
9:57 PM
I only have a vague memory of this. I saw it once in Cinema One oddly enough the opening wasn't edited out. Did Alma have full breast exposure here or did she hide her nipples like in Bomba Star? I thought Alma did a better acting job in Bomba Star but then again I haven't seen this in a while.
2:00 AM
Hi Angelo!
Alma had a short breast exposure in the movie while she was making love to Orestes Ojeda in an empty swimming pool. It was so quick that if you blink, you'll miss it. Alma's performance in Bomba Star was adequate, she was much better in Nympha.
9:05 PM
Was that the part where she said "Look doc no bra"? I dont know why but I find that line funny. So she bared more in Bomba Star? What about Secrets of Pura and Virginia P? How bold was she in it? I didn't know Pura was by Gosiengfiao too. I thought it was just one of those ST films when I saw it on Cinema One. Didn't like it when I saw it and I thought Alma was past her prime by then.
1:49 AM
Yup! That's the scene. Alma bared more in Bomba Star but she had more daring sex scenes in Nympha. Secrets Of Pura and Virginia P. were okay but not half as interesting as her earlier collaborations with Gosiengfiao.