Coinciding with a total eclipse when people believe that the world is ending, inconsequential lass Elsa witnesses an apparition of the Virgin Mary on top of the hill where, as an infant, Elsa was found and adopted by Saling. The village people’s initial reaction is disbelief until Elsa starts to heal. People both rich and poor throng to this remote village, inspiring entrepreneurs to open businesses, with some renting out their shacks as motels catering to foreigners. An independent director tries to document Elsa’s healing and activities, and Mrs. Alba begins to sell bottled water blessed by Elsa. But while praying on the hill, Elsa and her aide Chayong are attacked and raped by drug addicts. Elsa stops healing and becomes pregnant—which devotees believe is an immaculate conception. What will happen when Elsa reveals that there has never been a miracle and that healing comes from the people’s faith and belief?
Ishmael BERNAL
Born in 1938 in Manila, Bernal is acclaimed in Philippine cinema as a film and television director, actor, and screentwriter. Debuting in 1971 with At the Top, he has traversed many genres, winning the nation’s Urian Best Director award four times for Two Nests, One Bird (1977), Broken Marriage (1983), Wrenched from Heaven (1985), and Lend Me One Morning (1989).