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Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

After second leads in Palimos ng Pag-ibig and Tinik sa Dibdib, Dina Bonnevie finally got her own dramatic lead in the excellent Magdusa Ka! This was Dina's movie as Mahawi Man ang Ulap was to Hilda Koronel's. This is the story of Christine, Nida Blanca's daughter, who got pregnant and how she suffered the consequences of her decision. All the actors are good, including Christopher De Leon who plays Rod, her boyfriend down to Jaclyn Jose who plays Rod's past time. Not to be outshone are the antagonists Angie Ferro and Pinky Amador. The dialogues are crisp, appropriate and even amusing at times. Watch out for Nida's classic line, "maawa? magdusa ka!", which took them many rehearsals before they got the perfect intonation. Some funny moments like Jay Ilagan's photo drew some laughs when I saw this in 86. This was also Nida's movie. She plays a woman who finds it hard to forgive not only her daughter but also the father of her child, ably portrayed by Dindo Fernando. Her line "therefore I Am sorry, Bernardo, I also realize I don't need you" is one of my favorite in this movie. The movie is realistic enough not to end with everything perfect but there is hope that things will work out for our protagonist.

Eddie Garcia's legendary experience as an actor makes him a very effective director. Written by the famous Pablo S. Gomez, the film has a complex but well-written story focusing on Christine (acted by Dina Bonnevie) and her unstable relationships with her adoptive mother, her boyfriend, her father who has a second wife & daughter, and her wealthy grandmother. As the story continues, Christine is wrongly accused of wrongdoings caused by false beliefs and by the malevolence and cruelty of the antagonists in the story. She absorbs much of the suffering by her own self.The actors & actresses are excellent in portraying their characters; not surprising as almost all of them have become some of the well-known and sought-after veteran actors in Philippine television. Although the best and most realistic acting I had seen in the movie was from Nida Blanca, Armida-Siguion Reyna, Christopher de Leon and Jacklyn Jose (who are undoubtedly, some of the most effective actors in Phil. cinema history). If there was some "flaw" in the film, I think it was the fast pace of some scenes. There were little "relaxing scenes", most of the scenes were about the active unfolding of events, which forces the viewer to be focused and receptive of the fast-paced scenes. Although, it may have been intentionally done to fit the film's running time.The film has some similarities with the 1978 film "Atsay", also directed by Eddie Garcia. Eddie knows how to make a protagonist suffer in extreme, and how to make a villain perform a very malevolent and deceptive act. There is always a stark contrast between the hero & the villain in his films, and it is quite difficult to see the unfolding of events because of the complex story lines. All in all, this is one great classic film, a reason why it was remade into a TV series in 2008 in the Philippines.