Nunal sa Tubig

A Speck in the Water (Filipino: Nunal Sa Tubig) is a 1976 Philippine drama film written by Jorge Arago and directed by Ishmael Bernal. It tells the story of a love triangle in the impoverished village involving Benjamin (George Estregan), a fisherman in Laguna de Bay, and two women in the villageーChedeng (Daria Ramirez), a soon-to-be midwife, and Maria (Elizabeth Oropesa), a beautiful young woman from the barrio.

Nunal sa Tubig
Poster of the restored version featuring Chedeng.
Japanese name
Kanji水の中のほくろ
Literal meaningA Speck in the Water
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnMizu no Naka no Hokuro
Directed byIshmael Bernal
Written byJorge Arago
Produced by
  • Emilio Ejercito
  • Jesse Ejercito
Starring
CinematographyArnold Alvaro
Edited byAugusto Salvador
Music byVanishing Tribe[1]
Production
company
Distributed byCrown Seven Film Productions[lower-alpha 1]
Release date
  • August 6, 1976 (1976-08-06)
Running time
119 minutes
Countries
Languages
[lower-alpha 3][3]

It won Best Picture at the 1977 Catholic Mass Media Awards. It received seven nominations from the 1977 Gawad Urian including Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Sound. Daria Ramirez was nominated for Best Actress, while Bernal as nominated for Best Direction.[4]

Plot

The village of Sta. Fe, located in the middle of Laguna de Bay, was known for its milkfish pens and some investors from the capital investment for this kind of business to improve and develop this kind of business. However, the fish began to kill off, prompting the villagers to salt them and dry them under the sun for the sake of financial benefit. In the village, a love triangle was formed when Benjamin, the owner of a boat that serves as a shuttle service to the town, fell in love with Chedeng, a soon-to-be full-time trained midwife, and her best friend and neighbor, Maria. Both Chedeng and Maria didn't know that they were loved by Benjamin. By the time Maria got pregnant, Chedeng decides that she will be her first patient to handle her profession of midwifery. Unfortunately, this would lead to a tragic consequence, causing Chedeng to leave the village and live somewhere.

Cast
  • Elizabeth Oropesa as Maria
  • Daria Ramirez as Chedeng
  • George Estregan as Benjamin
  • Ruben Rustia as Pedro
  • Pedro Faustino as Jacob
  • Ella Luansing as Banang
  • Rustica Carpio as Chayong
  • Nenita Jana as Adiang
  • Ven Medina as Mr. Blanco
  • Leticia de Guzman as Ilo
  • Tita De Villa as Mrs. Blanco
  • Paquito Salcedo as Elder
  • Lem Garcellano as Pablo
  • Mart Kenneth Rebamonte as Hukluban
  • Carlos Padilla Jr. as Dr. Villamaria
  • Tony Carreon as Lake Analyst

Also starring
  • Bong Perez
  • Joey Bolisay
  • Rey TablaIda Bautista
  • Al Garcia
  • Jimmy Preña
  • Erna Menesses
  • Ricky Garcia
  • Milo Sario
  • Santiago Balse

Production

Filming

The film was shot in Laguna de Bay which is located in the province of Laguna and the town of Binangonan, Rizal.

Music

The film's music was composed and arranged by Winston Raval, who was credited as Vanishing Tribe.[1]

Staff and crew
  • Director: Ishmael Bernal
  • Writer: Jorge Arago
  • Producers: Emilio Ejercito and Jesse Ejercito
  • Music: Vanishing Tribe
  • Cinematography: Arnold Alvaro
  • Editor: Augusto Salvador
  • Art Director: Betty Gosiengfiao
  • Sound: Godofredo de Leon
  • Sound Supervisor: Manuel Daves
  • Sound Editor: Ruben Natividad
  • Casting Director: Angie Ferro
  • Production Supervisor: Edgar Garcia
  • Post-Production Supervisor: Zeny Ambos
  • Post-Production Facilities: LVN Pictures
  • Japanese Subtitles: Erwin John Soriano Viray and Kazuko Onoda

Release

The film was released on August 6, 1976. It was approved for theatrical release by the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures (the predecessor of MTRCB).

Re-release

The restored version of the film was premiered on August 8, 2018, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines as part of the 14th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.[5] The premiere was attended by the film's stars Elizabeth Oropesa and Daria Ramirez, actor Kiko Estrada (grandson of George Estregan), and the staff of the ABS-CBN Film Archives. Modern era film directors Adolfo Alix Jr. and Benedict Mique, Carmona Gale (representing the Kantana Post-Production), Sabrina Baracetti and Max Tessler (of Udine Far East Film Festival), and Ronald Arguelles (Cinema One - Channel Head) also attended the premiere.[3]

Release dates
Country Date Notes
Philippines August 6, 1976 Original release date.
West Germany October 16, 1983 West German television premiere, aired through ZDF.
Japan November 1, 1991 One of the feature films for Filipino Movies Festival 1991, presented by the ASEAN Cultural Office.
Japan November 2, 2003 As part of the PIA Film Festival exhibition.[6]
Germany January 20, 2008 Asian Hot Shots Berlin Festival for Film and Video Art
Philippines August 8, 2018 Theatrical premiere of the digitally restored and remastered 4K version of the film for Cinemalaya Film Festival.
Japan September 14, 2018 Restored 4K version. As part of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2018 - Cross-Cut Asia exhibition.
Italy April 27, 2019 European premiere of the restored version as part of the 21st Udine Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy.[7][8]

Digital restoration

In the effort of restoring Nunal sa Tubig by the ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project, headed by Leonardo P. Katigbak, the sole element used for the restoration was the Japanese language-subtitled 35mm print that was stored from the audiovisual archives of the Fukuoka City Public Library Film Archives in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka, Japan. The 35mm print has been stored in the institution's archive collections since 2002, in addition to four other Filipino films acquired by the Japan Foundation.[2][9]

The restoration of the film began with the digital scanning of the 35mm print to 4K resolution by Tokyo Ko-on Co. Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, and digital restorations by Kantana Post-Production (Thailand). The aspect ratio for the restored version is 1:1.85. It took 3,600 restoration hours to eliminate numerous film defects including dust, scratches, and stains and it was successfully eliminated by more than 250 professional restoration artists of Kantana Post-Production in Thailand and India. The film restoration of Nunal sa Tubig was finished in February 2018.[2]

Reception

Accolades
Year Award-Giving Body Category Recipient Result
1977 Catholic Mass Media Awards Best Picture Nunal sa Tubig Won
1977 FAMAS Awards Best Picture Nunal sa Tubig Nominated
Best Screenplay Jorge Arago Nominated
Best Director Ishmael Bernal Nominated
Best Actress Daria Ramirez Nominated
Best Cinematography Arnold Alvaro Nominated
Best Production Design Betty Gosiengfiao Nominated
Best Sound Godofredo De Leon Nominated
1977 Gawad Urian Awards Best Film of the Decade (1970-1979) Nunal sa Tubig Won

Critical reception

According to a description by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (Philippine Society of Respected Film Critics), the film employs "a quiet, experimental cinematic style, Ishmael Bernal’s opus recreates the quality and slow pace of life in a dying village surrounded by the sea, as it is caught in the eternal cycle of love and hate, of fertility and pollution, of birth and death."

References
  1. Caruncho, Eric S. (February 12, 2019). "Who's Winston Raval?". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  2. "Restoration Asia VI". Restoration Asia. September 1, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  3. "NUNAL SA TUBIG - Cinemalaya Premiere". Facebook. August 9, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  4. "Digitally restored Ishmael Bernal classic returns on screen". Manila Standard. August 15, 2018. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  5. "Nunal sa Tubig". Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. August 9, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  6. Cinela News – November 2003, No. 88 (PDF), retrieved April 18, 2022
  7. "'Eerie,' 'Miss Granny' competing in Far East Film Festival in Italy". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. April 25, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  8. Aguilar, Krissy (April 26, 2019). "'Hintayan Ng Langit,' 'Miss Granny' among PH films featured in Italy film fest". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  9. "FILM ARCHIVE COLLECTION: Asian Films". Fukuoka City Public Library Film Archives. Retrieved September 19, 2021.

Notes
  1. The film's ownership rights is currently handled by ABS-CBN Corporation through Star Cinema.
  2. The only surviving 35mm copy of the film (with Japanese subtitles) was found in Fukuoka City Library Archives and digitally scanned at Tokyo Koon Co.Ltd. in 4K.
  3. Restored 4K version only.
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