Hey, anyone have anything to say about Sister Stella? I got to write something on it, and I could use some input, anything...
I have to say that within Mike's oeuvre, Sister Stella L. would have to be his weakest; his least characteristic work. Though technically well-made which is to be expected of him, one is hard-pressed to feel his presence anywhere (in fact I'd go as far and say that he is nowhere to be found) and the result is a film that is wanting in impact and intensity: I somehow have no sympathy for the characters or the cause that they are fighting for. I think the reason is that the supposed abuses that the laborers were experiencing wasn't really clear cut or exposed that overtly and I would have to agree that the factory, a cooking oil plant, could well have been just any other Metro Manila factory. (I would've liked to know,for example, what is actually happens inside)
Am told however that Sister Stella L. would be a much more different film, a more powerful one, if one were to see the version with the inclusion of that large rally in the end. That rally, which was staged in Luneta before EDSA 1, had like a million people converging and Mike and his cameramen took live actions shots of the event on film and this scene is supposed to appear after Vilma's monologue when the screen fades to black. Mother Lily got scared I suppose and had it taken out.
This version was screened in HK in 1985 and according to Teddy Co who was there: "it brought [the] ending to a national context, not just a factory strike". How I would love to see this, put alas the print is in Paris!
Btw Noel, have you seen
Signos? Now that to me had real power and intensity.