Malvarosa (film)

Malvarosa is a 1958 Philippine family drama film directed by Dr. Gregorio Fernandez and written by Clodualdo del Mundo and Consuelo P. Osorio for LVN Pictures. It is based on a comics serial of the same name written by Clodualdo del Mundo in Espesyal Komiks and tells the story of a poverty-stricken nuclear family living in the nearby railroad tracks who carry their own burdens that needed to resolved.

Malvarosa
Re-release poster
Directed byDr. Gregorio Fernandez
Produced byDña. Narcisa B. Vda. de León
Written by
Starring
Music by
  • Francisco Buencamino Jr.
  • LVN Symphony Orchestra
CinematographyMike Accion
Edited byEnrique Jarlego
Production
company
Release date
  • 19 May 1958 (1958-05-19)
Running time
101 minutes
Country Philippines
Language

The film stars Charito Solis, Vic Silayan, Carlos Padilla Jr., Vic Diaz, Rey Ruiz, and Eddie Rodriguez as the children of Sinforosa (Rebecca del Rio) and Leroy Salvador as Rosa's fiancé.

Plot

Rosa, a beautiful young woman, lives in the slums situated at the nearby railroad tracks with her mother and five older brothers. By the time her alcoholic father died in a train, her mother Sinforosa felt guilt and depression as she became widowed. A few years later, she is going to marry his fiancé Candido but she has to deal the problems first that their family faced in spite of poverty especially Rosa's brothers who also carry their own burdens in which made Rosa stressed to have a solution as well as their confrontations. It would also tell the lives of Melanio, the eldest and an obnoxious womanizer; followed by Alberto, a man with a mean reputation to his family; Leonides, a violent man who became notorious for his crimes throughout the neighborhood; Vedasto, a scheming man whom he persuaded his sister to work with a wealthy man; and lastly, Avelino, a patient and responsible man whom he trusts his sister to eliminate their family's burden. Rosa would also witness some of the misfortunes happened in their family.

Cast

Production

During the shooting of the film, the director and its staff cooperated with the Philippine Constabulary and the Manila Railroad Company for their participation in the important scenes of the film as well as their permission to their facilities and staff.

Analysis

Malvarosa, released in 1958, concerns a large nuclear family aspiring to recover from the devastation wrought by World War II, when both the retreating Japanese occupiers and the advancing American re-occupiers dropped so many bombs, set so many fires, and killed so many civilians that, after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Manila was one of the most devastated cities in the world at that point, traditionally regarded as comparable in its misery to Warsaw. The country was in such dire straits that, when the American government insisted on setting up military bases and implementing parity rights as preconditions for financial aid, the Filipinos had no choice but to acquiesce.[1]

Release

The film was released on May 19, 1958 at the Dalisay Theatre in Manila, Philippines.

Digital restoration

The film was digitally scanned in 4K resolution and partially restored by the ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project. “Malvarosa” and “Biyaya ng Lupa” were digitally scanned in 4K resolution and partially restored using the ABS-CBN Film Archives’ own equipment. Upon undergoing the scan, the two movies’ brightness and contrast were also adjusted, their scratches and specks eliminated, and audio noise such as pops, crackles, hiss, and sizzles removed.[2] It is one of the five LVN Pictures' films that were digitally restored by the ABS-CBN Film Archives - among them are Ibong Adarna (1941), Biyaya ng Lupa (1959), Kung Mangarap Ka't Magising (1977), and Kakabakaba Ka Ba? (1980).

“The restoration of “Malvarosa” and “Biyaya ng Lupa” using ABS-CBN’s own facilities is a milestone that we are proud of,”

— Leo Katigbak, head of ABS-CBN Film Restoration, QCinema International Film Festival; October 17, 2019

The film's restored version was premiered on October 17, 2019 at the Gateway Mall - Cinema 7 as part of the QCinema International Film Festival 2019.[3] It was attended by Caridad Sanchez and the representatives of the film's cast and crew including screenwriter Clodualdo "Doy" del Mundo Jr. (representing his father), actor Rap Fernandez (representing his grandfather), Jesus Hofileña (representing Vic Silayan), and actress-singer Zsa Zsa Padilla and her daughter Zia Quizon (representing their father and grandfather, respectively).[4]

The 4K digital scan of the film was streamed online on December 1, 2020 through ABS-CBN Film Restoration's Facebook page.[5]

Notes
  1. The film's ownership rights is currently handled by ABS-CBN Corporation but the LVN Pictures copyright is retained.

References
  1. David, J. A Certain Tendency.
  2. "ABS-CBN Restores Philippine Classics "Malvarosa" And "Biyaya Ng Lupa"". The Screening Room. November 5, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  3. "MALVAROSA (1958) - 4K Scan Premiere Announcement". Facebook. October 8, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  4. "QCinema Premiere of the LVN Pictures classic MALVAROSA". Facebook. October 18, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  5. "Digitally restored Pinoy classic 'Malvarosa' to stream online for free". ABS-CBN News. November 26, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
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