Sister Stella L. (1984)

Director:

Mike De Leon

Writers:

Jose F. Lacaba (screenplay), Jose Almojuela (screenplay),

Stars:

Vilma Santos, Jay Ilagan, Gina Alajar

15 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vilma Santos	...	Sister Stella Legaspi
Jay Ilagan	...	Nick Fajardo
Gina Alajar	...	Gigi
Laurice Guillen	...	Sister Stella Bautista
Tony Santos	...	Ka Dencio
Anita Linda	...	Auring
Liza Lorena	...	Magazine Editor
Eddie Infante	...	Ka Sidring (as J. Eddie Infante)
Ruben Rustia	...	Factory Manager
Adul de Leon	...	Sister Juaning
Rody Vera	...	Roger
Malou de Guzman	...	Soledad (as Malu de Guzman)
Pen Medina	...	Nes (as Crispin Medina)
Jojo Sanchez	...	Sister Carmen
Raquel Villavicencio	...	Sister Annie

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

title ends with period | modified nuns habit | press | journalism | thug | 

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Taglines:

The continuing saga of a nun's awakening.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Philippines

Language:

Filipino Tagalog

Release Date:

11 July 1984 (Philippines)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regal Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Kahit pader gigibain ko! (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Aling Pag-ibig Pa?"
Music Ding Achacoso
Lyrics Jose F. Lacaba
Guitar Lyncir Lagunzad
Performed by Pat Castillo

User Reviews

Flawed but still masterful filmmaking

Philippine movie queen, Vilma Santos, takes the role of a nun who becomes involved in an on-going labor strike. She starts out unpoliticized, but later learns about the plight of the simple working man and inevitably, the government's neglect of the poor masses. Her ex-boyfriend turned reporter gets tortured by masked goons and the union leader gets murdered. In the end, instead of being afraid, she strengthens her resolve to see the fight to the end. It's hard to imagine a nun with heavy make-up as Santos, but her excellent acting more than makes up for it. The men who did the torture and killing (termed "salvaged" in the Philippines, a local slang) covered their faces, but in reality, most "salvagers" don't go into that trouble. De Leon is a careful filmmaker; this film exhibits his penchant for fine cinematography and strong yet flawed characters. Despite some shortcomings in the little details, the film stands out as one of his best.