THE EIGHTIES # 770: GINA ALAJAR, MICHAEL DE MESA, EDU MANZANO, CARIDAD SANCHEZ AND KATRIN GONZALEZ IN LINO BROCKA'S "ANO ANG KULAY NG MUKHA NG DIYOS?" (1985)

Fidel Alipio (Michael de Mesa) collects tong from passing jeepneys for the traffic cops. He is in love with Lani (Gina Alajar), a bar girl. He cannot stand to see her with other men. One day, he proposes to her. They are married but their honeymoon is cut short when they run out of funds. Much to his objections, Lani returns to the bar. One of her steady customers is Mr. Perez, whom he suspects to be her lover. One night after a misunderstanding, he accidentally shoots him dead. He is sentenced to die in the electric chair.

Lani finds herself pregnant. She tells Fidel but he refuses to believe it is his child. The baby is born and is christened Maripi (Katrin Gonzales). She suffers from complications and becomes blind. Lani has to fend for the two of them. She becomes a street walker. While she is away, Maripi is cared for by Celing, an aging, former bar girl who runs a sari-sari store and has no family. Lani and Maripi live in her house but are not charged rent.

One night, Lani is picked up by the police for vagrancy. Rudy Velez (Edu Manzano), a news reporter, convinces the superintendent to release her. He drives her home and meets Maripi. He tries to convince her to turn a new leaf. Lani listens to Rudy and applies for a job in a department store. She gets accepted as a shop girl and is in charge of the perfumery section. However, the store manager, who knows her to be a former hooker, eyes her lasciviously.

One night, while Lani and Rudy are away, thieves break into the store. Celing wakes up and is stabbed by the assailants. Maripi cries for help. There is now no one to care for her blind child. Lani brings her to her place of work. The store manager castigates her for doing so, in contravention of the rules. Lani becomes angry and sweeps the perfume bottles off the counter. She is slapped a bill for the broken bottles; she has no money to pay for them. She asks for reconsideration; he insinuates a sexual favor.

Lani is as cynical as ever. She goes back to street walking. Maripi is left alone in the house. One day, Rudy picks her up in church as she is beseeching the Lord Almighty for favors. He brings her to an eye specialist. He is told that she could regain her eyesight if someone would donate a pair of eyes. But it has to come from someone who has just died within twenty-four hours prior to the operation and who is not sick.

Rudy decides to write an appeal for a donor in his paper. But, upon the proddings of his

editor, the writeup is sensationalized. Lani is edited out of the story and Maripi is made to look like an orphan. Fidel Alipio, now a changed man, reads about it and, knowing that his end is near, offers his eyes. A meeting is set between Maripi and her donor. As it is a hot item, Rudy is told to cover it. There is surprise and glee when Fidel discovers Lani

and Maripi. He is reunited with them and now accepts her as his child. The paper plays up the reconciliation. The next few days are a happy one for the family. They are together during Christmas. Because of the extensive press coverage, Fidel is given a pardon. But a new problem erupts. Who is now going to give his eyes to Maripi? As he looks at the fireworks on New Year Eve, Fidel reflects on his life. He has wasted it and should allow others to be given the chances he has thrown away. The following day, he is found dead. An operation is rushed. Maripi has been given the gift of sight by her father.

(Source: Lino Brocka: The Artist and His Times)

"Ano ang Kulay ng Mukha ng Diyos?" (1985)

Lea Productions

1985 Metro Manila Film Festival Entry

Release Date December 25, 1985

Story and Screenplay Jose 'Butch' Dalisay

Cinematography Pedro Manding, Jr.

Editing Augusto Salvador

Sound Rolly Ruta

Direction Lino Brocka

Cast Gina Alajar, Michael de Mesa, Edu Manzano, Caridad Sanchez and Katrin Gonzalez/ Guest stars- Joonee Gamboa, Subas Herrero