History Film / Himala

Himala became a box-office hit, earning an impressive 30 million pesos, becoming one of the highest grossing Filipino films in the 1980s. It was digitally restored by the archiving and restoration arm of media company [=ABS-CBN=] and finally released on Netflix in 2022.

* TheFundamentalist: The beggar often shouts "Go to hell!" to any people who have done her wrong. Most of the time is because people refused to give her money [[spoiler:and when her child dies, she blames Elsa, crying that she will go to hell]].

* SeeminglyWholesomeFiftiesGirl: A minor character named Bella, the young woman being taken care of by Lolo Hugo, the blind man. It's implied a few times that she's not as innocent as she looks. First, she was dragged away from the cabaret by the old man all the while complaining that she was just looking, and simply leaves it at that. The second time--and the last we see of her in the film [[spoiler:before she's seen helping other people carry Lolo Hugo off the hill after he was trampled]]--she is seen charming a white tourist.

* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: Mrs. Alba cites Elsa's pregnancy as an "Immaculate Conception" (she actually means a Virgin birth) and thus sees it as a first sign of the miracle coming back. [[spoiler:Elsa was actually showing signs of pregnancy from the rape]]. And then [[HappyRain rain starts pouring]] into the town, taking it as a sign that the miracle has returned and they gladly thank Elsa.

* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: Mrs. Alba cites Elsa's pregnancy as an "Immaculate Conception" (she actually means a Virgin birth) and thus sees it as a first sign of the miracle coming back. [[spoiler:Elsa was actually showing signs of pregnancy from the rape]]. And then [[HappyRain rain starts pouring]] into the town, taking it as a sign that the miracle has returned and they gladly thank Elsa.

%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/000_3775.jpeg]]

%%* WeUsedToBeFriends: Elsa, Chayong, and Nimia. Well, only Nimia and has recalled to Orly they were friends as kids.

* WeUsedToBeFriends: Elsa, Chayong, and Nimia. Well, only Nimia and has recalled to Orly they had a ThreeAmigos style of companionship as kids.

* ChristmasCake: Elsa is 24 years old and is already perceived as an OldMaid by some of the men in the village.

Himala became a box-office hit, earning an impressive 30 million pesos, becoming one of the highest grossing Filipino films in the 1980s.

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Elsa and Chayong's rapists seem to receive no retribution for their crime]].

* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: When [[HappyRain the rain]] finally came to the town, taking it as a sign that the miracle has returned and they gladly thank Elsa.
** Mrs. Alba cites Elsa's pregnancy as an "Immaculate Conception" (she actually means a Virgin birth) and thus sees it as a first sign of the miracle coming back. [[spoiler: Elsa was actually showing signs of pregnancy from the rape]].

* BystanderEffect: A tragic case. Orly the director does nothing to help [[spoiler: both Elsa and Chayong being raped by two drugged youths on the hill]] and continued filming them for the sake of scoop.

* CrucifiedHeroShot: Elsa freezes in a particular pose that evokes such an image when [[spoiler: she was suddenly shot while professing to the people]].
** Played straighter when [[spoiler: her lifeless body is being carried to the ambulance as the people gravitate towards her]].
* DeathOfAChild: [[spoiler: A cholera epidemic kills Sepa's children and Aling Pising's child]].
* DefiledForever: [[spoiler: Elsa and Chayong were raped by two drugged men on the way to the hill where they often went to pray. Afterwards, Elsa has not been able to see the Virgin Mary and stopped healing due to the following epidemic and deaths. [[BreakTheCutie Though it was Chayong]] [[DrivenToSuicide who took it the hardest...]]]]
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: After delivering her FinalSpeech to the watching crowd about how 'there are no miracles', she gets shot by a random gunman, causing a violent stampede. She dies in the arms of her 'apostles' and the people mourn her death as she is taken away in an ambulance]].

* FramingDevice: When the director professes to the priest about his sin on [[spoiler: leaving Elsa and Chayong being raped as he shamelessly films it all, faraway shots of the scene from his camera are shown]].
* TheFundamentalist: The beggar often shouts "Go to hell!" to any people who have done her wrong. Most of the time is because people refused to give her money [[spoiler: and when her child dies, she blames Elsa, crying that she will go to hell]].
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler: Elsa seemingly gives a faint smile before finally succumbing to the gunshot wound on her chest]].

* HeroicBSOD: Elsa after [[spoiler: being raped along with Chayong, seeing her dead body hanged, and witnessing the death of people under the hands of an epidemic]] which caused her to stop healing.

* {{Jerkass}}: The two men who make fun of Elsa just after the deaths of several villagers [[spoiler: including Chayong from suicide]], causing her HeroicBSOD.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Elsa and Chayong's rapists seem to receive no retribution for their crime]].

* RecurringExtra: The crazy lady (Aling Pising, the beggar) that carries her child ([[spoiler: which eventually dies, due to an epidemic]]) everywhere, asking for help to random passersby.
* SceneryGorn: Many, many scenes of the stampede that took place after the shot was fired [[spoiler: to Elsa]].
* SeeminglyWholesomeFiftiesGirl: A minor character named Bella, the young woman being taken care of by Lolo Hugo, the blind man. It's implied a few times that she's not as innocent as she looks. First, she was dragged away from the cabaret by the old man all the while complaining that she was just looking, and simply leaves it at that. The second time--and the last we see of her in the film [[spoiler: before she's seen helping other people carry Lolo Hugo off the hill after he was trampled]]--she is seen charming a white tourist.

* TemptingFate: Some see as Elsa's profession to the people as this when she speaks with open arms to the people that there are no miracles and it is only people who create miracles, curses and gods. [[spoiler: And then, she was shot]].

* TwoDecadesBehind: The movie could've been set in the actual year the incident occurred--that is, TheSixties. But as soon as Elsa mentioned having been found by the hill in 1958 and her age being 24, add that, and the year was actually set at then-present [[TheEighties 1982]] [[spoiler: (also in Chayong's gravestone, her year of death is 1982)]]. The barrio of Cupang is just so deserted and poverty stricken that it justifies the CrapsackWorld setting and how out of the curve they are.

* DownerEnding: [[ItWasHisSled You know the one]]. [[spoiler: After delivering her FinalSpeech to the watching crowd about how 'there are no miracles', she gets shot by a random gunman, causing a violent stampede. She dies in the arms of her 'apostles' and the people mourn her death as she is taken away in an ambulance]].

* {{Fanservice}}: Nimia, flashing her naked body [[CrossingTheLineTwice to a bunch of young boys]] after catching them peeping at the women in her cabaret.

%%* HealingHands: People believe Elsa to have this. Later {{deconstructed}}.

%%* HumansAreBastards
* {{Jerkass}}: The two men who make fun of Elsa just after the deaths of several villagers [[spoiler: including Chayong from suicide]] which caused her HeroicBSOD.

* MysteriousWaif: Elsa is found on the titular hill as a baby by her adoptive mother.

%%* SacrificialLamb: Guess who.

%%* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Some portrayals of Elsa.

* TwoDecadesBehind: The movie acould've been set in the actual year the incident occurred--that is, TheSixties. But as soon as Elsa mentioned having been found by the hill in 1958 and her age being 24, add that, and the year was actually set at then-present [[TheEighties 1982]] [[spoiler: (also in Chayong's gravestone, her year of death is 1982)]]. The barrio of Cupang is just so deserted and poverty stricken that it justifies the CrapsackWorld setting and how out of the curb they are.

!!The following tropes include:

* DefiledForever: [[spoiler: Elsa and Chayong were raped by two drugged men on the way to the hill which they often went to to pray. Afterwards, Elsa has not been able to see the Virgin Mary and stopped healing due to the following epidemic and deaths. [[BreakTheCutie Though it was Chayong]] [[DrivenToSuicide who took it the hardest...]]]]

* HealingHands: People believe Elsa to have this. Later {{deconstructed}}.

* HumansAreBastards

* SacrificialLamb: Guess who.

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Some portrayals of Elsa.

** Mrs. Alba cites Elsa's pregnancy as an "[[YouKeepUsingThatWord Immaculate Conception]]" (she actually means a Virgin birth) and thus sees it as a first sign of the miracle coming back. [[spoiler: Elsa was actually showing signs of pregnancy from the rape]].

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Nimia's "cabaret" and its description thereof is more akin to that of a sleazy nightclub or brothel. It is worth noting however that it's not uncommon in the Philippine language to have certain terms repurposed and in this case, "cabaret" (spelled as "kabaret" in Filipino and is pronounced as how it's spelled) is automatically synonymous with such establishments.
** Mrs. Alba erroneously concluding "[[ElSpanisho Immaculada]] Concepcion"[[note]]"Immaculate Conception"[[/note]] about Elsa's sudden pregnancy. She probably meant to say "nacimiento virginal" [[note]]"Virgin birth"[[/note]].

* BasedOnATrueStory: An incident between 1966-1967 about a teenage girl and the alleged Marian apparition.

->''"Walang himala! Ang himala ay nasa puso ng tao, nasa puso nating lahat! Tayo ang gumagawa ng mga himala! Tayo ang gumagawa ng mga sumpa at ng mga diyos...""\\

* [[WomanInWhite Women in White]]

* InfantImmortality: Averted. [[spoiler: A cholera epidemic kills Sepa's children and Aling Pising's child]].

* AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame

'''''Himala''''' ("Miracle") is a 1982 [[UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} Filipino film]], starring Nora Aunor. Himala is the story of Elsa, a barrio lass whose visions of the Virgin Mary change her life and cause a sensation hysteria in a poor, isolated northern village in the midst of drought. The film is centred on the issues of religious faith and faithlessness, morality, and truth. Elsa, in her speech on the hill, delivered the film's (and Aunor's) most famous line, which is quoted above.

-->''"Walang himala! Ang himala ay nasa puso ng tao, nasa puso nating lahat! Tayo ang gumagawa ng mga himala! Tayo ang gumagawa ng mga sumpa at ng mga diyos...""\\

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/000_3775.jpeg

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Nimia's "cabaret" and its description thereof is more akin to that of a sleazy nightclub or brothel. It is worth noting however that it's not uncommon to have certain terms repurposed and in this case, "cabaret" (spelled as "kabaret" in Filipino and is pronounced as how it's spelled) is automatically synonymous with such establishments.

* SeeminglyWholesomeFiftiesGirl: A minor character named Bella, the young woman being taken care of Lolo Hugo, the blind man. It's implied a few times that she's not as innocent as she looks. First, she was dragged away from the cabaret by the old man all the while complaining that she was just looking, and simply leaves it at that. The second time--and the last we see of her in the film [[spoiler: before she's seen helping other people carry Lolo Hugo off the hill after he was trampled]]--she is seen charming a white tourist.

** Mrs. Alba cites Elsa's pregnancy as an "Immaculate Conception" (she actually means a Virgin birth) and thus sees it as a first sign of the miracle coming back. [[spoiler: Elsa was actually showing signs of pregnancy from the rape]].