''Blessings of the Land'' ( fil, Biyaya ng Lupa) is a 1959 Filipino

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Manuel Silos Manuel Silos (1 January 1906 – 31 March 1988) was an award-winning Filipino film-maker from the 1920s through the 1950s. He began his career by making silent movies together with his brothers. As a ''bodabil'' (vaudeville) actor and comedi ...

. It was entered into the

10th Berlin International Film Festival The 10th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June to 5 July 1960. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Spanish film ''El Lazarillo de Tormes'' directed by César Fernández Ardavín. Jury The following people were announc ...

. The film won Best Picture and Best Story from the

Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (also known as the FAMAS Awards) are the annual honors given by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), an organization composed of award-winning writers and movie columni ...

. In 1960, it was shown at the

Asian Film Festival The Asia-Pacific Film Festival (abbreviated APFF) is an annual film festival hosted by the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific. The festival was first held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1954. History The festival was first held in Toky ...

held in Tokyo. The story was written by

Celso Al. Carunungan Celso Al. Carunungan is a Filipino people, Filipino writer, novelist, and scriptwriter in English and Filipino languages. In 1959, he won the Best Story prize from the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) for writing the story and ...

, while the screenplay was written by Carunungan together with Pablo Naval. The movie was produced by LVN Pictures.Biyaya ng Lupa (Blessings of the Land)
kabayancentral.com The film is a

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

about the life of a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

couple residing in a village. The couple's

deaf-mute Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

, Miguel, is tested and "must rise above his handicap" after the tragedies experienced by the family.Pavlides, Dan
''Biyaya Ng Lupa'' (1965), Alternate Title: Blessings of the Land
movies,nytimes.com

Plot

Maria and Jose begin their

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

life by establishing a

countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, ...

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

lanzones ''Lansium parasiticum'', commonly known as langsat (), lanzones (), or longkong in English; duku in Indonesian or dokong in Terengganu Malay, is a species of tree in the Mahogany family with commercially cultivated edible fruits. The species ...

. They soon have four children, namely Miguel, Arturo, Angelita, and Lito. They live happily in the community, until Bruno comes along; he is a

widower A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

believed to have killed his own wife. Bruno wants to remarry and

courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

Choleng, a niece of Jose. Choleng dies by falling from a

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

while trying to evade Bruno. Bruno goes to the mountains to hide from the angry villagers, then returns and rapes Jose's daughter, Angelita. Together with the villagers, Jose pursues Bruno but is shot by the latter. Jose’s son, Arturo, goes to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, while Jose’s other son Miguel (the

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

and

mute Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak. Mute or the Mute may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart * ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...

) courts Gloria, a woman in the village. Arturo returns from Manila accompanied by a woman from the city. Arturo succeeds in convincing his mother, Maria, to

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...

the

rice field Wendel D. Ley Track and Holloway Field is a stadium in Houston, Texas. It is primarily used for track and field and soccer for the Rice University Owls. It is bounded by Main Street (southeast), University Boulevard (southwest), Reckling Par ...

s before going back to Manila. A landowner from another town hires Bruno to destroy the lanzones harvest of Maria’s family. Bruno and his group fail because of the villagers. Miguel kills Bruno. Arturo comes back from Manila and reconciles with his family.

Cast

Rosa Rosal Florence Danon Gayda (born Florence Lansang Danon; October 16, 1928), better known as Rosa Rosal, is a FAMAS award-winning Filipina film actress dubbed as the "original femme fatale of Philippine cinema." She is also known for her work with the ...

as Maria *

Leroy Salvador Leroy or Le Roy may refer to: People * Leroy (name), a given name and surname * Leroy (musician), American musician * Leroy (sailor), French sailor Places United States * Leroy, Alabama * Le Roy, Illinois * Le Roy, Iowa * Le Roy, Kansas * Le ...

as Miguel * Tony Santos, Sr. (as Tony Santos) as Jose * Carmencita Abad as Gloria * Carlos Padilla, Jr. as Arturo *

Marita Zobel Mary Ann Respall Blanch-Roxas, better known by her screen name Marita Zobel (born June 18, 1941), is a Filipina actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the trad ...

as Angelita *

Joseph de Cordova Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

as Bruno * Danilo Jurado as Lito * Carmen Del Ocampo * Miguel Lopez * Mario Roldan *

Tony Dantes Tony Dantes is a Filipino actor who spent his movie career under LVN Pictures. Born in 1930, his first movie appearance is El Diablo (The Devil) and Hen. Gregorio del Pilar, a biography of one of the famous Filipino heroes in 1949. His las ...

* Jerry Reyes * Mila Ocampo as Choleng * Pedro Faustino

Release

''Blessings of the Land'' was released in Philippine theaters on December 16, 1959.

Digital restoration

The film was digitally scanned and restored by the

ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project or also known as Sagip Pelikula, was a digital film restoration project of ABS-CBN Corporation in partnership with Central Digital Lab. The project is headed by Leo Katigbak of ABS-CBN Film Archives and Manet Day ...

in 2019. The restoration began with the digital scanning of frames in

4K resolution 4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 38402160 (4K Ultra-high-definitio ...

using the 35mm print as its source material. The 35mm print was stored at the

ABS-CBN Film Archives The ABS-CBN Film Archives, also called ABS-CBN Archives, is a state-of-the-art film archive in the Philippines located at the basement of ELJ Communications Center in Eugenio Lopez Drive, Diliman, Quezon City. It was a member of the Southeast ...

and compiled under the collection of the majority of LVN Pictures' library. The film was restored in

2K resolution 2K resolution is a generic term for display devices or content having horizontal resolution of approximately 2,000 pixels. In the movie projection industry, Digital Cinema Initiatives is the dominant standard for 2K output and defines 2K resolut ...

and took 70 hours to eliminate image impairments (including scratches and unstable images) successfully. The restoration team also adjusted the film's color and brightness in order to make it closely identical to the original form. The digitally scanned and restored 4K high definition version was first premiered on television on May 26, 2019, 9:00PM through ABS-CBN's movie channel for cable television, Cinema One. It was also premiered theatrically on October 17, 2019, as part of ''Centennial Classics'' exhibition for the

QCinema International Film Festival The QCinema International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Quezon City, Philippines. The festival showcases local and international films, documentaries, and short films, and gives grants to their creators. As of 2017, the venue ...

with the attendance of the two original lead stars Rosa Rosal and Marita Zobel, as well as the representatives of the film's staff and cast members who were previously died or unable to attend including actress-singer Zsa Zsa Padilla and her daughter

Zia Quizon Zia Denise Marie Padilla Quizon (born September 23, 1991), known by her stage name Zia Quizon, is a Filipino singer-songwriter and recording artist. She began her career after being signed to PolyEast Records and releasing her self-titled debu ...

(representing their father and grandfather, respectively), Rap Fernandez (representing his uncle), the family of Tony Santos Sr., and Toni Rose Gayda (Rosa Rosal's daughter). On October 1, 2020, the restored version of the film was live streamed on the social networking site

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

by ABS-CBN Film Restoration (also known as Sagip Pelikula).

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blessings Of The Land 1959 films 1959 drama films Filipino-language films Philippine black-and-white films Philippine drama films