Maricar is Celso Kid’s new Nympha

Three decades and two years ago when members of the "Gen Y" (or the current crop of movie fans) were perhaps not even a glint in the eyes of their parents, there was a beautiful black-and-white film called Nympha, directed by Celso Ad. Castillo who was then described as "the enfant terrible of the Philippine Cinema… the Messiah." It starred a beautiful brown girl from Zamboanga named Rizza (no surname), discovered by Mrs. Encarnacion Brown, mother of Miss Philippines of 1962 and now-retired actress Josephine Estrada. Nympha, undoubtedly the best Celso Ad. Castillo film (a favorite of Peque Gallaga), is the story of a girl who struggles to rein in her lust through prayers which, unfortunately, aren’t powerful enough to make her resist the call of the flesh which she tries to satisfy by secretly going to bed with varied men. How the hearts of movie fans (then) bled when Nympha met her tragic end!

"That movie made me," admitted Celso Kid (as he was also known) and merited him the tag "Master of Sex in Cinema."

Three decades and two years later, Celso is back with another Nympha which is not a remake of that 1971 masterpiece but only, he made it clear, "inspired by it." He didn’t know where Rizza is now – "I heard that she’s married to a military man but I’m not sure if it’s true" – but he’s determined to "resurrect" her in the person of Maricar de Mesa, the sweet girl turned bold star in Maryo J. delos Reyes’ Bedtime Stories (a trilogy shown late last year), who plays the title role in Regal Films’ Nympha circa 2003. "Maricar has a certain sex appeal that arouses the ‘beast’ in a man, me included," added Celso who, while making the first Nympha, was "99 percent obsessed with both the project and the star," much more than he ever was with any of the seductive stars of his, yes, "arousing" movies.

"Maricar is a sensitive actress," said Celso who claimed to have "mellowed" and outgrown his "messiah complex" and not anymore as angry at the world as he used to be. "And she can act. She’s intelligent, too. Her acting comes not just from her heart but from her mind, too. I mean, she doesn’t just feel her character, she also understands it."

And she was willing to do everything, just anything, Celso asked her to do, most of which were far more daring than her derring-do in World Arts Cinema’s Bedtime Stories (including playing a corpse violated by a necrophiliac at the morgue and making love with a lesbian played by Ynez Veneracion).

"I’m 22 and ready for everything," said Maricar. "When I decided to junk my ‘sweet’ image and go bold, I prepared myself physically and psychologically." All for art’s sake, you know. What am I an actress for kung magpapakipot lang ako?"

As far as Maricar is concerned, she has been an actress since she was a kid imitating Madonna during family gatherings. She’s the middle of the three children of Nelson de Mesa (who runs his own outdoor-advertising business) and Senna Estevez. At 13, Maricar joined the GMA variety show That’s Entertainment, hosted and produced by German Moreno who discovered Maricar through her picture displayed at her father’s office (then at Diamond Motors). Maricar quit showbiz and concentrated on her studies, tucking up a degree in Advertising, and came back a lady-in-bloom. She co-hosted Go Bingo with Arnell Ignacio and joined the Bubble Gang cast, both on GMA, before she was launched as a boldie in Bedtime Stories after doing a couple of "decorative" roles in action flicks by Regal Films, her original home studio.

"Do I mind being called a bold star? No, I don’t. Why should I? E, totoo namang bold star ako, e!"

It’s a pity that not a single copy of the 1971 Nympha exists so Maricar could have seen it and be "inspired" by Rizza’s raw and natural acting.

"I was born more than 22 years after that movie was shown," smiled Maricar who considers her eyes as her favorite part of her body ("Men say that they are expressive").

Before this Nympha, Celso "wandered around the world" in pursuit of "a dream," doing three theatrical films in Malaysia and more than 20 telemovies a few years ago and finishing a script called Where the Willows Grow (about a Filipina Internet bride turned into a slave by her American Mama’s Boy husband) which he had submitted to Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks Pictures.

Nympha is the director’s reunion with Gloria Diaz whom he megged in her very first film, Pinakamagandang Hayop, made in 1973, four years after she won the Miss Universe title in 1969. Gloria made waves, popularizing the so-called "wet look," later gaining fame as an award-winning actress for Rizal sa Dapitan and Batang Westside. Gloria plays Maricar’s adoptive aunt (a religious fanatic) in Nympha.

Introduced in Nympha are Joseph Hizon, Pocholo Medina, and Bing Victoria as sex partners of the closet nympho, along with Dino Guevarra and Antonio Aquitania. Joseph is a product of That’s Entertainment, while Pocholo and Bing are basketball players. All three are doing "bold" roles in their first big-screen exposure.

The town idiot is a fixture in Celso Ad. Castillo films, played by Lito Anzures and Roldan Aquino in the past. In Nympha, Celso experimented with hunk John Apacible with the town-idiot role, the most offbeat the actor has played. At this point, John is eager to try any part, a respite from his usual "baring and daring" act.

Award-winning actor Tirso Cruz III is Maricar’s confessor in Nympha, doing the small part with characteristic competence.

Celso shot Nympha in the beautiful old towns of Laguna, giving the story which blends religious devotion and sex stunning visual and atmosphere. Celso is in familiar territory, born and bred in Siniloan, Laguna.

Among his films, Celso named the following (in order of preference) as his 10 favorites: Burlesk Queen ("I cried when I shot the death scene of Leopoldo Salcedo with Vilma Santos as his daughter beside his death bed; the first and last time I cried over a scene I was directing"); Paradise Inn, Nympha; Pagputi ng Uwak, Pag-itim ng Tagak (the film that drained the bank account of its producer, Vilma Santos, who starred in it); Ang Alamat ni Julian Makabayan; Tag-ulan sa Tag-araw; Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa; Totoy Boogie; Ang Daigdig ay Isang Butil na Luha; and Maligno.

Now, will the new Nympha join the ranks of Celso Ad. Castillo classics?

It remains to be seen.

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