Bona – Kani Releasing (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Philippines, 1980
Director: Lino Brocka
Writer: Cenen Ramones
Cast: Nora Aunor, Phillip Salvador, Marissa Delgado, Raquel Monteza, Venchito Galvez, Rustica Carpio, Nanding Josef, Spanky Manikan

Release Date: August 19th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 87 Minutes 57 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Tagalog
Subtitles: English, French
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $54.98

"Bona (Nora Aunor), a middle-class girl from the Philippines, is obsessed with Gardo (Philip Salvador), a bit actor in low-budget films. When she decides to drop out of school to follow the object of her infatuation, her furious father casts her out, and Bona moves in with the actor in the Manila slums. At first delighted to play house, the young woman soon finds herself not the wife, but rather the maid—at the mercy of Gardo’s every whim and desire, yet intent on enduring his unending parade of conquests in the hopes of finally being seen." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (4K UHD), 4/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “A major collaboration between two greats of Filipino cinema, Lino Brocka and Nora Aunor, Bona has remained largely unseen since its release in the 1980s, its elements long believed lost.

In 2023, Carlotta Films and Kani Releasing acquired the rights to the film from its producer and actress, National Artist of the Philippines Nora Aunor. Concerned with its preservation and exhibition, champion of Filipino cinema Pierre Rissient had the original negatives deposited at the LTC Lab in Paris.

This rediscovery of Bona is made possible thanks to the work of Professor José B. Capino (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), who, as part of his research, interviewed the late Pierre Rissient, specialist of Filipino cinema. During this 2017 interview, Rissient entrusted Capino with information on the location of the elements of several Lino Brocka films, including Bona. Capino shared this information with Kani Releasing, and Carlotta Films confirmed the location of the original elements at LTC (now Cité de Mémoire).

Thanks to the combined efforts of Carlotta Films, Kani Releasing, and Cité de Mémoire, Bona may now have a new life on the big screen for generations to come. A heartfelt thanks to Gil Quito, Victoria Belarmino, and Jojo Devera, without whom this could not have been possible.

This unseen version of Bona has been scanned, restored, and color graded in 4K from its original 35mm camera and sound negative reels at Cité de Mémoire in Paris.

Film handling, image and sound repairs, and digital image restoration: Régis Dessort. Negative scene-by-scene image scanning and color grading: Isabelle Barriére. CSI Negative sound scanning and digital restoration: L.E. Diapason. Project Management: Denis Garcia."

Bona comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 62.1 GB

Feature: 51.6 GB

The original camera negatives for many Filipino films are not in the best of condition due to storage issues; case in point, another Lino Brocka film, Cain and Abel, whose transfer had warping issues. Fortunately, the source for Bona and the resulting transfers has no source-related issues of note, and most of the time it looks excellent. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is solid, and the image always looks organic.

Bona comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 33.8 GB

Feature: 23.3 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 3.75/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Tagalog with removable English and French subtitles. Although the audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced, it is limited range-wise. That said, dialogue comes through clearly and is never difficult to hear.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include a 2024 theatrical release trailer (1 minute 11 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Tagalog with removable English and French subtitles), an interview with assistant director Jeric Soriano (11 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English and French subtitles), an interview with actor Nanding Josef (22 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Tagalog and English with removable English and French subtitles), a Q&A with filmmaker Allan Brocka at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (22 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English and French subtitles), and a short film tribute to Nora Aunor titled Superfan (22 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Tagalog with non-removable English subtitles and removable French subtitles).

The extras are the same on both discs.

Other extras include a spot gloss slipcover (limited to 2,000 units) and a 28-page booklet with an essay titled Perverse Defiance written by Jose B. Capino and information about the restoration.

Summary:

Bona was directed by Lino Brocka, who is widely regarded as one of Filipino cinema’s most influential filmmakers. Notable films he’s directed include Weighed But Found Wanting, Manila in the Claws of Light, Insiang, Cain and Abel, This Is My Country, and Fight for Us. 

A middle-class high school girl’s obsession with a bit actor who works in low-budget films drives a wedge between her and her family.

Fandom and its darker side have only gotten worse as the internet has opened up an avenue of resources for potentially obsessed fans. Although some are able to maintain their adoration from afar, there are many who let their obsession overtake them. That said, the protagonist of Bona falls somewhere in between these two extremes.

When we first meet Bona, it's clear that the only thing that makes her happy is being around a bit actor named Gardo. Although she comes from a loving family, who only want the best for her, she rejects them at every opportunity. The constant turmoil with her family, in particular her father, forces her to move out and go live with Gardo. From there, things reach a boiling point when her family forces her to choose between Gardo or them, and she again refuses.

Bona and Gardo’s relationship presents an intriguing dynamic; they are not equals, for Bona there is more give than take. Bona's initial encounters with Gardo involved her watching him work and bringing him food. Her involvement in his life deepens after he suffers a severe beating, and she takes on the role of nursing him back to health. Although she fulfills her need, feeding and bathing him, their relationship is purely transactional. He never sees her in the same way that he does other women, whom he constantly flaunts in her presence.

All around, the entire cast are excellent, and yet it is clear that Nora Aunor's (Once a Moth) portrayal of Bona is what drives the narrative. She delivers a remarkable performance of a character who rarely thinks of herself and whose selfless acts often cause more harm than good. That said, it is a truly remarkable performance from an actress who fully immerses herself into the character. Another performance of note is Phillip Salvador’s (Karnal) pitch-perfect portrayal of self-centered Gardo.

From a production standpoint, Bona is a film that works within its limited resources and expands them beyond their limits. The premise is flawlessly executed, and its well-constructed narrative does an excellent job building momentum to a cathartic finale in which Bona comes to the realization of what she really means to Gardo. While the primary focus is on Bona, the narrative also explores controversial topics such as abortion. Additionally, a notable strength of Bona lies in its use of real slum locations, which contribute an authenticity that a constructed set could never replicate. Ultimately, Bona is an extraordinary exploration of internalized oppression.

Bona gets an exceptional release from Kani Releasing; highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer