Five of Jaclyn Jose’s most memorable roles
A tribute to a legendary actress
AS the Philippine Entertainment industry continues to mourn the untimely loss of one of its most illustrious actresses, Jaclyn Jose, so do the tributes from family, friends, colleagues and admirers of this irreplaceable talent. Jose — Mary Jane Guck in real life — passed away on March 2 at just 60 years old due to a heart attack.
Today, The Manila Times Entertainment takes its turn in honoring the multi-awarded actress by recalling five of the foremost Jaclyn Jose classics that immediately come to mind from television and cinema, spanning her truly exceptional fourdecade-long acting career.
‘White Slavery’ (1985). Directed by legendary filmmaker Lino Brocka, the film follows three poor provincial girls lured to the big city and forced to work in the sex trade. Portraying one of the girls as Linet was one of Jose’s first notable roles as an actress, instantly earning her first Gawad Urian nomination.
‘The Flor Contemplacion Story’
(1995). Directed by Joel Lamangan from a screenplay written by Ricky Lee and Bonifacio Ilagan, this true-to-life drama stars Nora Aunor in the title role and tells the story of a Filipina domestic helper who was hanged in Singapore for allegedly killing a fellow maid.
Jose assumed the role of Neneng, the mistress of Contemplacion’s husband, in the film and after that, won Best Supporting Actress across the Luna Awards, Star Awards for Movies and Gawad Urian.
‘Mula sa Puso’ (1997-1999). The ABS-CBN melodrama is known for being the most competitive TV series in ratings history and starred Claudine Barretto, Rico Yan, and Diether Ocampo as the main characters. All the same, Jose stood out in the series for portraying the role of Via’s (Barretto) mother, Magdalena “Magda” Trinidad-Pereira, quickly propelling her as a household name. Besides gaining immense stardom, Jose also earned multiple nominations in the Best Supporting Actress category across TV award-giving bodies
‘Patay na si Hesus’ (2016). A dark comedy, the film follows the story of food vendor Iyay (Jose), who, after learning about the death of her estranged husband, Hesus, decides to drive all the way to Dumaguete from Cebu City to attend the funeral with her apathetic children.
With the movie’s entirety presented in Bisaya, Jose dedicated months of preparation to perfecting the language and competently deliver Iyay’s character.
The film was initially released in October 2016 as an entry at the QCinema International Film Festival and won the Audience Choice Award and Gender Sensitivity Award. It then officially became one of the 12 official entries to the 2017 Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino and won the Jury’s Choice Award.
‘Ma’ Rosa’ (2016). Jose took home the award for Best Actress at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival for her powerful performance in this movie’s title role. Directed by Brillante Mendoza, the film explores widespread corruption and chaos in the country.
Rosa and her husband Nestor (Julio Diaz), owners of a sarisari store, try to supplement their meager income by selling small amounts of “ice” (crystal meth). Eventually, the couple gets caught and hauled away by police, yet they are more interested in collecting bribes than eradicating crime.
With their parents locked away, it’s left to Rosa’s children to raise a huge amount of money to pay off the police and free their parents.
As the first Filipino and Southeast Asian to win the Cannes Best Actress plum, Jose was honored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts at the Ani ng Dangal ceremony in 2017.