a.k.a. DARNA AND DING
D’Wonder Films [1980] 120′
country: Philippines
director: J. Erastheo Navoa / Cloyd Robinson
cast: Vilma Santos, Nino Mulhach,
cast: Celia Rodriguez, Marissa Delgado
This is the first of the Darna [ostensibly the Filipino Wonder Woman, created in 1947 by Mark Revelo] series of films that I’ve come across, and the last of four to feature the beautiful super star Vilma Santos in the title role. The story begins when Narda and her little brother Ding happen upon a glowing white stone in the woods near their home. A disembodied voice from beyond says some stuff, and presto-change-o – Narda becomes Darna. Ding climbs on Darna’s back and rides her through the rather patriotic opening credits. They encounter trouble immediately after landing, with Darna having to do battle with Hawk Woman while Ding runs from a dirty old man before both tackle a rampaging giant and shove live electrical wires in his eyes.
At this point, nary ten minutes into the film, I was pretty much floored. I mean, how much random super hero fantasy crap can you pile into the opening of one film? I had no idea how the people behind DARNA AT DING could possibly keep up such a frenetic barrage of weirdness. And that’s when the reality began to dawn on me: they weren’t going to.
