This Filipino film, also known as Manila in the Claws of Brightness, is one I found listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, and in the description I read it is considered by many as one of the greatest films of Filipino cinema, so I was interested to try it. Basically Júlio Madiaga (Bembol Roco) is a simple fisherman from the province on the island of Marinduque, in the Phillipines, who travels to Manila. Júlio appears to be just a young rustic who has to work in order to survive the conditions of the urban jungle, he lands a job as a construction worker, but is not used to such labour, and falls unconscious due to fatigue and hunger. On the site Júlio makes friends with fellow construction worker Atong (Lou Salvador Jr.), who was hired five weeks before him, and another worker advises him unless one has the income to enjoy urban comforts, life in the city can be quite difficult. Júlio slowly begins to observe the harsh reality of society, experiencing extreme poverty, hard luck, and the overbearing need to grind to sustain daily, and even witnesses the accidental death of one of the construction workers. One day, while Júlio and Atong are shopping for clothes in the marketplace, Júlio's attention is caught by a woman reminds him of Mrs Cruz (Juling Bagabaldo), the woman who brought his childhood sweetheart, Ligaya Paraiso (Hilda Koronel), to Manila for schooling. Júlio runs through a crowd and tries to approach the woman, but before he can say anything she screams in distress, he flees to prevent causing a scene, and leaves the marketplace with Atong. Many more chance encounters with Mrs Cruz follow, until eventually Júlio discovers that Ligaya was actually brought to the capital for prostitution, she explains everything when they are finally reunited. Júlio plans for them to get away and return to Marinduque together, Ligaya agrees to meet him at Arranque, however she does not appear at the appointed time. The next day Júlio goes to see his friend Pol (Tommy Abuel), who informs him that Ligaya fell down a flight of stairs, during a struggle with the brothel owner Ah-Tek (Tommy Yap), she died in the night. Júlio is enraged, he sees Ah-Tek at Ligaya's funeral and begins to stalk him, he is successful in dispatching his target. But a mob witnessed what Júlio does to Ah-Tek, they pursue and eventually corner him, the film ends with a slow motion close-up of Júlio's terrified face, just as his assailants are about to strike. Also starring Pio De Castro III as Imo, Joonee Gamboa as Omeng and Julie De Guzman as Asawa. I had to really concentrate to understand everything going, whilst reading the subtitles and watching the grainy imagery, I just about got the grasp of the story, it certainly works well with the melodramatic stuff, exploring the suffering of the disadvantaged, an interesting drama. Worth watching!
Review of Manila in the Claws of Light
