Manila in the Claws of Neon

Raw, unflinching and absolutely wonderful. The oppressiveness of life in Manila is, rather than the centerpiece, an ever lingering backdrop to the film, intruding upon the plot only because of inescapable reality. Instead, the story focuses on Julio's search for his girlfriend in a simple but captivating mystery that often gets sidetracked by a struggle for survival. It's all very well balanced and, while a little loose in pacing, comes together wonderfully at the end.

I appreciate this for its unflinching look at the effects of poverty and unmitigated greed while at the same time showing us that human beings still exist in the midst of this chaos. Without any real hope of redemption, I'm not sure this works on a dramatic level, however. Early on, when he gets fired from his job despite his hard work, the stage was set for repeated disappointments . . . which is exactly what we get.

Portrays such an unlikely string of misfortunes that it veers dangerously close to being plight porn; but is greatly tempered by its ultra-dry, unsentimental tone and restrained, understated acting by Bembol Roco. Its social-realist spirit shines through despite being rough around the edges, with occasional plausibility hiccups.

A lot of socio-political layers of course. But the most pointed thing to me at least was Julio and a friend (they themselves are dirt poor) going to the most desolate slums of Manila and having a comparison to how life could somehow be worse than their own.

Slice-of-life story about two young people from a small Philippine village going to the big city, and it's not what either of them expected. The best word to describe it is "raw": the slums of Manila and the people who live there are on full display without embellishment (it reminded me a little of Los Olvidados). It's not a particularly enjoyable movie, yet it's still worth watching.

An instance of a narrative using a simple structure to accomplish some complex things. Although it starts out as naively as the main character does, the film sidesteps the trite emotions of your typical lower-class drama and transforms into something entirely more aching and deeply haunting by the end. Ligaya’s brief, heart-wrenching performance brings to mind Kinski’s in Paris, Texas. I think the final images may have seared themselves into my mind forever.

The film boldly and bluntly exposes poverty and social hardship in the Philippines, focusing on the injustices, exploitation and tragedies of its characters. The exaggerated interpretations, the irregular rhythm and very loud ambient sound harm the immersion. But even with these technical limitations, the film makes us reflect on current topics that most people avoid.

A little ragged at times but full of impressive flourish from a talent who was taken much too soon. An always good, occasionally brilliant film with one particular shot at the very end that will haunt me for some time, I think. I found the score a little overbearing at times but this is powerful stuff. The most relentlessly downbeat movie I've seen in some time, but that was to be expected.