Metro Manila

This film is without doubt a thriller, although the action scenes are kept to a minimum in terms of length (they do remain quite violent).

But what's shocking about it is that it's for most people the first time they're actually going to see or hear about Manila, and in this case they'll be seeing it from the bottom looking up. This film paints a rather dark picture, but a picture worth seeing: the developing world isn't a bed of roses, and things like violence and corruption do make up the everyday lives of its poorer inhabitants.

Therefore, this story is a story of struggle, and is definitively worth seeing, if only to get away from the postcard image that we may have seen of the Philippines.

The tone of "Metro Manila", a brilliant neo-realist drama, is well captured in the bleakness of the opening voice-over, when our lead speaks of how a man condemned to death by hanging needs not fear drowning in the water below him if the gallows are built high enough. The film does not necessarily make for grim, nihilistic viewing, but it is, for a lot of its runtime, very real and very authentic in a rather grim place. Its director, a Briton called Sean Ellis, peppers the film with a very distinct sense that hope, even affluence, is right there, but only if you can uncover it - people seem to be able to carve out decent lives for themselves in a zone that is fairly impoverished, but getting that 'break' remains inherently elusive. It is as if you can reach out and touch the success, but it is always just far away enough.

Aside from anything else, this is a terrifically well-crafted film - its movement from one thing to another, never settling into one genre or deriving its influence from one place for too often, is a joy to behold. Indeed, the places to which "Metro Manila" ends up going nearer the end demonstrate absolutely no evidence of being there for the first half of the piece, which draws on the likes of Iranian film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf and even the early films of the Italian neo-realist movement concocted on the streets of post-war Italy.

Jake Macapagal plays Oscar Ramirez, no one any more or less extraordinary than anybody else, who lives on a rudimentary farm in the Filipino countryside with his young wife Mai (Althea Vega) and infant children. Life on the farm is humble, peaceful and simple but complications to do with costs and market forces result in the Ramirez family not earning enough for their rice crop to get by for the next year. As a result, the leads are torn out of their environment and into something very different: the cauldron of the bustling capital of the titular Manila.

The transition quite literally feels like an eviction: the city is busy, noisy - men of working age huddle around noticeboards looking for working opportunities and all manner of danger and thievery are rife. It is when our family lose their remaining currency and residency through a confidence trick that things become desperate, Ellis essentially beginning the film all over again with a second initial incident to re-ignite what life in the city, this time, is all about. It forces the two parents into employment at any cost: Oscar moves into armoured van transportation and Mai into what we shall describe here as bar work.

Oscar's taking of the armoured van job moves the film into an altogether fresh direction - we are aware of the nature of life in Manila at a very grounded level, and so is Oscar. So much so that the audience and character experience them for the first time together: there exist hundreds of people living fairly desperate existences and will be aware of the vast sums of money now sharing a space with our lead. When he senses danger, we sense it with him. His work-colleague and co-rider in the truck is Ong (John Arcilla ), who seems to bury this stark and important reality in his brashness and drinking. Director Ellis' use of the juxtaposition between the classical music Ong listens to, and the rap music a suspicious car of thugs which keeps tailing them blare out, speaks volumes for the contrast we entrust to be true at the time, although is cleverly deceptive for reasons I will not reveal.

Likewise, Mai's position at a local nightspot outlet she must undertake to help with the family finances enables Ellis to break-down certain stereotypes which have become synonymous with young Asian women from this part of the world. Gone is the 'love-you-long-time' cliché; in its place, a very cold composition of the character in her underwear amongst a bevy of other young women staring off into space as she, one assumes, realises this is what she must do to get by. Mai and the other women are not photogenic backdrops to a film about somebody else - Ellis has really got under the skin of who she is and why she is there.

Reading about the production of the film, from the moment Ellis got the inspiration for the piece by looking at two armoured guards having an argument beside a truck during a trip to the Philippines, right the way through to the eight month edit process by way of shooting on a shoestring budget with no real money in a language he didn't speak, it is to everyone's credit that "Metro Manila" is as good as it is. The film is unnerving, heart-wrenching and thoroughly involving; right the way up to its chilling final few scenes and is thoroughly recommended.

METRO MANILA is as much a heartbreaking drama of trying to make it in the big city as it is a crime thriller, probably even more so. Sean Ellis, who directed, wrote, produced and did the cinematography has crafted an excellent story that, while a little too familiar in some respects, is still powerfully acted and beautifully shot. In fact, the visual authenticity is what gripped me the most. Having been to the Philippines a couple of times, I felt like these were locations that I had seen before (even though I hadn't been to the ones specifically used for the film). There are dozens of shots capturing all of the various aspects of life in Manila, from the squalor of the slums to the bright lights of the Metro area. Everything is shown, and nothing is held back. The cinematographic choices also lend a degree of realism to the drama of the story.

As far as acting is concerned, everyone did a good job as far as I could tell, although some line readings did seem to be a little off. In particular, the actors who played Oscar Ramirez and Douglas Ong stood out. The story the film tells is quite a familiar one, although the execution and setting is what make it seem fresh. Basically, Oscar moves his family from the rice terraces of Banaue to Manila, in hopes that they will be able to make a better living. Oscar gets a job as an armored car driver, while his wife Mai takes a job at a hostess bar (similar to juice bars in South Korea). While there, both are confronted with the harsh realities of city life and are forced to make difficult choices for themselves. Seeing some of the things that they, Mai in particular, have to go through was painful to watch at times, but it helped in making these people easy to sympathize with. Generally, the story doesn't take too many surprising turns, but the way in which it ends was definitely emotionally satisfying.

As far as the action is concerned, while the film seems to be billed as a crime thriller, this isn't entirely accurate. Yes, crime is a part of the overall narrative, but at its heart the film is a family drama. This might disappoint people going in hoping for a shoot-em-up, but this film is more thought-provoking than it is riveting in an action-film sense. Trying to escape poverty is one of the film's biggest themes, and the way in which this was portrayed is, in my opinion, what sets it apart from other movies like it. Overall, I thought that the film was well-made, well-acted, well-shot, etc., even if the story wasn't the most original. Fans of foreign and Filipino cinema should definitely check this out, and I would also recommend it to anyone willing to give it a chance.

Metro Manila is not a film for everyone. It's an incredibly tough movie to watch at times and your heart really goes out to the leading characters in the movie. However, if you can make it through all the misery, you'll find that the script is amazingly well written and intelligent.

The film begins with Oscar Ramirez receiving only a pittance for their hard work as rice farmers. It's so little that they see they have only one choice—to travel to the big city to look for work. However, this nice family is constantly screwed during the course of the film—to the point where you wonder if it can get any worse. Their rent money is stolen—and they have no food for themselves or their two small children. Out of desperation, the wife gets a degrading job working in a sleazy bar as a 'hostess'—though she's not much better than a prostitute. Then the husband works all day only to be given a couple sandwiches in payment! Now they have no place to live, practically no food and they are desperate. Only when the man gets a job working as an armored car worker do things start to look up for them. Now, they can live in a nicer and safer home and they finally feel happy. But, based on how things have gone so far, I kept expecting the other shoe to fall. And, fall it did---but in such a creative way that it made the film worthwhile. What exactly happens to these poor people? Well I certainly won't spoil it by telling! However, the ending really took me by surprise—and I love to be surprised.

This movie has a lot going for it. A great reason to watch it is to see just how much of the world lives. This film doesn't give a beautiful look at Manila but shows a desperate town where it's more dog eat dog than anything else. How the family tries to hold on is what makes the film truly exciting to watch. But, as I already said, the film is tough viewing at times. It certainly is NOT a feel-good film and it takes a lot of patience and perseverance to see it through to the end. But it IS worth it. It also features some excellent natural acting and it is a well made production and makes me want to see more from these folks.

I headed into this film with a glowing recommendation off a mate of mine. And it really delivers as story told where the viewer feels the crushingly powerless plight of the family, specifically the Husband. It also has a wider value in the commentary of urbanization of the modern world and the subsistence farmers being forced into leaving their livelihoods and traditions behind. It could double as a documentary!

It begins with the rice farming family not being able to make ends meet with their harvest for the season. They are forced to leave their home and find a means of feeding their children due to substantially lower prices being paid for their crop.

Upon arriving in Manila, a world away from their accustomed lifestyle, they are fish out of water. The hustle and bustle of city life makes any progress hard for them. Even when it seems progress is being made, corruption and greed stifle it.

Both the husband and wife find ways of making money, although the husband is not fond of the wifes choice...he understands from the desperation that no job is too immoral.

The films takes a couple of turns until its absolutely grandiose finale. And what an extraordinary end it has. I'm a heart of steel kinda guy, but this? This had me teary eyed and fully empathizing with the characters...

Brilliantly done, and I highly recommend it. 9/10