Maynila: sa mga kuko ng liwanag

Among the clearest examples of cinema’s intrinsic potential to capture the social, cultural and affective workings of a metropolis, MAYNILA is Lino Brocka’s most celebrated work and one that frequently tops polls of Filipino cinema’s greatest films. A fisherman from a coastal village, Julio has migrated to Manila in search of his beloved Ligaya, who was brought to the city purportedly to study and work before falling victim to a sex trafficking ring. Julio searches for her to no avail, meeting fellow tormented souls on the way. His is the classic story of rural migration—taking on jobs in construction and sex work, he struggles for survival in a ruthless urban environment that is itself subject to its own contradictions: the fraying social structures of colonialism which grind against the new imperatives of an incipient globalization. In this sense, Brocka’s vision of Manila is as layered as his protagonist—a gloomy purgatory teeming with violence and cruelty, albeit one where scattered glimpses of warmth and light can still be found. The film is followed by a newly restored short documentary on its making, revealing unseen facets of this all-time classic. (Salvador Amores)

Afterwards we will show the newly restored making-of MAYNILA ... ISANG PELIKULANG PILIPINO.

Lino Brocka (selection): WANTED: PERFECT MOTHER (1970), CADENA DE AMOR (1971), WEIGHED BUT FOUND WANTING (1974), MANILA IN THE CLAWS OF LIGHT (1975), INSIANG (1976), WAKE UP, MARUJA (1978), JAGUAR (1979), THIS IS MY COUNTRY (1984), FIGHT FOR US (1989)