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Lino Brocka achieved international acclaim with this candid portrait of 1970s Manila, a breakout example of the more serious-minded filmmaking the director had turned to after building a career on mainstream movies he described as “soaps.” A young fisherman from a provincial village arrives in the capital on a quest to track down his girlfriend, who was lured there with the promise of work and hasn’t been heard from since. In the meantime, he takes a low-wage job at a construction site and witnesses life on the streets, where death strikes without warning, corruption and exploitation are commonplace, and protests hint at escalating civil unrest. Mixing visceral, documentary-like realism with the narrative focus of Hollywood noir and melodrama, Manila in the Claws of Light is a howl of anguish from one of the most celebrated figures in Philippine cinema.Manila in the Claws of Light was restored in 2013 by the Film Development Council of the Philippines and the Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, LVN, Cinema Artists Philippines, and Mike De Leon. Restoration funded by Doha Film Institute.
Original Release
07/16/1975
US Release
04/22/1980
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Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Hilda Koronel | Ligaya Paraiso |
Bembol Roco | Julio Madiaga |
Lou Salvador Jr. | Atong |
Joonee Gamboa | Omeng |
Pio De Castro III | Imo |
Danilo Posadas | Benny |
Joe Jardi | Frank |
Spanky Manikan | Gido |
Edipolo Erosido | Eddie |
Pancho Pelagio | Mr. Balajadia |
Directors
Writers
Edgardo Reyes, Clodualdo del Mundo Jr.
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Hilda Koronel | Ligaya Paraiso |
Bembol Roco | Julio Madiaga |
Lou Salvador Jr. | Atong |
Joonee Gamboa | Omeng |
Pio De Castro III | Imo |
Danilo Posadas | Benny |
Joe Jardi | Frank |
Spanky Manikan | Gido |
Edipolo Erosido | Eddie |
Pancho Pelagio | Mr. Balajadia |
Purita Yap | Nanay |
Josephine Gutierrez | Kapatid ni Ligaya / Ligaya's Brother |
Gina Zegui | Kapatid ni Ligaya / Ligaya's Brother |
Ronnie Magalong | Kapatid ni Ligaya / Ligaya's Brother |
Anna Marie Nicolas | Batang Ligaya / Young Ligaya |
Victor Diendo | Batang Julio / Young Julio |
Lily Gamboa Mendoza | Perla |
Abelardo Reyes | Tatay / Father |
Joe Gruta | Lalaki / Man |
Julie De Guzman | Asawa |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Mike de Leon | Producer |
Severino Manotok Jr. | Producer |