Lucky to own this one, and it's a great one, revisting it only for the 2nd proper watch i seem to not remember a lot of it, feels fresh like a 1st viewing almost. Lino Brocka makes human despair films that are ablaze with reality, the kind of thing that hits deep.
Directed by Lino Brocka • 1975 • Philippines Starring Hilda Koronel, Rafael Roco Jr., Lou Salvador Jr.
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.
The Runner 5/5 was amazing, best movie seen all year, maybe one of the tops overall, just that good!!
