Maynila: Sa mga kuko ng liwanag

Plot synopsis:
Júlio Madiaga is a probinciano, a young rustic from the island of Marinduque, who arrives in Manila. From time to time, Júlio would pass by the corner of Ongpin and Misericordia, as he stares at a peculiar building from a distance. While pursuing his quest, he has to work in order to survive the conditions of the urban jungle.
At first, Júlio lands a job as a construction worker. Not used to such labour, he falls unconscious due to fatigue and hunger. In the site, he befriends Atong, a fellow construction worker who was hired some five weeks before. Another co-worker advises Júlio that city life is quite difficult unless one has the income to enjoy urban comforts. Júlio begins to slowly observe the harsh reality of society, even witnessing the accidental death of one of the workers.
One day, while Júlio and Atong are shopping for clothes in the marketplace, a fat lady dressed in black and wearing sunglasses catches Júlio's attention. The lady reminds him of Mrs Cruz—the woman who brought his childhood sweetheart, Ligaya, to Manila for schooling. Júlio immediately runs through the crowd to follow the woman, and locates her. He tries to approach her, but before he could even say anything, the lady shrieks in distress. Júlio flees in order to prevent making a scene, running back to Atong and leaving the marketplace with him.
This was followed by other chance encounters with Mrs Cruz, leading him to discover that Ligaya was, in fact, brought to the capital for prostitution. Ligaya explains everything to Julio upon their reunion. Julio plots with Ligaya of their return to Marinduque. Both agree to meet at Arranque. However, Ligaya fails to appear at the appointed time.
Júlio returns to the house of a friend, Pol, who informs him the next day that Ligaya had died in the night; having fallen down a flight of stairs during a struggle with Ah-Tek, the brothel owner. Enraged, Júlio stalks Ah-Tek, who he saw at Ligaya's funeral, and successfully dispatches his target. Seeing Julio's crime, a mob pursues and eventually corners him; the film ends with a slow motion close-up of Júlio's terrified face, just as his assailants are about to strike.

Tags: murder, flashback

Review:
Lino Brocka's masterful study of a man's loss of innocence is a centerpiece of great Filipino cinema.
The tale of young innocents traveling to the infamous city of Manila, and losing their way, has been told countless times, but "Manila: In the Claws of Neon" was the first, and this unflinching look at urban decay must have shocked people at the time.
Bembol Roco is heartbreaking in his role as the small-town laborer who travels to Manila in search of his beautiful girlfriend, who has vanished without a word.
With his baby face and puppy dog eyes, he conveys the image of the ultimate naive youth, and Hilda Koronel possesses the same pure quality, as his lost love, Ligaya.Once in the clutches of the decadent metropolis, Julio is forced to either let go of his innocence, or be swallowed up by the ruthless, hardened characters around him.
It is also an honest look at third World poverty, and the desperation that causes people to do things that they might not do otherwise, in order to survive.
One of the film's most harrowing scenes features a scared and sickened Julio, lured into working at a sleazy male whorehouse.
The bloody, shocking climax of this film is one of the most memorable disturbing set pieces in film, and was borrowed from heavily, by Martin Scorsese a year later for his classic "Taxi Driver." Viewed back to back it becomes evident as the scenes in the hallway of the dark apartment tenement are virtually identical.
Brocka's vision came first, too bad so few people are not aware of this beautiful film.
In all the long, hit-and-miss years of Philippine cinema, no other movie made an impact as much as "Maynila".
`Maynila' is the tragic story of Julio (Bembol Roco), a small-town fisherman who went to the big city to search for Ligaya, his sweetheart (Hilda Koronel), losing his innocence and humanity in the process.The acting was not superb, but the plot and storyline carried the cast all the way, making each character as memorable as the next.
The linchpin of Filipino cinema, Lino Brocka's pièce de résistance has been received a well- deserved BluRay treatment, MANILA IN THE CLAWS OF LIGHT is a searing social critique told through the jeremiad of a young fishmonger from a provincial island, Julio Madiaga (the newcomer Roco purveys a deeply affecting performance as a new-in-town tenderfoot) arrives in the big city to search for his childhood sweetheart Ligaya (Koronel), who has been roped into shady prostitute ring from their hometown, only to be overcome by a society infested with moral turpitude and unspeakable vice, belonging to the lowest of the social rung, Julio is inexorably driven to a breaking point when he can only resort to the most radical method to express his fury and desperation, and his ultimate denouement is ominously preordained through the accretion of his violent impulse.
Brocka hones a critical eye in presenting the film's urban jungle milieu, shot in actual loci: the harsh conditions of those construction workers, one of them, Atong (Salvador, Jr.) with whom Julio befriends, lives in the squalid shanty with his younger sister (Mendoza) and their bed-ridden father (a landowner expelled out of his own property by wealthy foreigners), adjacent to polluted water, believe it or not, he is in a well-off situation (before the sorry fate catches on with his family); a chock-a-block local market where bargains for goods soon sour into personal attacks and that particular building where Julio suspects Ligaya is interned by a Chinese Filipino Ah-Tek (Yap), the rare seen ringleader, and its neon-lit signboard.
His pittance is shortchanged by the sleazy honcho and dangled by the intrusive oldest profession, sacked mercilessly when he is no longer needed, Julio witnesses accidental death befalls on the construction site, the indignant fate befalls on Atong and his family, still, he is too wet behind the ears, succumbs to the skulduggery of a policeman imposer on the street.
The crescendo of injustice is which lends this film its cachet and its undimmed relevance, the whole drama probes an unyielding peer into the miasma of unrelieved depravity (just to plumb how pandemic this kind of pathology can reach with a deplorable cri-de-coeur), mirrored through Julio's nostalgic erstwhile memories (ultra-snappy edited), which we all but realize there is no way back.
Eventually, a chance meeting (a rather oddly conceived occasion wanting more context) reunites the star-crossed lovers, and Hilda Koronel recounts Ligaya's ordeal with palpable poignancy in the lengthy close-ups, only to be tritely weighed down by her inextricable maternal attachment, and spoils their final chance of a happier finale.
Upholstered with a perturbing score from Jocson, MANILA IN THE CLAWS OF LIGHT is as harrowing a story as one could envision, but under Brocka's stylish execution, it brims with an urgency to provoke, to shock, to jolt viewers into condemnation, only if he could have curtailed his exasperating anti-China slant, viewed 40-odd years later..
Lino Brocka's 1975 film The Nail of Brightness (aka Manila in the Claws of Neon) is first and foremost a showcase for the social ills of the Philippines, particularly in the urban center of Manila.
The film's main character Julio is only recently arrived to the city having left behind his impoverished but relatively dignified and happy life as a fisherman in a small village to find his girlfriend Ligaya who had herself gone to the city at the promise of a job and some educational opportunities only to disappear completely a short time later.
Julio's episodic experiences in the city give Brocka a chance to exhibit all sorts of social issues as Julio is robbed of his savings before the film even begins and is forced to seek employment at an unsafe construction site where he agrees to work for a low wage and fails to even receive the meager pay he bargained for; the construction company can get away with this because of a lazy, inefficient government that apparently does nothing for its working class people.
As the film continues Julio's misery grows greater; more than one character is forced to turn to prostitution to make ends meet and several major characters are the victims of violent crime.In spite of the didactic nature of the material, Brocka's film is a success because he builds sympathy for Julio through the use of subjective camera techniques.
Brocka's subjective cinema transcends the established techniques of social realism and allows him create one of the greatest doomed characters in film history..
As always with a film like Manila in thr Claws of Light, context counts above all.
The sense of repression in this society makes Italian neo-realist cinema seen quaint, and that is a strength of Brocka's film because he is putting up a lens through how he sees it: this is horrible, this is punishing, and the only thing that can be a light is if people care about one another.
Though the thrust of the story is if Julio will find his beloved Ligaya in Manila, we dont get to that resolution until two thirds of the way into the film.
Primarily this is about how someone who is an outsider to the city as Julio is from a seaside village (though still very much of the culture and time and place), and so we are also those outsiders.
So when Julio is out in the streets, or outside the building where hes mostly certain Ligaya is being stowed away, it doesn't feel like we are seeing something so set apart from a reality we can see.
It's implicit in how so many of the people Julio comes across are mistreated (and of course some corrupt cops here and there who make no bones about stealing money and walking away help along the struggles), and of course for the women exploitation in the world of prostitution is exploitation of workers (just happens to be sex).
He doesnt see any life for himself without her, which makes for a good goal for the story, but is also his weakness - he loves this woman so much that nothing else can change for himself.
So many scenes, in scene after scene, almost it feels like a pattern deliberately where the idea is, "THIS is what is happening to this overworked/underpaid/tragic person being exploited by the ruling classes," and while it could easily dip into propaganda I dont see this as some negative in that Brocka's passion and intensity as a filmmaker, the commitment to realism, takes away a feeling of "this is an *agenda* as it"s about these people who exist.
But all these scenes are really leading up to Ligaya, who was exploitated just about the worst of all - in one long take that seems to last for about seven or eight minutes, she tells her story to Julio in a bedroom, and it's wise to not cut away.
We are here listening to her story, and unlike at other points there is no cutting away; we have to picture this for ourselves.This is a sad and depressing story, but I didnt feel like it is a giant let down to watch because of the anthropological nature of how it's presented and how the melodrama escalates so believably.
The best Filipino film of all time?
But after I have seen "Maynila", everything changed.The film is simply amazing.
Although some moments are like "Midnight Cowboy" inspired, the whole story is very original.The characters are very memorable, though some acting needs some improvement.
Thanks to the late Director, Lino Brocka for making this unforgettable, total human experience.
Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag - A film that Triumphs in Art and Social Significance.
ABOUT: Julio Madiaga, a simple fisherman from the province (as played by Rafael "Bembol" Roco, Jr. in his first leading role) goes on a journey to find Ligaya (Hilda Koronel), the woman he loves, after she went away with a mysterious woman promising a better future in Manila.
While Julio relentlessly searches on for Ligaya, the city changes him little by little, becoming like an animal in a wild jungle that lives only for survival.REVIEW: Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag (Manila: In the Claws of Light), a film by the late great national artist, Lino Brocka, from the screenplay of Clodualdo Del Mundo Jr.
Reyes), is an examination of the dark side of urban life in Manila, Philippines.
Brocka tackles the social issue of extreme poverty and its effects on the people experiencing it at the time.
The movie speaks about the harsh truth about Manila especially for the underprivileged that life in the city is pleasurable but only if you meet the high cost and that sometime you even have to pay more because what you can give is not enough.
Such is the fate of Julio Madiaga (main character) and basically every character in the story.
He goes on a nightmarish journey to find his love one, Ligaya only to experience things go from bad to worse.
He was able to portray convincingly a character that changes from being pure to being tainted as the film progresses.
Other characters aside from Julio Madiaga are well written and cast also, such as Julio's missing love one, Ligaya, a perfect example of Filipina beauty, Pol, as played by Tommy Abuel, his ever reliable friend, and the elusive Mrs. Cruz, as played by Juling Bagabaldo, whom he has a growing hatred for taking away Ligaya.
Apart from the commendable writing, acting and casting, it is the direction by Lino Brocka that brought these aspects together film.
The underprivileged people in city at present are still affected by poverty among other social illness as it was then.
Sure, it will make a fine exhibit for retrospection when discussing the era when Philippines was in martial law but more than that, because of what the film achieves both in art and social significance, it will continue to be watched by future generations.FINAL WORD: With an flinching portrayal of what is wrong in the society at same time being able to showcase it in cinematic fashion, -Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag (Manila- In the Claws of Light) proves its triumph in film making.
Only a few films and even less in Philippine Cinema have put together social significance together with art and produce a very satisfying experience as this film.
With the recent restoration, the film can be seen in its grandest form and hopefully it will continue to be influential in the years to come.
You can likely catch it in cinemas in the Philippines or as I have read, the Criterion Collection is planning to release the film in DVD/ Blu-ray within this year, so grab a copy when it becomes available..
Big City Dreams, Small Town Heroes, in The Best Filipino Film Ever Made.
The 'provinciano' (literally someone from the provinces, or small town folk) is one of the most portrayed characters in Philippine cinema.
The resulting drama is a great source of material for cinema: the evil, exploitative, capitalistic big city sucking the life out of the fresh, naïve, virginal barrio lad or lass.
Furthermore, considering the history of Filipino colonial exploitation lasting hundreds of years by the Americans, Japanese, and Spanish, the story of the rich (yet morally lacking) exploiting the poor (yet virtuous) is one of the most enduring stories in Filipino culture."Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag", directed by Lino Brocka, the most critically respected and well-known filmmaker the Philippines has ever produced, from the novel by another icon, writer Edgardo Reyes, is the embodiment of the great provinciano film and has been hailed as the apex of so-called 'Third World cinema'.The 'provinciano' in our story is Julio Madiaga, portrayed by film veteran (and later in his life the most famous bald Filipino), Bembol Roco.
In this very first (and highly memorable) of his many cinematic collaborations with Brocka, Roco's neophyte status works well on the Madiaga character.
He braves the big bad city in search of his small town sweetheart, the so literally named Ligaya Paraiso (meaning Happy Paradise, as played by Hilda Koronel, at her virginal best), who has mysteriously disappeared after being promised a good job and an education by a woman who looks like a 'baboy' (pig).
Ironically, our savior needs to be saved!Like Mira Nair's masterpiece "Salaam Bombay!", "Maynila" is an excellent portrayal of how man struggles to find his niche in the world or, more interestingly, how he ultimately doesn't fit in, no matter how often and how hard he tries.
Julio, on the surface, isn't alone, for he easily gets along with his fellow laborers but, ultimately, he's among fellow misfits, society's disenfranchised poor living on the edge.
It's this feeling of helplessness and the hope that maybe it will get better which fuels the film."Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag", indeed, deserves its place among Filipino cinema's best of the best.
Like Ishmael Bernal's "Himala" and another Brocka film, "Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang", it's a celluloid legend that not only meets but surpasses high expectations.
(Unfortunately, Brocka's "Insiang" falls short of these same personal expectations.) "Maynila" and "Himala" are most often mentioned as the best Filipino film ever made.
And like all great films, they contain memorable, iconic scenes: film legend Nora Aunor's "Walang himala!" ("There's no miracle!") scene in "Himala" and, to a lesser degree, Roco's brief but haunting final shot in "Maynila".
Between the former's increasing crescendo of Third World desperation, Aunor's tightly controlled performance, and false gods/true celebrities religious fanaticism, versus the latter's dark maze of urban entrapment, Roco's gradual withering of brown 'provinciano' innocence, it's a very close, tough call to make.
As beautifully surreal as the deserts of Paoay are in "Himala", though Bernal's intelligent religious commentary connects with me strongly, ultimately, it's the simple story of the brown 'provinciano' swallowed by his sweetheart's big city dreams which affects me more significantly..
This Filipino film, also known as Manila in the Claws of Brightness, is one I found listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, and in the description I read it is considered by many as one of the greatest films of Filipino cinema, so I was interested to try it.
Basically Júlio Madiaga (Bembol Roco) is a simple fisherman from the province on the island of Marinduque, in the Phillipines, who travels to Manila.
Júlio appears to be just a young rustic who has to work in order to survive the conditions of the urban jungle, he lands a job as a construction worker, but is not used to such labour, and falls unconscious due to fatigue and hunger.
On the site Júlio makes friends with fellow construction worker Atong (Lou Salvador Jr.), who was hired five weeks before him, and another worker advises him unless one has the income to enjoy urban comforts, life in the city can be quite difficult.
Júlio slowly begins to observe the harsh reality of society, experiencing extreme poverty, hard luck, and the overbearing need to grind to sustain daily, and even witnesses the accidental death of one of the construction workers.
One day, while Júlio and Atong are shopping for clothes in the marketplace, Júlio's attention is caught by a woman reminds him of Mrs Cruz (Juling Bagabaldo), the woman who brought his childhood sweetheart, Ligaya Paraiso (Hilda Koronel), to Manila for schooling.
Many more chance encounters with Mrs Cruz follow, until eventually Júlio discovers that Ligaya was actually brought to the capital for prostitution, she explains everything when they are finally reunited.
Júlio plans for them to get away and return to Marinduque together, Ligaya agrees to meet him at Arranque, however she does not appear at the appointed time.
The next day Júlio goes to see his friend Pol (Tommy Abuel), who informs him that Ligaya fell down a flight of stairs, during a struggle with the brothel owner Ah-Tek (Tommy Yap), she died in the night.