Metro Manila (film)
| Metro Manila | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Sean Ellis |
| Produced by | Mathilde Charpentier Sean Ellis |
| Written by | Sean Ellis Frank E. Flowers |
| Starring | Jake Macapagal Althea Vega John Arcilla |
| Music by | Robin Foster |
| Cinematography | Sean Ellis |
| Edited by | Richard Mettler |
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Production
company |
Chocolate Frog Films
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| Distributed by | Independent (UK) Captive (Philippines) ICM (U.S.) |
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Release date
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Running time
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114 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language |
Tagalog English |
Metro Manila is 2013 British independently produced crime drama film directed by Sean Ellis, set in the Philippines and with dialogue mainly in Filipino. Ellis also co-produced and co-wrote the film. The film was selected as the British entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
Oscar Ramirez is a rice farmer who lives in Banaue Province with his wife Mai and their children Angel and Baby. When his rice crops are no longer profitable, he relocates his family to Metro Manila in hopes of obtaining a higher quality of life. While searching for a job, they are offered shelter at a low-income apartment building, but are shortly evicted by the police for squatting, as the men who offered them the apartment turn out to be swindlers.
The next day, the family moves into a vacated house in the slums of Tondo while Oscar secures a job as a security officer for Manila Armored Couriers after the other guards discover his military background. He befriends his senior officer Ong and quickly bonds with his co-workers while earning the respect of Buddha, the president of the armoured truck company. On Oscar's first day at work, Ong tells him he lost his previous partner during a failed robbery six months prior. Ong is also concerned about Oscar's residence in Tondo, which is a hotbed for criminals. One night, Oscar tells Ong the story of Alfred Santos, a man who held up an airliner and jumped off the plane to his death after losing his father and his family's silk factory to a rival company. Oscar feels responsible, as he had previously worked at the factory and did not stand up for his former employer. Ong offers Oscar a spare apartment unit in Makati for his family to live in. Meanwhile, Mai lands a job as a bar hostess at a nightclub in Makati. While undergoing the mandatory physical checkup, she is revealed to be pregnant. Mai quickly learns of the hardships she must endure as a bar hostess. When she fails to make her drink quota and her pregnancy becomes more evident, her boss proposes to have nine-year-old Angel work for special clients.
During a routine job, Oscar discovers that the client is a drug dealer and sees Ong take a handout for the delivery. The duo have a tense discussion on the corruption that shrouds Metro Manila. When Ong pulls over to find a wall to urinate on, Oscar suddenly sees a black Honda Civic pull over with a group of men headed toward Ong's direction. Going against his protocol, he exits the armoured van and follows the gang on foot, only to discover that they are in cahoots with Ong. After the gang leaves, Ong reveals to Oscar that after the failed robbery, he took one of the security boxes with him, and he is plotting with the gang to have the box opened by staging a robbery and having himself "debriefed" in the company's processing centre while Oscar makes an imprint of the key in another room. He also threatens to blackmail Oscar with the truth about his wife working as a bar hostess, as well as the clever scheme of renting out the spare apartment under Oscar's name and hiding the box there. Just as Ong prepares to surrender the box, he realizes that the robber in front of him is not part of the gang but the same man who killed his former partner. The man guns him down and runs away while the gang speeds off. Oscar is then given the grievous task of "postman", having to deliver Ong's personal effects and severance pay to his wife. He does not disclose Ong's plot to Buddha. As per company procedure, his pay is suspended until the investigation is closed.
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