Director: Sean Ellis
Talent: Jake Macapagal, Althea Vega, John Arcilla
Release Date: 27th September 2013
Metropolitan Manila is a region of sixteen intertwined cities with a population estimated at just under twelve million. Large swathes of its population are made up of families from struggling rural areas looking for a better life. Metro Manila follows a young family forced to make the move after the price of rice, the crop that earns them their living, falls to an all time low.
This is a migration story that becomes a crime thriller, with the former adding a level of emotional involvement that the latter often lacks. The content can be harrowing but the imagery is always prepossessing. Many of the scenes are static and empty, others are long lingering shots on an actor’s features, and yet all still convey the film’s overarching feeling of urban heat, depravity and struggle. Through it all there is a sombre message of hope interwoven with the tension; a potpourri handled delicately and incredibly well by director Sean Ellis.
