Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The tone of "Metro Manila", a brilliant neo-realist drama, is well captured in the bleakness of the opening voice-over, when our lead speaks of how a man condemned to death by hanging needs not fear drowning in the water below him if the gallows are built high enough. The film does not necessarily make for grim, nihilistic viewing, but it is, for a lot of its runtime, very real and very authentic in a rather grim place. Its director, a Briton called Sean Ellis, peppers the film with a very distinct sense that hope, even affluence, is right there, but only if you can uncover it - people seem to be able to carve out decent lives for themselves in a zone that is fairly impoverished, but getting that 'break' remains inherently elusive. It is as if you can reach out and touch the success, but it is always just far away enough. Aside from anything else, this is a terrifically well-crafted film - its movement from one thing to another, never settling into one genre or deriving its influence from one place for too often, is a joy to behold. Indeed, the places to which "Metro Manila" ends up going nearer the end demonstrate absolutely no evidence of being there for the first half of the piece, which draws on the likes of Iranian film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf and even the early films of the Italian neo-realist movement concocted on the streets of post-war Italy. Jake Macapagal plays Oscar Ramirez, no one any more or less extraordinary than anybody else, who lives on a rudimentary farm in the Filipino countryside with his young wife Mai (Althea Vega) and infant children. Life on the farm is humble, peaceful and simple but complications to do with costs and market forces result in the Ramirez family not earning enough for their rice crop to get by for the next year. As a result, the leads are torn out of their environment and into something very different: the cauldron of the bustling capital of the titular Manila.The transition quite literally feels like an eviction: the city is busy, noisy - men of working age huddle around noticeboards looking for working opportunities and all manner of danger and thievery are rife. It is when our family lose their remaining currency and residency through a confidence trick that things become desperate, Ellis essentially beginning the film all over again with a second initial incident to re-ignite what life in the city, this time, is all about. It forces the two parents into employment at any cost: Oscar moves into armoured van transportation and Mai into what we shall describe here as bar work. Oscar's taking of the armoured van job moves the film into an altogether fresh direction - we are aware of the nature of life in Manila at a very grounded level, and so is Oscar. So much so that the audience and character experience them for the first time together: there exist hundreds of people living fairly desperate existences and will be aware of the vast sums of money now sharing a space with our lead. When he senses danger, we sense it with him. His work-colleague and co-rider in the truck is Ong (John Arcilla ), who seems to bury this stark and important reality in his brashness and drinking. Director Ellis' use of the juxtaposition between the classical music Ong listens to, and the rap music a suspicious car of thugs which keeps tailing them blare out, speaks volumes for the contrast we entrust to be true at the time, although is cleverly deceptive for reasons I will not reveal.Likewise, Mai's position at a local nightspot outlet she must undertake to help with the family finances enables Ellis to break-down certain stereotypes which have become synonymous with young Asian women from this part of the world. Gone is the 'love-you-long-time' cliché; in its place, a very cold composition of the character in her underwear amongst a bevy of other young women staring off into space as she, one assumes, realises this is what she must do to get by. Mai and the other women are not photogenic backdrops to a film about somebody else - Ellis has really got under the skin of who she is and why she is there. Reading about the production of the film, from the moment Ellis got the inspiration for the piece by looking at two armoured guards having an argument beside a truck during a trip to the Philippines, right the way through to the eight month edit process by way of shooting on a shoestring budget with no real money in a language he didn't speak, it is to everyone's credit that "Metro Manila" is as good as it is. The film is unnerving, heart-wrenching and thoroughly involving; right the way up to its chilling final few scenes and is thoroughly recommended.

In general, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The plot was well developed and kept the watcher engaged in the film. This film was unlike traditional American films, which was very refreshing to watch. It helped to give another perspective on the world and especially third world countries. This film discussed issues such the roles of women and crime in the Philippines. In the end, Oscar has to make a difficult decision in order to save his family and he ends up giving up his life for his family to have a better life. If I were in his shoes I think it would be hard to make a decision, but knowing my sacrifice will help my family live the life they deserve I would also give up my life. Overall, This movie is a must watch due to the fact that it gives you a different perspective on the world and has and intricate and interesting plot that keeps the watcher on the edge of their seat.

Even though Metro Manila wouldn't be my first choice for a family movie night, I did find it to be very thoughtful and emotional. Any man will go crazy for his family and will do anything to protect and help. And this was no exception, a happily married farmer in need of money and food is going to move out of his nice peaceful rural home to the capital of the whole country. Talk about night and day, and for what seems like over half of the film, the family does seem out of their element. Oscar Ramirez would soon find himself working for an armored truck company. Not everyone is Manila may not be as they seem, and Ong fit the bill perfectly. Ong did seem to be very nice and took Oscar under his wing, but underneath Ong was the most corrupt workers in the company. Not only did he blackmail Oscar into helping him try to get the key for one of two missing lock boxes, Ong also made you feel the anger and little rage throughout the movie. I thought to myself "Why, Oscar was almost home free, why did you have to do this Ong?" Overall I thought the movie was great and if you are looking for a heartfelt film and I would recommend it to anyone.

And that takes a lot to make me come to tears. I haven't wrote a review on IMDb in awhile and there is some movies deserving of one that I should review it but this one... man it hurt me, in a good way sort of speak. This is a story of a man that simply is trying to do his role as a husband and father by making sure his family is taken care of. He comes from a background that I'm sure those from the Philippines will relate to and decides that life in the big city will give his family a change of pace. He instead finds that the city is full of betrayal and lies with the people he meets. Not to say everyone there is out to hurt someone but it shows the realism of what some people go through simply trusting in someone they don't know. This is not a action movie but a movie that is sort of a thriller and moving like... sorry, my terminology isn't there for movies. The movie is a tearjerker as they say and I'm a black man who actually don't mind movies like that. This movie I didn't expect to be tearjerkish and I really don't go looking for those type movies. I'm not trying to say that this movie should be watched to feel bad for someone but that it is a movie centered on trying to capture how things can really get rough for families trying to start out in Manila.Every time "Oscar" the main character had something happen to him, it affected me and that goes to show how EXCELLENT a job Jake did in this role. Everyone played their parts right even down to the adorable daughter of his. At times I was concerned his wife would leave him... just had me that in tuned. Everything about the movie is gritty and surreal that you feel as if this is really happening; someone just taped it all somehow. What happens in the end brought me to tears because I am a human that sympathize and understand a bold move people will take for their family. It just pains me that I can only wish I could tell folks I know about this movie but they won't give it a try because it is a foreign movie and don't want to read subtitles.