In the 1970s, Julio Madiaga, a poor fisherman, who lives in the province, is in love with young Ligaya Paraiso (Lit: “Joyful Paradise”). Out of money, like most of his kind, he goes to the capital, Maynila (Manila), to find work, and to look for Ligaya, who is supposed to be there, but has disappeared. At first, he finds a hard job as a construction worker, but, unused to it, collapses with fatigue, while one other worker has a fatal accident on the site. He befriends Atong, a colleague, who warns him that living in the Big City without money can be a real challenge. Julio stays in the cheaper Chinatown, and always passes by the corner of Ongpin and Misericordia streets, where he spots a peculiar building. He has visions of Ligaya, and tells his story to his friend. He thinks he finds her when he sees a woman crossing the streets, but that’s not her, it’s a certain Mrs Cruz. He goes to the building he spotted, and asks about Ligaya. An old man answers in a negative and aggressive way. Julio leaves the building, but observes it later, in case Ligaya goes out…
Things turn out to be bad for Julio, who has no money. He eventually ends up in a gay brothel, where male prostitutes try to convert him… To make it worse, he learns that his friend Atong has been arrested for a mere squabble, and has died in jail.
In one of his searches for his beloved girl, Julio gets robbed of most of his belongings, including his treasured diary. He loses hope to find Ligaya. However, he finally reunites with her, and they spend the night together. She tells him she has been tricked by the treacherous Mrs Cruz, who is recruiting for a ring of prostitution managed by Ah Tek, a corrupt Chinese businessman. They agree to leave Manila together and go back to the province, but Ligaya has to go back to the house one last time. Julio says he will wait for her three hours at the Arranque Market, but she never comes back. Later, his new friend Pol tells him that Ligaya has actually been strangled and thrown out of a staircase by the Chinese boss. They both visit the funeral parlour where Ligaya’s wake is being held. A few days later, Julio and Pol view the funeral from afar. Julio spots Mrs Cruz, and a Chinese man, whom he suspects to be the evil Ah Tek. At night, Julio goes back to Misericordia, and, filled with anger, stabs Ah Tek. The mob surrounds him, and the last shot of the film shows his face terrified with fear and anger…
Manila in the Claws of Light (or Neon) is the film that really asserted Lino Brocka’s importance as a new director, after the success of You Were Judged and Found Wanting.
This compelling melodrama, written by Doy del Mundo, after Edgardo M. Reyes’s book, and put to life by Mike de Leon who stumbled upon the script by Del Mundo, shows the fate and destiny of a youth caught into the urban spiderweb, and who has eventually to resort to violence, when nothing else is possible, as his love is dead. It is the 12th film by Lino Brocka, who made 65 altogether… The film, which was critically acclaimed, and a modest public success, received many awards at the prestigious FAMAS awards in 1976: Best film, best director, best screenplay, best cinematography, best actor, best supporting actor. It is one of the very few Filipino films that have been listed in the “World’s top 100 best films” regularly.
Max Tessier