Two Films By Lino Brocka (Manilla In The Claws Of Light And Insiang)

Two Filipino dramas directed by Lino Brocka. In 'Manila in the Claws of Light' (1975) young Júlio Madiaga (Bembol Roco) leaves his rural home and travels to the urban sprawl of Manila. He picks up a job as a construction worker, but is not accustomed to such hard labour and so he struggles at first.

Júlio begins to make friends and spend time in the markets. On one such outing, he meets someone who could point him in the direction of the woman Júlio loves, a girl named Ligaya Paraiso (Hilda Koronel) who also came to Manila in the hopes of a good education. But just as Júlio and Ligaya begin to reconnect, the criminal underbelly of the city makes itself known to them.

In 'Insiang' (1976) the titular character (Koronel) is a young woman living with her bitter mother Tonya (Mona Lisa) in a slum. Tonya's husband left her some time ago but his family remained with her, until now. Tonya casts them out to make way for her new boyfriend, a terrible bully named Dado (Ruel Vernal) who is far younger than her.

Insiang is forced to flee her home but finds no solace in her friend Bebot (Rez Cortez).