By the Streets of Ongpin and Misericordia
Lino Brocka directed a 1975 film entitled Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag which progressed and followed a straightforward storyline making it easy for the audience to grasp the story itself. Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag is about a poor fisherman in Marinduque named Julio Madiaga (played by Bembol Roco), on the hunt for his missing lover, Ligaya Paraiso (played by Hilda Koronel) in the streets of Manila, as she was given false promises and believed to be exploited as a sex worker there. He was robbed, not long after arriving, of the little cash that he had at the time which forced him to work in a construction site to afford his day-to-day necessities in life but suffers the poor working conditions he has, making just a two-and-a-half pesos a day instead of the actual salary of four pesos. Faced with no luck, Julio Madiaga finds himself working as a prostitute on the underground gay scene of Manila, soon after. And from then on, the film carries a very simple plot. To a viewer, this may seem too simple but when one tries to look at it in a different manner, the film’s substance is oozing with greatness and suggests otherwise.
The same way films are mostly set in the capital, Manila in Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag is more than just a setting. One thing to take note is the number of scenes where the streets of Chinatown are greatly seen in the film. It is known to be the place where migrants were placed during the Spanish colonization and after so, settled and housed many Chinese businesses but deep in the film, we will be able to point out that it is also a site for prostitution. The idea of consumerism was brought about by the foreign businesses settling in the Philippines. Labor and consumerism were at its peak in the ’70s. Many people were enticed to go to Manila and were blinded by its urbanization at the time. Going to Manila somewhat resonates with the American Dream. The same force drives them to leave everything behind and work away from their families because it is believed that that way, they can work better jobs and hence, earn more to eventually be able to provide for the people they left at home.
In reference to the high poverty rate at that time, “ang bagong lipunan” was the phrase mentioned over and over again and was promised by that time’s president, Ferdinand Marcos in his speech with Imelda Marcos. This phrase is something the Filipinos held on to which gave the people an enticing vision of the perfect Philippines but what many were not ready for is a leap to the unpredictable. Marcos had vowed to utilize his power to elevate the "least fortunate of the working individuals," yet the Filipino underclass just became more unfortunate and more unsettled during his reign. Starting right away projects leaning more towards constructing infrastructures resulting in a huge chunk of the country’s expenditures. Much of which amassed in billions of debt. The promise for a new and improved society birthed a bigger problem; the nation’s blindness to its really poor state. The Marcos regime prioritized beautifying the city without taking the more alarming problems concerning the economy of the Philippines. The reality of poverty in the Philippines was neglected. And this for me played a big role in Lino Brocka’s masterpiece Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag because he found a way to depict that time’s reality with firm conviction. As a matter of fact, he hired non-actors as extras and chose to shoot in a real slums area. This is what Lino Brocka chose to shine the light on; ang bagong lipunan. The promised new and improved society cannot ever sum up to the reality the nation faced, and are still facing up until now. Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag served as a true-to-life but in a schematic way told the story of Manila under Ferdinand Marcos’ regime and the monstrosity it had resulted to. The aforementioned issues in the society in the film are present in today’s time as well.
Lino Brocka embedded the political cataclysms of the Philippines especially ones concerning those in the lower part of the society. This was shown for a few frames and scenes in a literal sense. The totality of the Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag however, showed it in a figurative sense using the characters as symbols for a more not-in-your-face message. This served as an element of subjectivity for the one viewing it to try and depict the message of the film away from the context of just two ill-fated lovers in Manila.
With that being said, from the way I see it, the mass’ poverty causes exploitation in a way that they do it not because they want it but because that is the only way they can earn money right there and then which they need right away because they are poor. Given the fact that education plays a big role in landing a “moral” job which the unfortunate ones cannot afford. All things considered, the referential, explicit, implicit, and symptomatic meaning for me is the same – poverty causing exploitation.
The realism of Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag is phenomenal, that I can say because from then on, the same issues concerning society and politics are seen. On the other hand, Lino Brocka using a thematic approach to doing this film is notable. The way he presented moral dilemmas contributed to the level of a viewer’s enticement to drop everything and watch the whole film and finish it in one sitting. It actually created a dramatic tension for the reason that it provided crucial moments in which characters are bound to make choices that will either make or break them. The film’s form as a whole was a simple and coherent one but like what I have said, its simplicity was what benefitted the film itself because it is easy to understand. In this manner, making it easy for the audience to view it in a different lens, as well. In the first few scenes, the film created an idea that intrigued me as an audience. “Why is he staring at a window?” And this for me, is an indication that this film had a sense of complexity. It contained a lot of foreshadowing which created a riveting feeling for me, making me want to finish the film right away and understand why.
Watching Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag made me want to appreciate old films by renowned Filipino directors. I never expected to enjoy it, actually but I surely did. This made me realize the good films I missed years behind my birth, and it is a shame!