2 min
Manila in the Claws of Light
马尼拉：在霓虹灯的魔爪下
1975
Lino Brocka
Philippines · Drama · 125 min
A young man leaves his fishing village for 1970s Manila to find the woman he loves, only to be swallowed by the city's neon and its brutal underbelly.
01Why this film today
As the Start of Winter approaches and the year's shortest days draw near, both films turn their lens on a single figure arriving in the metropolis — a young man in Manila, a farmer in Johannesburg — and show the city consuming them through different systems. Both were suppressed by the powers of their day and later restored, much like the turn of a season where light recedes and shadow lengthens.
02Film details
- Chinese title
- 马尼拉：在霓虹灯的魔爪下
- English title
- Manila in the Claws of Light
- Director
- Lino Brocka / 利诺·布罗卡
- Year
- 1975
- Country
- Philippines / 菲律宾
- Language
- Filipino
- Genre
- Drama / 剧情
- Runtime
- 125 min
03About the film
胡利欧告别滨海渔村，只身来到马尼拉的建筑工地谋生，一边攒钱一边打听青梅竹马丽嘉儿的下落。城市的灯火越亮，他离答案似乎越远；在他看不见的地方，另一种生活正将这座都市撑开。
04Why it is a classic
Widely regarded as one of the greatest Philippine films ever made. Restored in 4K in 2013 by the World Cinema Foundation and the Film Development Council of the Philippines, it appears in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and recurs across world-cinema best-film lists.
05What to notice
改编自 Edgardo M. Reyes 于 1967–1968 年连载、后出版的小说《Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag》（英文 In the Claws of Brightness），由 Clodualdo del Mundo Jr. 编剧。
布罗卡在马科斯独裁时期主动把影片写成对城市贫困的政治评论，并加入了原著所无的同性恋议题。
2013 年修复由 Cineteca di Bologna / L'Immagine Ritrovata 实验室完成，后进入戛纳电影节经典单元。
常被称为菲律宾影史最伟大的电影，也是菲律宾唯一入选《1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die》的影片。
06Before you watch
影片直视男妓与同志群体等边缘处境，部分段落粗粝写实；建议结合 1970 年代马科斯时期的社会背景观看，方能理解其锋芒所在。
07In one line
Widely regarded as one of the greatest Philippine films ever made — an urban allegory built of neon and poverty.
