Modern morality play casts Filipinos in Metro Manila

 When we last spoke with Jake Macapagal in 2012, he had just wrapped up shooting the Fil-British indie film Metro Manila which was then going into post-production abroad. Last Tuesday, we got a call from Jake who asked if we could join the first screening of the picture that had garnered the 2013 Sundance Audience Award. 

Like typical Filipino moviegoers, there was a lot of chatting prior to the screening, even during the showing of the trailers of films to come, but when Metro Manila started, and particularly when Jake as Oscar Ramirez and wife Althea Vega as Mai Ramirez started on their journey with two kids from Banaue to Metro Manila, the talking stopped. It was obvious the audience felt there was something great in the offing. Jake took the microphone and welcomed the audience, stating that he was dedicating this screening to his brother Bobbin.

None of us in the audience knew what to expect. Even the actors had little idea of how the final copy would come out after going through editing, scoring and post-production work in London. Briefly, it tells of a family whose earnings in the bucolic UNESCO Heritage Banaue Rice Terraces are no longer sufficient to support the family. They decide to try their luck in Metro Manila and are slowly swallowed up by hell in the big city. However, no one was prepared for the gripping domestic drama-turned-crime story where even the most moralistic could turn into killers.

The story behind Metro Manila began when Oscar-nominated British director-writer Sean Ellis chanced upon two armored truck guards in conflict, with the possibility of their shooting each other. That provided him with the milieu of danger that would confront the simple country dwellers.

When we first wrote of Metro Manila in 2012, the film had already been accepted in the World Cinema category at Sundance, competing with 11 others. The all-Filipino cast are Jake, Althea, John Arcilla, Miles Canapi, Ana Abad-Santos, Moises Magisa, JM Rodriguez and Erin Panlilio.

In a five-star review of the film, Jennifer Tate stated, “What is perhaps most striking about Metro Manila is Jake Macapagal’s outstanding performance. Playing the honorable and moralistic lead character of Oscar, Macapagal is incredibly likeable, endearing and convincing throughout, proving his undeniable talent of portraying a wide range of emotions with a unique flair and subtlety.”

After the show, Jake introduced us to his brother Bobbin, saying, “Like Oscar, my brother had to leave his home to try to provide a better future for his family. His story is common to that of our kababayan across the globe.” We questioned Bobbin, a seaman working for a cruise line, how life away from home and family has been. Without hesitation, he confessed that upon the end of his contract, he will not be renewing it.

But going back to Metro Manila, we wondered who to fault for the movie’s tragic ending. Jake answered, “We are all at fault for creating the conditions that led to the finale in Metro Manila. Oscar ended up in this situation because he was pushed into a desperate situation by poverty and corruption.”

 What surprises Jake the most is how both local and foreign audiences can identify with the struggles and sacrifices of Oscar for his family. He shared that a remake of the film, in another setting and language, has already been announced, which Jake feels could only do good for the original.

Jake leaves in September for a promotional trip which includes meetings with the press and the British BAFTA screening of Metro Manila. His life and schedules have changed dramatically from the occasional theater assignments and regular workshop sessions to train would-be actors in Manila.

We prodded Jake to share with us his ultimate dream and he confesseed, “to be recognized by audiences and my peers for the ability to portray emotionally gripping and convincing characters. It would be nice as well to win a couple to international awards along the way!”

We wish him a good season with Lady Luck, who so far has been with him all the way.

 Metro Manila is credited with Sean as director, Sean and Frank Flowers as screenwriters, original music by Robin Foster, cinematography by Sean, film editing by Richard Mettler and casting by Raymond Alzona. Producers are Mathilde Charpentier and Sean; executive producers are Sean, Enrique Gonzalez and Celine Lopez; associate producers are Jake, Missy Papageorge and Stefan Sonnenfeld.

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