Manila in the Claws of Light 1975

In 1970, Julio Madiaga leaves his island of Marinduque and travels to Manila, drawn to a corner where Ongpin and Misericordia meet and looming over him is a peculiar building he can’t quite forget. To survive in the vast city, he takes a construction job and quickly befriends his coworker Atong, who has only recently started his own work in the same site. A veteran coworker warns that city life demands more than effort—it requires steady income to secure even modest comforts. As the days unfold, Julio begins to witness the stark, almost brutal, realities of urban life, and the pressure builds until a worker’s death happens almost by accident, underscoring the fragility of hope in a crowded metropolis.

One day, while Julio and Atong are out shopping for clothes, a woman dressed in black and sunglasses catches Julio’s eye. She evokes the memory of Mrs. Cruz, the person who brought his girlfriend Ligaya Paraiso to Manila for schooling. Julio squeezes into the crowd to approach her, but before words can be spoken, the woman utters a cry and vanishes into the bustle. He and Atong retreat, the moment leaving a lasting impression and hinting at a larger web of people who hold power over those who arrive seeking a better life. Across Manila, Julio encounters a range of figures—from callboys to the relatives of coworkers—while continuing to press forward in his search for Ligaya. He also reconnects with his old friend Pol, who had lent him support in the early days, a reminder of the human bonds that persist even amid the city’s forces that pull people apart.

The search finally leads Julio to Ligaya, who explains what has happened to her since leaving home. The revelation sets a new plan in motion: Julio and Ligaya intend to return to Marinduque with their four-month-old baby, a fragile beacon of hope amid the surrounding chaos. They agree to meet at Arranque Market, but Ligaya does not appear at the appointed time, leaving Julio waiting and increasingly unsettled.

Back at Pol’s home, a devastating truth emerges: Ligaya died that night. The bruising on her body suggests she was killed by Ah Tek, the man who rented her from Mrs. Cruz and kept her and their baby imprisoned. Enraged and driven by a mix of grief and vengeance, Julio stalks Ah Tek, whom he spots at Ligaya’s funeral. The confrontation culminates in a deadly act of revenge. After Julio kills Ah Tek, a mob closes in, trapping him as the crowd closes ranks around him. In the final moment, a heavenly silhouette of Ligaya appears, and the film fades to white, then a calm sky blue, leaving the fate of the two lovers and the city’s secrets suspended in memory.