The entertainment-focused publication ranked one of Lino Brocka’s most influential films, Maynila, sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag, 93rd on its list of the best 100 movies of the 1970s
By Mel
Wang
August
22, 2025
Rolling
Stone Philippines
Since
2022, IndieWire has published an annual list ranking the best 100 movies of
each decade. This year, the publication has finally made its way to paying
homage to ‘70s cinema (https://www.indiewire.com/lists/best-70s-movies/the-sugarland-express-dir-steven-spielberg-1974/),
and one of Lino Brocka’s most influential films has made the cut.
“Born
from the chaos of the 1960s and screaming headlong into a future that still
seemed to be up for grabs,” wrote the IndieWire staff in their list’s
introduction, “the films of the ‘70s reflect a world that was trying to make
sense of its own potential.” The list presents itself as the combined insights
of IndieWire’s staff writers and contributors, avoiding any claims of being a
definitive ranking of the best of international ‘70s cinema.
Maynila,
sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag ranks 93rd on the list, with IndieWire’s Sam Bodrojan
praising the 1975 masterpiece for its ability to defy genres and capture the
urban decay of a Marcos-era Philippines. It is also the only Filipino film to
be included on the list. The film follows Julio (Bembol Roco), a young man
searching for his lost love Ligaya (Hilda Koronel) as he navigates the dark
underbelly of urban Manila.
“The
most striking aspect of the film is the infrastructure,” wrote Bodrojan. “The
dirt piles next to a construction site, the market stalls built from sheet
metal, the hand-painted menus at a restaurant. Brocka’s camera focuses so
intently on these spaces because he cares so passionately for the people whose
spirits threaten to be crushed by merely inhabiting them.”
Maynila,
sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag went on to win a total of nine accolades at the 1976
FAMAS Awards, including Best Picture and Best Picture. In 2013, the Society of
Filipino Film Reviewers named it the greatest Filipino film of all time, based
on a poll of critics, filmmakers, archivists, academics, and film workers.
The
film was later restored by a partnership with the Film Development Council of
the Philippines and the World Cinema Project, a restoration program led by
Martin Scorsese’s nonprofit, the Film Foundation. This restored version of the
film made its world premiere at the Classics section of the 2013 Cannes Film
Festival. A retrospective on Brocka’s films is currently running on the
Criterion Channel.
Link: https://rollingstonephilippines.com/culture/news-culture/maynila-sa-mga-kuko-ng-liwanag-indiewire/
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