Seeking a better life, Oscar Ramirez and his family decide to move from the poverty stricken rice fields of the Northern Philippine mountain ranges, and journey towards the capital mega city of Metro Manila. Upon arrival in Manila, Oscar and his family fall foul to various city inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of their survival. Oscar manages to land a job as a driver for an armoured truck company and is befriended by Ong, his senior officer. Before long, it becomes apparent that Ong, has been planning the arrival of someone just like Oscar for sometime.

If you’re looking for an insight into how shitty life is then welcome to Metro Manila where one family move from a farming community to the big city in search of work. Forced into the slums this family discover that trust is not a commodity they can afford.

This couple with a baby and a small child find themselves thrown to the wolves as life bitch slaps them from one post to another. There’s no happiness here, it’s like real life, with one small victory comes a punch to the gut, with each smile comes a flurry of tears. It’s really quite harrowing how one man and his wife can go through so much in such a short time.

Metro Manila is an exercise in human perseverance and sacrifice. You may be brought to tears; you may be distressed by the many homeless kitties portrayed in the film and you may find yourself angry for the plight of the characters in this film but the cycle of violence affects everyone in Manila and much like Wolf Creek for many reasons makes Manila and movie destination you won’t want to visit.

From prostitution to murder, these two characters find themselves in an unwinnable game of chess, they’ve been placed on the board and they must play the moves they’ve been dealt. The performances from the two main characters in Metro Manila are intense, vulnerable, angry, well rounded, the emotional spectrum is here to be exploited and it is.

Awesome, gut wrenching and a must see film in 2014!