A moving portrait of a woman by the prodigy of Filipino cinema
New 4K restoration
Insiang lives in a Manila slum with her mother, the tyrannical Tonya. She struggles body and soul to survive in this neighborhood where unemployment and alcoholism are an integral part of everyday life. One day, Tonya brings home her new lover, Dado, the neighborhood kingpin, old enough to be her son. The latter quickly falls under the spell of his new “daughter-in-law”…
Directed in 1976 by the gifted filmmaker Lino Brocka ( Manila , Les Insoumis ), Insiang was the first Filipino film to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival in 1978. A real dive into the underworld of Manila, this family melodrama is a formidable indictment against the disastrous situation of the Filipino slums and the social misery it engenders. The shooting, carried out in just eleven days, demonstrates this sense of urgency through its supercharged staging and its gallery of fiery characters, led by the flamboyant Hilda Koronel. Presented in its superb 4K restoration, Insiang is a work of rare power which participated in the consecration of its director Lino Brocka, and which will subsequently exert a notable influence on the new generation of Filipino filmmakers, led by the famous Brillante Mendoza. ( Kinatay ).
INSIANG
(1976 – Colors – 95 mins)
new 2K restoration
SUPPLEMENTS *
. INSIANG: LINO BROCKA BY PIERRE RISSIENT (7 mins)
Pierre Rissient talks about his discovery of Lino Brocka's cinema during a trip to the Philippines and talks about the presentation of the film at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in 1978.
. "SIGNED: LINO BROCKA" (1987 – Colors – 84 mn)
In this documentary produced and directed by Christian Blackwood, Lino Brocka talks about his life and his work. Starring Lorna Tolentino, Christopher de Leon, Dina Bonnevie, Jay Ilagan, Sharon Cuneta and Manfred Romero.
. TRAILER 2016
* in HD on the Blu-ray version
Released June 7, 2017
