Lino Brocka
About
Biography
Biography
The best known of all Filipino filmmakers, Lino Brocka has made some 50 movies in a career spanning 20 years. He has used his standing as a successful commercial director as a platform from which to make the more personal and political films which are closest to his heart. Brocka's career can be divided into three phases, with the director establishing a foothold in the industry 1970-72, struggling for independence 1974-76 and co-existing with the commercial system (1977 to the present).
Brocka started his creer as a script supervisor on Eddie Romero's Filipino/American co-productions. He made a successful directorial debut with "Wanted: Perfect Mother" (1970), based on a "komiks" novel (a popular story released in illustrated, serialized form). Brocka and his producers, Lea Productions, followed this up over the next two years with eight more adaptations of "komiks" material that Brocka attempted to translate into touching, if not meaningful, melodrama. Having established a reputation as a reliable commercial director, Brocka then decided he was through with Lea Productions. After a self-imposed "retreat" of almost two years, he returned to the industry in 1974 at the helm of his own production company, CineManila.
Brocka's status as an important Filipino director was secured with "Maynila, Sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag/Manila, in the Claws of Light" (1975). The film was made for Cinema Artists, a company set up by Mike de Leon, who would later be a leading filmmaker in his own right. Ostensibly the story of two lovers, Julio and Ligaya, "Maynila" is also a powerful critique of exploitation; although Julio experiences injustice while searching for Ligaya on the streets of Manila, he is only capable of perceiving it as a personal problem. His tragedy lies in his failure to realize that "his" problems are symptomatic of the social, political and economic ills of the country at large. Julio finally takes vengeance into his own hands, not realizing that collective action (suggested by a political street demonstration) is a more effective weapon in the struggle against exploitation.
Brocka was able to exercise considerable freedom in choosing material for his mid-70s films: "Tinimbang Ka ngunit Kulang/You Are Weighed in the Balance But Are Found Wanting"; "Tatlo, Dalawa, Isa/Three, Two, One" (both 1974), "Lunes, Martes, Miyerkules, Huwebes, Biyernes, Sabado, Linggo/Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday"; and "Insiang" (both 1976). "Insiang," a story of passion, vengeance and crime in the slums, introduced Brocka to an international audience at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival.
Brocka's relative independence from commercial constraints was short-lived. CineManila ended in financial disaster when its 1976 production, "Mortal" (directed by Brocka screenwriter Mario O'Hara), got embroiled in a court case and mortally wounded the company. The third phase of Brocka's career has been characterized by an uneasy co-existence with the commerical system. For every film he cherishes making, Brocka always admits with resignation that he has to make three to five highly commercial ones.
Several of Brocka's more ambitious features have revisited the theme of exploitation he explored so intensely in "Maynila." "Jaguar" (1980) deals with a worker's subservience to his boss; "Bona" (1981) documents the irrational and slavish submission of a fan to her idol; "Bayan Ko" (1984) dramatizes the exploitation of factory workers, as "Macho Dancer" (1988) does that of gay bar dancers. Like Julio in "Maynila," these characters attempt to confront their problems individually and they tend to resort to violence as the ultimate solution. Brocka, however, shows the futility of the individual acting alone: Julio in "Maynila" is lynched by a mob; Poldo in "Jaguar" is jailed; Bona, we presume, will be punished; Turing in "Bayan Ko" is shot to death; and while Pol, in "Macho Dancer," gets away with killing one police officer, another soon takes over the territory. Brocka has also shown the madness of violence in the hands of the military and vigilantes, as in "Ora Pro Nobis/Fight for Us/Les Insoumis" (1989). What he has not yet made clear is his position on revolutionary violence. The leftist movement and the National People's Army are only weakly alluded to in several of his films.
Brocka tapped foreign sources for production funds on "Bayan Ko" and "Fight for Us," and there is some hope that a stronger financial base and a wider international market might mean a new phase in his prolific career--ideally, one that is less bounded by the constraints of the commercial Filipino industry.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Life Events
1970
Feature directing debut, "Wanted: Perfect Mother"
1974
Helped found the socially conscious Cine-Manila Group
1974
Made landmark Filipino film "Tinimbang Ka, Ngunit Kuland"
1976
Gained international attention with "Insiang"
1986
On 39th Cannes Film Festival Jury
