Lino Brocka & Manila in the Claws of Light (1975)

Summary

Dear Movies, I Love You – Episode Summary

Podcast: Dear Movies, I Love You
Hosts: Millie De Chirico & Casey O'Brien
Episode: Lino Brocka & Manila in the Claws of Light (1975)
Date: September 16, 2025

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode is a heartfelt and unfiltered deep dive into Lino Brocka’s Manila in the Claws of Light (1975), often hailed as the greatest Filipino film ever made. Hosts Millie and Casey explore the film’s history, Brocka's cinematic style, and the personal resonance it has with Filipino identity, class struggle, and world cinema at large. They also touch on recent personal events and, as always, share listener film gripes/regrets and staff picks.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening and Personal Reflections

• Casey’s Authentic Sharing (02:06–09:41)
  • Casey delivers a heartfelt message about a traumatic school shooting at their alma mater, Annunciation School in Minneapolis, emphasizing the deep and lasting impacts of gun violence on communities. He offers personal context for why he needs to address it on the show:
    • "I can't emphasize enough how much a part of me that place is to this day… I just wanted to express that at the top of the show..." (07:50)
  • Ends with a call for support and donations for affected families and the school.

2. Relationship With Cinema

• Are you a “sight-unseen” fan? (12:09–14:03)

  • Millie and Casey discuss actors they'll watch in anything, citing Danny McBride and Keanu Reeves (especially John Wick). They reflect on generational shifts in star power.

• Millie’s Weightlifting Origin Story (16:11–18:05)

  • Millie explains her podcast-famous deadlift goal: to be able to lift the weight of actor James Caan in Misery. "I basically wanted to be Kathy Bates throwing James Caan around..." (17:16)

3. Recent Watches and the Power of Obsession in Film (18:20–25:18)

• Millie recaps her week steeped in gritty Filipino dramas: Brocka’s Insiang and Bona.
  • Bona: About a woman who becomes obsessed with a minor celebrity—ties into the theme of destructive obsession.
• Casey notes indie watches: Soderbergh's Presence (2024) and We're All Going to Die (2024), and cracks jokes about ghosts and farting alone.

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4. Manila in the Claws of Light: The Deep Dive

Why This Movie? (27:35–31:23)

• Millie chose this film due to its status in Filipino cinema and to connect with Casey’s Filipino family ties.
• Highlights the unfamiliarity most Western cinephiles have with Filipino cinema despite its "multiple golden ages."

Context, Filmmaking, and Restoration

• The producer/cinematographer, Mike De Leon, passed away just as the episode was recorded (31:23–32:58).
• Availability and recent restoration of Brocka and De Leon's works via boutique labels and Criterion’s World Cinema Foundation.

Plot Overview (32:58–35:02)

• Casey summarizes the "picaresque" plot: Julio comes to Manila seeking his girlfriend Legaia, facing exploitation, poverty, and systemic hardship at every turn.
  • Quote: "He does find community with all these struggling men... but will he ever find Legaia? Is she even alive?" (34:44)

Personal Connections & Impressions

• Millie shares travel memories in the Philippines, contrasting idyllic rural life with Manila’s urban poverty—echoes the film’s duality (36:09–42:29).
  • "When I watched Manila... it just feels so... that feels like how I experienced it." (42:15)
• Casey reflects on never having visited but feels connected through family.

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On Lino Brocka as a Director (42:30–49:43)

• Brocka’s life: grew up poor, was openly gay and Mormon, complicated ties to the Marcos regime, doing “one for me, one for them” with personal and commercial films.
• The Marcos dictatorship’s chilling effect on art and necessity for smuggling films out for international audiences.
• Brocka’s use of melodrama as subversive, political art—contrasting with derogatory Western perceptions of the genre.
• Book recommendation: Martial Law Melodrama by Jose B. Capino.

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Film Impressions: Bleak Beauty & Social Commentary (51:25–59:15)

• Casey: "I mean, it is bleak as hell... It is beautiful and really well… a great film."
• The strength of community among the oppressed; moving depictions of male friendship/groups.
• Homosocial (and briefly homosexual) elements: Julio’s foray into gay sex work is presented non-judgmentally, with humor and empathy (54:01–57:32).

Melodrama and Capitalism (59:33–68:54)

• Both hosts focus on capitalism’s destructive powers; Manila in the film becomes a symbol of how society chews up the poor.
  • Casey: "So much of this movie is about capitalism... you're always pushed... to a higher level..." (60:09)
• The ending: Tragic, cynical—“You’re not allowed to have a misjudgment when you are in this sort of horrible capitalist society.” (68:54)

Influence, Restoration, and Legacy (69:00–73:29)

• Sean Baker's comments: The ending resembles Taxi Driver's, possibly even influencing Scorsese.
• Scorsese and the World Cinema Foundation’s role in preserving and re-introducing Filipino classics to the world.

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5. Listener Gripes and Regrets (75:27–91:17)

Film Gripe: Breakfast Table Cliché (77:12–81:32)

• Listener Ronnie’s complaint: “Why do kids always run out on a full, five-course movie breakfast?”
• Millie: "I'm skipping school to eat this shit..." (79:56)
• Discussion of realism in onscreen eating habits.

Film Regret: Ti West’s X / Pearl / Maxine Trilogy (84:20–91:17)

• Listener Theresa found the trilogy "pretentious, slow, and predictable."
• Casey and Millie both liked Pearl best, riff on genre pastiche, and empower listeners to dislike hyped movies.
  • Casey: "Never like a movie because a bunch of other people like it." (89:30)

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6. Staff Picks / Employee Picks (93:09–97:38)

• Millie’s Pick: All That Heaven Allows (1955, dir. Douglas Sirk) — another gorgeous melodrama, less gritty than Manila...
  • "Maybe the movie character that all men should be based on..." (94:09)
• Casey’s Pick: Manila is Full of Men Named Boy (2018, dir. Andrew Stephen Lee), a short film set in Manila by a Filipino-American filmmaker available on Vimeo (96:09–97:38).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Brocka’s Personal Struggle:
  "You have this openly gay director in a very poor country run by dictators, who is just trying to make his art." (47:25 — Millie)
• On Sharing Pain and Art:
  "Thank you for letting me talk on that for a little bit... we’ve got a great show today." (09:36 — Casey, about opening up)
• Film Summary:
  "He does find community with all of these struggling men who are like so sweet..." (34:44 — Casey)
• On Watching Manila in the Claws of Light:
  “...I was just like, wow. It just feels so... that feels like how I experienced it in a weird way.” (42:15 — Millie)
• On Cinematic Melodrama:
  "You can use these tools that are seen as...campy or feminine... and make like, important statements." (49:42 — Millie)
• On the Spirit of Filipino Community:
  "We’re pretty nice and we’re really sweet...we’re family oriented and we like to laugh." (53:13 — Millie)
• On Capitalism in Brocka’s World (and Our Own):
  "Wow, capitalism is evil. I think there’s probably modern versions of that as we speak." (66:12 — Millie)
• Casey’s Staff Pick pitch:
  “Manila is Full of Men Named Boy ... It's beautifully shot. Shot in Manila. It's great. Check it out. 21 minutes.” (96:35)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Opening / Personal Story – School Shooting: 02:06–09:41
• Cinematic Relationships & Weightlifting Story: 12:09–18:05
• Film Diaries (Recent Watches, Lino Brocka Focus): 18:20–25:18
• Start of Manila in the Claws of Light Deep Dive: 27:35
• Lino Brocka’s Biography and Political Context: 42:30–49:43
• On Melodrama as Political Cinema: 48:54–51:22
• Personal, Cultural Resonance for Hosts: 53:13–62:49
• Discussion of Capitalism & Suffering: 65:40–68:54
• Taxi Driver Comparison, Restoration History: 69:00–73:29
• Listener Film Gripe & Grit (Breakfast & Ti West trilogy): 77:12–91:17
• Staff Picks / Melodrama Recommendations: 93:09–97:38

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Overall Tone and Takeaways

The conversation blends serious personal reflection, affectionate humor, sharp social commentary, warm cinephile enthusiasm, and a global perspective. Both hosts create a welcoming space for nostalgia, criticism, catharsis, and appreciation. Deeply intimate reflections—both personal and cultural—anchor their analysis of Lino Brocka’s cinema, ending the episode with actionable recommendations and encouragement to embrace world cinema beyond the Western canon.

Transcript

[Millie De Chirico]

This is exactly right.

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[Casey O'Brien]

Hi everybody, Kasey here. I'm going to start this episode a little differently today. Millie is also here. Don't be alarmed, but I'm going to start things off a little differently this week because we both try to be authentic people on this show and bring our real selves to this show. And something has happened in my life this week and to many people's lives this week that has really impacted me. Many of you know I'm from Minneapolis. I grew up here and I went to Annunciation School from kindergarten through eighth grade. And many of you heard that there was a school shooting there this week. We're recording on Friday the 29th and the school shooting happened on August 27th and Wednesday in the morning. And I'm very connected to Annunciation. I know a lot of people who were there during the shooting, and I know a lot of people whose kids were there during the shooting. And when we found out that it was happening, like I said, I knew a lot of people who worked there, and we didn't know who was alive. And we were texting, just trying to figure out if these people that we know and love are still with us. And Annunciation is a huge part of my life. Like I said, I went there from kindergarten through eighth grade. But I was also in their youth ministry program. Aym all through high school, I was an intern at the church. In college, I worked for the church in their youth ministry program. I had my wedding, my marriage blessed there. We didn't get married there, but we had our marriage blessed there by the priest. So to fulfill the sacrament of marriage there, my nephew was baptized there. I had my first communion there. All my brothers went there. My family has gone to that church for a long time. And this was a very devastating week for us and the entire community. I love Annunciation. It's a deep part of who I am. It's a very creative place. It's a very creative school. I learned all of my, like, passion and love for art there. You know, our creative art teacher, I went there during college after I finished one of my films. I wanted to show our art teacher my film. My grade school teacher, Ms. Strickland, who passed away this year, but she was a huge influence on me and that place. And it fostered a lot of artists to come out of there and the church. Like I said, I was a part of the youth group there. And we weren't, like, super religious people. I mean, we went to church there, but this was more of a community space. I would go there to watch Vikings games every Sunday in the youth ministry room because it was open to teens basically to go in and hang out. And so it was a safe place for us. And to see Annunciation on the national news and to see celebrities retweeting pictures of moms running towards the shooting on the news, it's really hard. It's really devastating. Feels like a total violation. And it feels so personal and intimate. And, you know, we were driving to the vigil the other night, and my mom was saying. She was like, I can't believe I turned on. When I turned on the news and I saw Annunciation on the screen, I thought, that's our home. That's our safe place. You know, it's just really devastating, and it's horrible for all these children that were injured by gun violence and the two babies that were killed there that day. And I know a lot of people were affected by this, but I was very deeply affected by this. I'm still very connected to the place there, and it's had a huge impact on me. And I just wanted to express that at the top of the show because I'm dealing with that in real time. And I'm excited to record this podcast with Millie, and this is a joy for me, but to bring my sort of authentic self to this place. I just want to discuss sort of what's happening in my life, and I'm not going to make some grandstanding political statement about this, but I don't understand why we can't fix the leading cause of death in children when the answer is very clear to take away guns. I don't understand why we can't do it. I don't think anyone should own a gun, let alone an assault rifle. And I don't have any delusions that this is going to change anything. I felt this way before. I feel it now, but it's just very close to me. And I just think to not bring it up would have been very painful for me and inauthentic and. Yeah, so I don't have much more to say about that, but there are a lot of GoFundMes for the children that were injured by gunfire, and a lot of those are getting filled. So I might. It might. By the time this podcast comes out, those might be kind of already filled up. But I'm going to post some places that you can donate to Annunciation School and Church if you'd like. It would mean a lot to me if you did. But, yeah, it's a very. I can't emphasize enough how much a part of me that place is to this day. I filmed a movie in February, and about a third of that movie is filmed in Annunciation School because I needed a school location and I know people that worked there. I knew they would let me film there for free because I'm like a part of that community, you know? So, Millie, I want to thank you for letting me talk about this a little bit at the top. I know this is tonally not how our show normally is, but it's important to me. And so thank you for letting me talk on that for a little bit. We've got a great show today, and we will be talking about Manilla in the Claws of Light and We've got a film grit and a film grape and I hope you're able to enjoy the rest of this show. Thank you for listening and we've got a great show for you guys. Thank you.

[Millie De Chirico]

Dear movies, I love you and I've got to know if you love me too. Yes or no?

[Casey O'Brien]

Check the box below.

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[Millie De Chirico]

Welcome everyone to another episode of Dear Movies. I love you. This is a podcast for those who are in a relationship with movies. And maybe sometimes it's one sided. Maybe it's that you have a favorite celebrity and you like to stare at their picture in a photo album and then you're like, what would it be like if I became their assistant.

[Casey O'Brien]

Are there any actors that you would go, like, just, like, go see a movie for? Like, you're like, oh, they're in it. I need to see that movie. Like, sight unseen, sort of.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Cause I feel like. I feel like my parents generation, they're like, oh, so and so's in it. I'm seeing it. I don't have the same relationship with actors. Does that make sense?

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah, I mean, I guess. I mean, there. I'm sure there are several. I mean, I think about, like, okay, I will watch any Danny McBride TV show.

[Casey O'Brien]

Sure.

[Millie De Chirico]

Like, it doesn't even matter. I was like, as long as he talks like a bratty, filthy Southern middle schooler, then I'm there for whatever iteration of that.

[Casey O'Brien]

But with him, though, there's sort of the understanding that he's, like, writing and direct. Like, he's a part of the creative process.

[Millie De Chirico]

Of course.

[Casey O'Brien]

You know what I mean? So, like, that gives it a little more oomph. But, like, I don't feel like if I'm like, oh, Tom Hanks is in this movie, even though I love Tom Hanks, I wouldn't be like, I gotta see that. Cause I'm like, well, let me. What is this movie?

[Millie De Chirico]

I mean, you know, Keanu Reeves is.

[Casey O'Brien]

Probably the only Keanu. That might be the answer. Keanu.

[Millie De Chirico]

I really love him.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie De Chirico]

And usually it feels like now if he is in a movie, it's within the John Wick property universe, and that's always a yes. So. By the way, my name is Millie De Chirico.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, mine is Casey o'. Brien.

[Millie De Chirico]

I will pose another question to you along those lines as we talk about Manila and the claws of light. But, yeah, this week is going to be kind of interesting because we're really kind of focusing in on this one film that is what many people say is the greatest Filipino movie of all time.

[Casey O'Brien]

That's what I was reading. They say it's the greatest Filipino movie of all time. That's quite high status.

[Millie De Chirico]

Well, and it's interesting because I would be willing to bet that most people who consider themselves movie lovers could not even fathom there being a greatest Filipino movie of all time. They were like, what? I didn't even realize they had movies. Do you know what I'm saying? That's how. Yeah, that's how sort of, I don't know, relatively unknown the Filipino film industry is. Which is, you know, like, it is what it is type of thing. But maybe we'll shed some light on it a little bit this week.

[Casey O'Brien]

Sure. I hope we do with your guidance.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. And then we have. We're gonna reach in the mailbag and read a couple of emails that we've been getting. We've been getting a lot of film gripes and film regrets.

[Casey O'Brien]

I love to see that. I feel like we are really establishing a community here of people who regret and gripe, and I love that.

[Millie De Chirico]

I did, too. I love the negativity of it all. We need more in this film world.

[Casey O'Brien]

Me too. We truly do.

[Millie De Chirico]

So what do you think about. I never do this, by the way. I think this might be the first time. Am I opening up the film dial?

[Casey O'Brien]

You're opening it. We need your strength.

[Millie De Chirico]

Okay.

[Casey O'Brien]

Millie, you lift more than I do, so you really should be opening it every time. I'm just carrying around a fat little baby. Maybe that that's where my strength comes from, but I'm not, you know, in the gym.

[Millie De Chirico]

Do you think we should, like, compare? Do you know what you deadlift?

[Casey O'Brien]

I have, Millie. I have no idea. I bet you lift more than I bet you can lift. I bet you can almost lift twice as much as I can.

[Millie De Chirico]

I will probably say you're correct on that. But I haven't actually been weightlifting lately. Yeah, I've been. Well, I kind of have taken a little break from it. Injuries and whatnot.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, no.

[Millie De Chirico]

But I bet even if it's been a while, I could still probably deadlift pretty well, because, as you know, the origin story for this whole deadlifting endeavor to begin with was started on my old podcast, Yes, I Saw what yout Did. And the whole reason why I even started weightlifting to begin with is because I wanted to be able to lift the weight of the actor James Caan, and it really was because of the film Misery.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, okay. This makes sense. Yeah. You want it?

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah, I basically want it to be Kathy Bates throwing James Caan around down the stairs. You know, throwing his ass around the house. That's what I was like. And I thought, wow, that's a fitness goal.

[Casey O'Brien]

Because that type of lifestyle wasn't available to you. And you wanted to make it available to you to be able to.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah, to throw men around.

[Casey O'Brien]

Throw men around.

[Millie De Chirico]

Grown men. Well. And I achieved that goal. I mean, and again, it was a rough estimate to how much he actually weighed when he was alive. But it was like you had to be close.

[Casey O'Brien]

I think you were within striking distance at least.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. Let's see. What was my pr? I got it right here. My. My pr Meaning my personal record. Is that what it means?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes.

[Millie De Chirico]

For the deadlift was 225.

[Casey O'Brien]

Whoa. Yeah, he. You definitely could. And even if it was more than that, you know, if adrenaline kicked in, I think you could definitely deadlift. James Caan. Well, okay, Millie, what have you watched this week?

[Millie De Chirico]

Well, I gotta tell you, it wasn't outside of the scope of this episode, unfortunately. So essentially, because we were doing this episode, I watched two films and they were both directed by the director of the film we're talking about this week, Lino Broca. I rewatched his film in Seong from 1976.

[Casey O'Brien]

Okay.

[Millie De Chirico]

We've done an episode of that on. I saw what you did. If you want to go back into the feed and listen to it, it's there for you. And then I watched Brand New Watch for me, I never, I had never seen this before because it was only made available recently because they did like a restoration and a Blu ray. But I watched Bona from 1980, which is another one of Lena Broca's films. I man, these shits hit hard for me.

[Casey O'Brien]

I mean, if they're anything like Manila in the Claws of Light, that's a, that's a tough week.

[Millie De Chirico]

You betcha. It was a lot.

[Casey O'Brien]

You betcha. Hey, that's my, that's language of my people.

[Millie De Chirico]

I know. That's why I said it. I, I. Yeah, it's been a rough, melodramatic, tumultuous, family drama type week. But I will say, I mean, inseong, you know my thoughts about that. You just go listen to the episode. But Bono, man, was really intense. And it was so intense that that was what I was teasing at the beginning of the episode about wanting to be in a relationship where you are obsessed with a celebrity and then want to become their assistant.

[Casey O'Brien]

I see. I didn't. Yeah, see, that went over my head.

[Millie De Chirico]

I know. I think it would have been impossible for you to clock, being that you probably hadn't seen Bona, but that's the movie. The movie essentially is essentially about a woman, a young woman, who basically is obsessed with this actor. And he's not even like a. He's like a bit day. He's like a bit player, like a day day guy. And she becomes so obsessed with him that she just starts, like following him around on set, you know, being his assistant. Then she, like moves in with him and is like bathing him and feeding him. And he is, of course, just like, whatever and brings women home and all this stuff. It is. And then of course, her family is like, what are you doing? You should be in school. Do not you Know, move in with this guy you're not married to, and then she has, like, a lot of drama with her dad. But it's. It is kind of insane.

[Casey O'Brien]

Whoa.

[Millie De Chirico]

But it's really. As we'll talk about shortly, it is kind of in line with all of the other, like, Leno Broca movies that I've seen in this way, but very intense and also just like. Like Manila and the Claws of Light is focusing, you know, on this kind of. I. You know, this sort of, like, ramshackle inner city life where it's basically. They focus in on this kind of ramshackle, really hardcore city life where people are living in slums and. And it's. It's kind of. I don't know. Like I said, it was a nice little week of movies focusing on Leno Broca, but also deeply depressing.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, deeply. Jesus. I don't know if I could. I don't. I mean, we'll get into it with Manila in the Claws of Light, but I don't know if I would rush to watch another movie of his immediately after that one. This is such an aside, but have you ever seen the German film der fan from 1982?

[Millie De Chirico]

Yes. Are you about to tell me that you watched it for your film diary?

[Casey O'Brien]

No, I didn't, but it just reminded me of what you were saying. And in that movie, I'm just going to give a big spoiler. In that movie, she's obsessed with a lead singer of a band. She follows him, they have a relationship, and then she kills and eats him. And it's very satisfying.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yes. I think maybe we should do. We should do like a little mini film festival one week of the podcast, where it's like obsessed fan movies or something.

[Casey O'Brien]

Obsessed fan movies. Yes. That's good. I think that's great. Okay. I actually didn't watch any movies this week, but I watched so many movies the week before, and I didn't bring up two. So I'm just gonna bring those up in this perfect little film diary here. I saw Steven Soderbergh's presence. Have you seen this?

[Millie De Chirico]

No. Is that the.

[Casey O'Brien]

It came out in 2024. It's a ghost movie, basically. The catch is the camera viewpoint is of a ghost, and it, like, is, like, floating through the house. It was pretty good. It did make me think, like, you know, he's spying on people and people don't know the ghost is there. It did make me think about farting alone. And if a ghost was in there hearing and smelling my farts, I don't know, that was what I was thinking about in that movie.

[Millie De Chirico]

That's a very attractive man in that movie.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, he's the son. Yeah, he's a hottie. I thought you were talking about Chris Sullivan who's in this. Oh yeah, Julia Fox is in it very briefly. It's good. I enjoy it. I mean, Steven Soderbergh, I love. It's a pretty light little horror ish movie. And then I watched a little indie called We're All Going to die from 2024. This is a post apocalyptic kind of like romantic comedy where in the future a giant alien spike appears. It's like a huge spike into the earth, like the size of, I don't know, it's like a mile wide. It's like this huge thing and it just keeps kind of moving around the earth randomly. And so people are like dying randomly all the time.

[Millie De Chirico]

There's a very attractive man in that movie too.

[Casey O'Brien]

There is another Asian fellow.

[Millie De Chirico]

He's Australian.

[Casey O'Brien]

It was good. It was. I think the script was lacking a little bit, but I thought it was a good concept and I always love low budget indie, sci fi, post apocalyptic movies. So yeah, I, I enjoyed it. So those are the two.

[Millie De Chirico]

Well, that's cool. Very good.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. Well, we have a lot to talk about with Manila and the Claws of Light, so why don't we just get right into it and close up the film diary.

[Millie De Chirico]

It's closed.

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[Casey O'Brien]

Millie, you suggested watching this movie.

[Millie De Chirico]

I did. It's not surprising if you know me.

[Casey O'Brien]

Why did you do that?

[Millie De Chirico]

Well, I think for a couple different reasons. Number one, you had mentioned recently that you have Filipinos in your life.

[Casey O'Brien]

I've got a few. I've got a wife and a daughter.

[Millie De Chirico]

Right. And you have a podcast, extended family.

[Casey O'Brien]

And I have a podcast. The most intimate relationships in my life, wife, daughter, podcast, co host, are all Filipino.

[Millie De Chirico]

That's right. And you know, I was like thinking about a movie like this recently because I don't know what it was that I was watching, but, you know, I was starting to think about, like, my favorite melodramas.

[Casey O'Brien]

Sure.

[Millie De Chirico]

And, you know, you hear about the kind of the baddies of melodrama, like the directors.

[Casey O'Brien]

Right, the baddies.

[Millie De Chirico]

The baddies. You know, people like Michael Curtiz and Douglas Sirk and, you know, Fassbender and Todd Haynes and, you know, sort of these, like, classic directors that are either doing like, classic melodrama from the, you know, 1940s and 1950s to kind of like little reworkings of melodrama, I would say, in the Fassbender, in Todd Haynes universe. And then I was like, oh, you know, who is actually one of my favorite directors of melodrama is Lino Broca, who is a Filipino filmmaker.

[Casey O'Brien]

Would you say he's the goat?

[Millie De Chirico]

I would say he's the goat, to be honest. And we'll get into that a little bit more because again, unbeknownst to I think a lot of people and even me, the whole world of Filipino cinema is really interesting because they have multiple golden ages is what they would call it. And then there's actually a Filipino new wave that's kind of happening right now, which is really interesting, too. But, you know, a lot of times when you Think about countries other than the west and maybe like Japan or something, or even like South Korea or like one of the, you know, these, you know, countries that you think about around the world that has these really robust film industries. You don't. You basically don't think about countries that are not in that view, having multiple iterations of, like, film ages. Right? You don't think, oh, what's a 1930s Filipino movie? Or, you know what I mean? Like, it just doesn't come to mind. But. So when I was doing research, both now, but also in the past, when I was doing in Seong and when I've just done film research as a film historian or whatever, you're like, oh, they've had movies in this country for over a hundred years, and as people who live in America, you don't have access to them for the most part. And why is the big question I always have. Why is it that I've only seen, like, a handful of Leno Broca movies, who's arguably the most famous director of Filipino cinema, and yet he made dozens and dozens of films? So it's just interesting to me because I just felt like this was like a week where we could talk a little bit about that. Just about, you know, like world cinema, but also world cinema that's not like, French or Italian or Australian or whatever.

[Casey O'Brien]

So, yeah, no, I think that's great. And the timing of this is sort of bizarre because the cinematographer and producer of this movie, who is also a famed Filipino filmmaker named Mike De Leon, he died yesterday.

[Millie De Chirico]

He died yesterday? Yes.

[Casey O'Brien]

And he's the cinematographer and producer of Manila and the Claws of Light.

[Millie De Chirico]

So, yeah, yeah, he died yesterday, which is actually pretty crazy that we're doing this episode today. And Mike De Leon did his own films, which I feel like now are being released in America on, like, kind of these boutique Blu Ray labels, like Canny Releasing. Canny Releasing is actually an interesting little boutique Blu Ray label. And it's K A N I, by the way, if you want to go to their social media to check them out. But I mean, they're releasing great Asian cinema, like stuff that's like contemporary, but also stuff from, like the 70s and 80s. And it's across the board. Hong Kong, Philippines, Japan. Like, that's. I think I logged that movie. My Heart is that eternal Rose. I don't know if I logged it on my letterboxd film diary, but they release that Blu Ray, so his movies are kind of getting out there too. But, yeah, he was the cinematographer for this film and was Kind of a really good filmmaker in his own right. Well, I was wondering, did you want to do a little synopsis of Manila in the Closet Light?

[Casey O'Brien]

I would love to. This movie felt like a novel to me. It felt like huge. And there's so much he goes on, so many trials and tribulations. It's kind of like a picaresque story. I believe I'm using that term correctly. But we're in Manila, Philippines. Julio, played by Rafael Rocco Jr. Has moved to the busy metropolis from his island home. He is searching for his lost girlfriend, legaia, played by Hilda Coronel, who was coerced to move to Manila from their kind of island village by this duplicitous and mysterious Mrs. Cruz. Julio and Legaia's family, they've lost all contact with her. They don't know where she is. And he doesn't really even know where to kind of start. He's just sort of following up the best leads he can. He thinks she's in this apartment building that he frequently goes back to, but he doesn't quite know if she's there, but he thinks she might be there. But while he's in Manila, life is so hard. It's really hard to find work. And the work he finds is very dangerous. He was working on a construction site and a guy was killed, and he's sleeping on floors. And his life is just really terrible and dangerous. I mean, he even is forced into sex work at one point in the film. But he does find community with all of these struggling men. And he finds many friends who are, like, so sweet and help him along the way. But will he ever find legaia? Is she even alive? And will he ever get out of Manila? Those are the questions we have leading into this conversation. There isn't as much of a strict plot. It is sort of like a series of challenges he faces through the. The movie.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. You're also kind of not sure of, like, where you're being dropped into kind of temporally. Right. Because.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, it seems to jump time as well. You're. And. And he's been there for a while, so you're, like, not sure. It's not like he just arrived in the city. He's been there for, like, a year, and that's when we're dropped in.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. And then there's all these flashback sequences to back in their village where they were together and. And then her kind of subsequent kidnapping. Really?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. And the village that they flashback to, it couldn't be more. I mean, it looks like heaven. It Looks like paradise in the flashbacks. And then you come to the present, and Manila is portrayed as so dirty and dangerous and scary, and just the life he has to lead is so horrible. I mean, it really is a bleak picture. He is painting of life in Manila.

[Millie De Chirico]

Have you ever been to the Philippines?

[Casey O'Brien]

I haven't. My wife has been a couple times. I think the most recent time she went was about 10 years ago, but her parents are from the Philippines, and, you know, her dad goes back pretty frequently, and she's got a lot of cousins there.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah, she and me both. Yeah, I have been. It was. It's actually like one of the most. It's probably the most memorable. One of the most memorable trips I've ever been on in my life, obviously.

[Casey O'Brien]

Sure.

[Millie De Chirico]

My mom's from Samar, which is in the province of Leyte, and it was crazy because the trip was grueling because basically, from Atlanta, we. At least we did this. I mean, Delta has a direct flight to Tokyo. So we flew Atlanta to Tokyo, had a little bit of a layover, then flew into Manila, which is the capital of the Philippines. And then we took a domestic Philippine Airlines flight from Manila to Kloban, which is the biggest city in the Leyte province, and then got into a fucking jeepney and drove, like, another hour to get to where my family is from.

[Casey O'Brien]

Can you explain what a jeepney is for people who don't know what that is?

[Millie De Chirico]

So a jeepney.

[Casey O'Brien]

I know what it is.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah, of course you do. A jeepney is kind of like a slightly smaller. I mean, I would say it's kind of almost. You know how there's, like, a small school bus for, like, churches and schools? And, I mean, it doesn't have to be a school bus, but it's like a tiny bus that seats, I don't know, maybe like, 20 people. Imagine that. A little bit smaller, maybe fitting, like, 10 people. And then it's kind of open air, and there's not really, like, seat seats. It's kind of just like bench seats that everybody kind of squeezes onto. And I guess you can hang off the back if you want to, and maybe even on the top if you wanted to get a little crazy. But essentially, the jeepney drivers own the. The actual jeepney, and then they kind of decorate it to their own family brand or their own vibe or whatever. So they tend to be these, like, kind of. You know, they have a lot of personality. There's always, like, paintings and drawings and, you know, the Virgin Mary and. And everything. And so, yeah, my. One of my cousins is a jeepney driver. So he picked us up from the Tacloban airport, which, by the way, did not have it. It did have at the time. And this was post 9 11, mind you. They had X ray machines and metal detectors, but they were broken. So we just walked around all of it. And that was the airport that we flew in and out of. But yeah, I had to get into a jeepney and drive like an hour into the woods, essentially the jungle, to get to where my mom is from. She's like a. From a very rural part of town. It's like Western Samar, basically. And so when I was watching Manila and the Claws of Light and when I was watching what you just spoke of, sort of the like, flashback sequences of like, him being with La Gaia in their, like, peaceful country province, paradise, and then it's like matched up with like the grittiness and the poverty of Manila. I experienced that. I felt like I experienced those two feelings because where my mom is from is the country and it's beautiful. And we stayed on the beach and it was just like heaven. Like, it was literal heaven. Like, the water was beautiful. There were all these like, rocks and just like little boats floating by. And my aunts were like. Or my aatis were my aunties. My aunties, my titas and my aunties were washing our clothes in the water with, like, rocks. And I mean, it was just like, so paradise, so beautiful. And then it was like we spent the last half of the trip in Manila. And that was pretty much as you see it. And that, I think, is maybe one of the biggest things that I feel like I noticed about having gone to the Philippines and seeing these movies, like these Leno Broker movies, but especially Manila and the Claws of Light, these movies that are being made in the 70s and 80s, gotta say, it doesn't look much different.

[Casey O'Brien]

It's so interesting because when the movie started, it starts in black and white. And I was like, oh, this is a period film. Because there's like horse and buggies going through Manila and stuff. And then it comes goes to color and I realized, oh, wait, no, this isn't a period piece. They just have horse and buggies going through, like, very urban areas in Manila.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

And I don't know if it's like that still to this day, but in the movie in the 70s, it was so.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah, I mean, there's like jeepneys and rickshaw drivers and like, you know, animals. Like, there's animals like everywhere that I think is. I mean, if you go to Certain parts of Manila, like, if you go to Makati, by the way, it just is kind of like the fancy. It's like where all the malls are, and it's fancy. It's up there with like a, you know, a major city in America even. But, like a lot of the outskirts, and especially out in the provinces where we were, it's very much still like this. Like, it's not modernized in this way that you would imagine, like a city to be modernized just in your Western brain. Do you know what I'm saying?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Millie De Chirico]

So, I don't know. It just felt. I mean, that's the thing about it. When I watched Mill in the Closet Light again, where I was just like, wow. It just feels so. That feels like how I experienced it in a weird way. It just makes it kind of feel more connective for me.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, totally.

[Millie De Chirico]

I like to talk a little bit about the director Leno Broca, because I think he's such a fascinating dude. Please. He passed away in the 90s. He actually got into a car accident. And he was only in his 50s, I think, when he died. He was 52. But he's a very interesting director, not just in the scope of Filipino cinema, but, like, also just generally, like, he was a gay man, and he grew up really poor and then had the opportunity to basically go into the city and go to, like, a proper college. Right. Which was, like, kind of rare for a lot of people and still is, I think, in the Philippines. So he learned filmmaking and, you know, the craft of storytelling and stuff like that and was starting to make movies. What's interesting about him, though, is that he was Mormon and was essentially a gay man in the Mormon faith and was doing missionary work and things.

[Casey O'Brien]

Is there a large contingent of Mormon people in the Philippines? Because from my understanding is that the Philippines are very Catholic.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah, it's Catholic. And I think the South Philippines is more Muslim.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes.

[Millie De Chirico]

I actually don't know. I mean, he converted, so Fascinating. Yeah. I think at one point he was questioning his sexuality via his religion. Right. Kind of being like, why was I made this way? And he was open. I mean, he was not closeted. So it was like, maybe the conversion was a way for him to kind of, I don't know, pick apart his whole life, I suppose. But he did come back to Manila and start making movies. And, you know, he was the kind of director who was doing the thing that someone like Steven Soderbergh, for example, does, which is that he was doing commercial things. Like, he was making, like, Bigger movies and doing commercial work. But he was. Then he was, like, making smaller projects or more personal projects at the same time.

[Casey O'Brien]

Kind of the one for you, one for me type of thing.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yes, exactly. So, you know, making a bunch of money on something commercial and then going back and making his own stuff. Right. But what I think was the most influential thing to his filmmaking career was the Marcos family and the Marcos regime in the Philippines, which, you know, I don't know if you know a ton about that era. Most people probably don't, unless you grew up in the 80s. I mean, I remember Marcos because I was a child in the 80s, and my parents referenced it a ton. And there was all, you know, if you grew up in the 80s, you'll always remember the whole Imelda Marcos having a lot of shoes thing. That was, like, her thing. Do you remember that?

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, yeah.

[Millie De Chirico]

Oh, yeah, yeah. But the Marcos family were basically this family of dictators that took over the Philippines for many, many years in the 70s and 80s. And there's this really great documentary that was made in 2019 by Lauren Greenfield called the Kingmaker. It was basically all about Imelda Marcos. And essentially, I mean, I don't think I'm the first person to make this connection, but it is giving the Trump family in a way that you won't believe, I'm sure.

[Casey O'Brien]

I mean. Yes.

[Millie De Chirico]

You know what I mean? But the whole thing about both Leno, Broca and most artists in the Philippines during the Marcos regime is that, I mean, they were taking over everything. They took over the film industry. They were basically, like, you know, hiring people to be in these committees that were inspecting all the films, and they were, you know, destroying movies that weren't, you know, up to their standards.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. You know, and the current president of the Philippines is a member of the Marcos family.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yes. But the thing about Lina Broca was initially, when he was starting to make movies, he was actually friends with Aimee Marcos, who was the daughter of Ferdinand and Imelda. Right. And so it was weird because Aimee actually helped with Insiang, like, when he made that movie. I think she, like, produced it or, like, at least got it to be screened in the Philippines. But it would be. It's crazy because there were. There was that at the same time, later, many years later, he was actually having to smuggle films out of the Philippines in order for them to show at, like, the Cannes Film Festival because the restrictions against exporting Filipino movies that, again, were not up to this, like, code that they had established was really hard. So he Kind of weirdly had a tie to the family, but then eventually went against them and actually was really big politically and was very anti authoritarian at one point to try to kind of remove their influence from the country, which basically they had a chokehold on the Philippines for many, many years. I mean, they assassinated somebody who was trying to go against Ferdinand at one point. But, you know, I think that that is interesting conditions for filmmakers to be working in, no matter what country you're in. Right. And so you have this openly gay director in a very poor country run by dictators, who is just trying to make his art. Right. And so what I think is interesting about the melodrama component is it's like that was the kind of paintbrush that he was using, I think, for his films, which many people think that melodrama is lame. Right. If you think about, like, melodrama's had such a bad rap over the years because they're seen as like chicks pics.

[Casey O'Brien]

Or, you know, it's like women's film, women's pictures kind of. It's like it's denigrated because it's just for women. It's not. It's not good, you know, and they're.

[Millie De Chirico]

Seen as being very campy or being very gay, which of course makes them stupid. And, you know, according to like, snobby cinephiles, that melodrama is for the women and for the gays and it's not serious or doesn't have any serious implications or serious messaging. Right. But I think we know now that sometimes people do take these genres and can make really interesting politically focused art, even in the scope of a melodrama. Does that make sense?

[Casey O'Brien]

Absolutely.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. I mean, you think about a movie like Rainier Werner Fassbender's Ollie Fear Eats the soul from 1974, I believe. But that is a. You know, what would be probably considered a melodrama. I mean, it is considered a melodrama.

[Casey O'Brien]

Absolutely. Yeah.

[Millie De Chirico]

But has all these messages about racism and ageism and misogyny and this kind of stuff. So, yeah, I feel like you can use these tools that are seen as, you know, whatever, like campy or feminine or, you know, maybe they're just like derided as not as serious as actual cinema or something like that and make like, important statements. I mean, that's what John Waters has been doing his whole career. So. But I will say, if you want to read more about this and specifically Lino Broca, the director, there's this book I'm showing you and you can't even see it, guys. But it's called Martial Law.

[Casey O'Brien]

It's a beautiful book. It's a beautiful looking book.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah, but it's called Martial Law Melodrama and it's by a film writer and a film historian. His name is Jose B. Capino and he's a really good scholar of Leno Barocca's movies. But he talks about that he's basically like Leno Broca making melodramas in the martial law era of the Philippines. Being in. And because of that being political and these movies have political implications. And I would say Manila and the Claws of Light definitely does, don't you think?

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

[Millie De Chirico]

So what were you thinking when you watched it? This is a first time watch for you.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes, absolutely. I mean, it is bleak as hell.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yes. Sorry about that.

[Casey O'Brien]

Really, it really is. I mean, it's. It is beautiful and really. Well, it's a. It's a great film. I mean, but it is bleak. And I think the thing that I walked away from, I won't maybe not. I won't spoil the ending, maybe, but it's a dark ending and it leaves you feeling a little bit hopeless. But I think the thing I think about with this movie and that really touched me was the friends he made along the way. I mean, the male friendship in this movie is so touching. They help each other out and give each other money when they have none and they share food. They really help each other. And it just seems like it comes from such a pure, beautiful place of companionship and camaraderie and that. I loved that in this movie. It was very touching.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. And I know you haven't seen Bona, but there is, there are shades of that in that film too, where the community that surrounds this person who is at a very low point or is disaffected or is like facing extreme, particularly extreme economic challenges, becomes like helped or propped up by the people around them, like their friends, the people in the neighborhoods. And I don't want to say that that's a Filipino quality, but it's. I feel like it is.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie De Chirico]

You know, Absolutely. I mean, I'm just not to give props to my own people, but we're pretty nice and we're really sweet. A lot of us are in the medical fields helping people as nurses and whatnot.

[Casey O'Brien]

Absolutely.

[Millie De Chirico]

And we're family oriented and we like to laugh. So we are breaking off a bit of our rice and our fish stew for you if you're hungry.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes.

[Millie De Chirico]

We'll get you a couple of packs of Cigarettes and a couple of bottles if you need it.

[Casey O'Brien]

You know, you lend them a shirt.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

When they need to look good.

[Millie De Chirico]

Wear my shirt to the gay brothel.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes.

[Millie De Chirico]

You want to talk about that sequence, by the way? Because.

[Casey O'Brien]

Well, that. I mean, the depths to which this character has to go to survive, you know, he's not. I didn't get any implication that he had any queer tendencies whatsoever.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

But he saw a friend of his was making pretty good money doing sex work, and so he does it. And you can tell it's so unnatural and awful for him, but he does it to survive, to get money, to find his girlfriend. And his friend takes him to a brothel where it's just all these fabulous men working there. And they. I mean, they seemed to be pretty happy because they were making good money. But it's an uncomfortable scene because Julio is so clearly like, I hate this and I don't want to do this.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. It's such a fascinating sequence because it really is, like, a part. Well, first of all, you know, to see even gay men interacting with each other in American film of the 70s was kind of rare, let alone.

[Casey O'Brien]

I was surprised and impressed by that inclusion in the film.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah, it felt very inherent to the storyline. And it's like, basically the vibe is his friend brings him up to this building and there's, like, a bunch of, you know, Filipino gay men who are kind of congregating, and they seem to all be friends. They kind of know each other.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie De Chirico]

It's almost kind of like a club. But then, like, you know, obviously customers who are friends with them kind of come in and pick out the boy that they want or whatever for the night. And then they go back into one of the rooms. And this part was hilarious to me because it was just so absurd. But, like, one of the guys that comes in, has him. Has himself a small dog.

[Casey O'Brien]

And we love this little Pekingese. We were. I. I loved this. This little dog and he. And they're engaging in sexual activity on the bed. And this little dog is, like, right next to their heads. And the guys, he, like, refuses to put the dog on the floor or too them because it's just kind of always interfering with what they're doing. Loved that little.

[Millie De Chirico]

It was his little baby. And he was just very much, like, scolding his baby while he was with his.

[Casey O'Brien]

Julio.

[Millie De Chirico]

Julio for the night. And it was so. I mean, to me, it was kind of cracking me up. But there was.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, the.

[Millie De Chirico]

There was abject terror in the eyes of Julio.

[Casey O'Brien]

But I think that that Was interesting, too, because the sex work was not presented as particularly frightening. It was like, it was very clear he could. He had control of the situation. He could only go. He would only go as far as he was comfortable. And even with this client, the client was like, if you want to make more money, you have to do more stuff. But he wasn't forced into doing it. You know, Like, I think he says, like, learn some tricks. So it was presented in a way in the film as that part actually wasn't scary. I mean, it was more that he was just like, I'm not gay and I'm not comfortable engaging in this type of work, but I'm willing to do it.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. I think there's the added layer of this. And basically this entire film, when you want to get down to brass tacks, is that the actor who plays Julio is Rafael Rocco Jr. Who actually goes, I looked it up and he is still alive. He has no hair at all.

[Casey O'Brien]

Well, it was funny reading about him because he's, like, such a cutie in this movie. And then. But if you read about him, it's like, very shortly after this movie, it's, like, known for his cue, bald head, and he became more of a villain actor because he was, like, bald. But I'm like, that's so funny, because he's just, like, the most sensitive. I mean, he looks like he should be the lead singer of an indie band.

[Millie De Chirico]

Oh, my God. I couldn't get over it. I was like, yeah, now he looks like Yul Brenner. But, like, in this movie, he has the sweetest face with the, like, really does the most perfectly, like, pouty little lips. And you just want to hold him in your arms. And I'm just like, this poor guy cannot catch a fucking break. Like, I'm like, oh, my.

[Casey O'Brien]

I mean, things go so badly in this movie that you're like. It's. We're almost veering into the comical.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Like, there is a part where he's going to go give money to the sister of a friend who got killed, and she lives in the slums. And then we'd been to this place many times, and they go to give her money, and it's an ash pit and everything is burned down. I was just like, these people in this film, it's, like, insane how bad their luck is.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yes. And I think that's the melodrama part, is the idea that it's so bad that it's almost comical. Right?

[Casey O'Brien]

Because you're just like, it's close to veering because it's like, oh, they cannot catch a fucking break the entire movie.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. And I think that, like, it just is so compounded by just his sweet little face and you're just like, no, please. And legaia, who. Hilda Coronel plays legaia, who is his girlfriend, she's also just so beautiful and, like, innocent. And it's that whole feeling of. You really get the sense of, like, these people who were living in their little hometown should have stayed there. They should have stayed there and, like, stayed beautiful by the ocean and the sunset forever. Right.

[Casey O'Brien]

Well, so much of this movie is about capitalism. And I think part of the horror of capitalism is you're kind of always pushed that, oh, there's always a higher level you need to go to. Oh, there's always a better place you can go to. Oh, you can always be making more money somewhere. And she leaves this, like, paradise island because, oh, you can make more money in Manila.

[Millie De Chirico]

You can go to school. We'll take you to school if you work, you know, for us. And you know, of course it's all a lie because basically she ends up, you know, being human trafficked by this.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, she's sex trafficked.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. By this ahti, this evil ahti that she trusts and her family trusts. But, yeah, that is. I think the message of a lot of Lena Barocca's films is the idea that poor people are always going to be destroyed by capitalism because they are the desperate and the hungry and they need it like they need money to survive. And his characters seem to always be, you know, maybe not motivated, but they're drawn into or seduced by capitalism, essentially. And it always has terrible results, unfortunately. But. But honestly. Yeah, I mean, I hate to make you watch such a bleak film, but it was.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, no, I was. It was a joy. And Trisha watched it too, and I think she was very affected because her parents are from Manila.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

And it was. It's a very moving film. It was definitely worth watching.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah, I get so. I mean, I think part of maybe why I love Lino Broca so much is because the movies that I've seen of his that I take, they're taking place in these times. Like, you know, the. The majority of the films that I've seen of his are from the 70s and early 80s. Right. And this is like peak. My mom, because I was born in 79. Right. And they. I think, because my mom and dad, I think they got married in 72 in the Philippines, lived there for a while, and then they moved to America, which is when they had me in San Diego. Like my dad was in the military obviously, if you couldn't tell, that's why I'm half white and half Filipino. Right.

[Casey O'Brien]

Much like my daughter Patience.

[Millie De Chirico]

Well, if you were in the military, that, that would make complete sense. I think you're an aberration in that way. But. But there's a joke by the way, that a lot of like half Asian kids are the product of military marriages. Yeah, but. And not just Filipino, but like Korean and Japanese. So anyway. And others. But yeah, my. So what I see like Legaia or when I saw Bona in Bona or like any of the women, like, like this is like my mom, my mom was this age and in, in this like if you look at old pictures of her, it looks like they're. She's in a Leno Barocca movie. Like the clothes, the backgrounds, everything. I get so affected by watching his films because it's feels like here's my mom and her sisters walking around Manila like, you know, hanging out and here are the guys, my uncles. Here's like, you know, people in their orbit. So I don't know, it just visually really connects with me. I don't know if Trisha felt that, but that's certainly like it was my.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, I think there was certainly. I don't want to speak too much for her, but I, I think there was definitely some of that going on. You know, and she's, you know, you and her are American born Filipinos and there is sort of, you know, a desire to connect to her heritage. And so just seeing that I think was affecting.

[Millie De Chirico]

Let me ask you this.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes.

[Millie De Chirico]

There's this whole section of the film where he is working on the construction site.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes.

[Millie De Chirico]

Which is shockingly not up to snuff from a worker's perspective. Right. It was pretty sold.

[Casey O'Brien]

Trisha, while we were watching it, I wouldn't step foot in that building that they're building.

[Millie De Chirico]

There are no hard hats, people are working in slacks. So there's like this whole sequence where basically the other construction workers are telling Julio, like here's the vibe, okay. You are going to get paid nothing. And then sometimes when you come to get your nothing paycheck, they are going to tell you that they don't have any money to pay you. But then you're going to have to borrow money from them at a price with like, you know, a little bit of, I guess some loan tax taken out by them. And yet you. It's your wages, it's money you earned that you are now borrowing at a fee from your employer. How quickly would you quit that job? Like, I'm. I'm just asking.

[Casey O'Brien]

That's the thing. Yeah. They called it a Taiwan. They were like, it's a Taiwan. It's like, oh, we have no money, but you can borrow money from the company to get your money now. But it'll be, you know, we take a cut of that, I guess. Could you be like, I'll wait till you get the money? I don't think they. That you could do that with the. The company. It seems like that's not actually.

[Millie De Chirico]

You're not just gonna wait for it to accrue and then divest your funds. You're just gonna be like, I mean, you do need to eat.

[Casey O'Brien]

You need to eat. I. But the thing is, it's like, what other job would he have? You know? That's the thing. There's no other.

[Millie De Chirico]

I just was like, I cannot believe how shitty capital. He just was like, the whole reiteration of, wow, capitalism is evil. I think there's probably modern versions of that as we speak. Am I right about that?

[Casey O'Brien]

I'm sure there is. I mean, it seems so that's the thing. It's like these men in this movie have no power in this society whatsoever, and they just have to eat shit and just take it because it's like, all. And say, like, thank you for giving me shit to eat. And it's just so depressing. And I think I am gonna spoil this movie, I guess.

[Millie De Chirico]

Do it.

[Casey O'Brien]

So I think that's sort of what makes the end interesting, because, you know, in movies like this, it's very easy to be like, oh, I would have done this. Or he had this other option to do, you know, to survive. But in this movie, I feel like he literally tries everything. He even tries sex work to survive. You know, he does it all. And I'm not saying sex work isn't legitimate work. He did not want to do that type of work. He tried every possible avenue. And he gets to a place at the end where he finds. What's her name? Legaia. He finds her. They come up with a plan. She has been basically kidnapped by this guy, and she has a son with this guy. And they come up with a plan, and you think he's going to succeed, but then he kind of makes. I feel like he makes one mistake. He, like, doesn't help her escape. He's like, I'll meet you somewhere. And she ends up getting killed by her husband. And I think it's Just interesting because it's like, even if you try to do everything in this society, in this film, it's like if you try to do everything, everything possible to get to like, to have a good life. He worked every horrible job he could. He gets to a place where he can get his girlfriend back, and yet he kind of makes one tiny misjudgment and it all falls to shit.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

There's just the. The. The margins for error are. Are razor thin.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

And I don't know, it made it. Made it more affecting because like at the end, Trisha and I were both like, why didn't he like go in and to the house and just pull her out? You know? But he didn't and she died, you know, I don't know. It made it more affecting, that like, little misjudgment.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

You know, you're not allowed to have a misjudgment when you are in this sort of horrible capitalist society.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. Well, you know what's interesting about the ending too. Now that you've spoiled it, we're gonna go for broke. I suppose so. The director, Sean Baker, whom everyone probably knows by this point, he made a little movie called. And made many other great films. Sean Baker has always been a champion of Asian films, by the way. I have to shout him out. He. I follow him on Instagram and he was the one.

[Casey O'Brien]

He's a good letterbox follow too.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah, he's really good. He was the one that even told me about. Not me. But, you know, he's the. Actually may back up.

[Casey O'Brien]

In an intimate conversation you had with him, he revealed to you this information.

[Millie De Chirico]

No, I was gonna say he posted about Bona when he was at Cannes in 2024. Because basically he was like, oh, that's this brand new restoration and. And I'm seeing it for the first time and I'm so excited. But he's always had pushed canny releasing. Cause he's a big physical media guy. But he was the one that even told me about Bono to begin with. But I know he's a fan of both Mike De Leon and Leno Barocca. But he said something, I think in his letterboxd review of Manila and the Claws of Light, where he was like, did you feel that the ending was sort of similar to Taxi Driver?

[Casey O'Brien]

I read the same thing.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. And I just was, wow, that's interesting because they were released in the same year, I think. Right. 76 or maybe.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie De Chirico]

Manila. Manila. And the Claws of light was probably 75 maybe. But that taxi driver was 76, but he was, like, wondering if maybe the ending of Taxi Driver was influenced by Manila and the Claws of Light. But then.

[Casey O'Brien]

But that's.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yes, go ahead, go ahead.

[Casey O'Brien]

No, I was just going to say. But that's interesting because. But Travis Bickle does what I'm saying our main guy and Julio should have done in this movie. Like, Travis Bickle goes in guns a blazing. And I think if Julio had done that in this movie, they would have gotten out.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Scot free. I don't know. But yes, continue.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah, but no, what I think is actually funny about him saying that is Scorsese was effectively the guy that helped put Manila and the Clouds of Light back into the film world because of the Film foundation, which is his nonprofit. And he basically helped fund the restoration of Manila and the Clouds of Light and then released it on the Criterion Collections. His imprint, he's kind of. Kind of like a little mini imprint on the Criterion Collection called the World Cinema Foundation. And it was basically, you know, his restorations that he's helped fund that are, you know, kind of these gems, these hidden gems of world cinema. They also did this incredible South Korean movie called the housemaid from 1960, which. You want to talk about an ending. Amazing ending there.

[Casey O'Brien]

Okay. But, yeah, because this movie, I think they have a little disclaimer at the beginning of the movie and about how it was restored. And it sounds like the original print was in pretty rough shape of the film, and they had to do all this work to, like, rescan it. And Mike. Mike De Leon, like, sat in on the coloring sessions, and it looked great, but it's just like. It's just interesting how you can just like, lose this movie could have just been lost by disintegration, you know?

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. I mean, it's. That's why I'm always a big fan of. Of these archivists and these people that do restoration work, because otherwise you would not see any of this stuff. Like, you really would not see pretty much any foreign title if you were an American. You would not see any of this stuff. It wasn't for that kind of stuff. Like, you would not be able to access this entire swath of filmmaking if it weren't for people who were doing restoration work. Archivists, film historians, people who are in positions where they can fund things like that, like maybe Sean Baker or Scorsese or whomever. Which I think is lovely.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. Anything else on Manilla and the Claws of Light or our pal Lino Braca?

[Millie De Chirico]

I don't know. I would He's a fascinating director. I would seek out. I know that MoMA in New York has a couple of his films that are not kind of commercially out there right now, because there's maybe. I would say probably. Well, there's a bit. There's at least three of the films that are available on Blu Ray, right. Including Manila and the Claws of Light, but Boda and Insiang, and I feel like there are other films of his that have had some level of restoration work, and I think moma owns a couple, and I feel like maybe more of his films are coming down the pike as they're gonna be made available to, you know, the States, because he made a lot of movies, and there. There was a couple actually on Amazon Prime. If you really go digging on Amazon prime, you will find a couple to rent. But I don't think they have English subtitles, or at least they're not, like, really inherent to the. To the video. So it may be that you have to turn on your auto subtitles and pray, but it's. Yeah, I feel like we need more. We need more. I need more, but we need more.

[Casey O'Brien]

All right. Well, Millie, thank you for introducing this movie to me and this filmmaker. I loved learning about Filipino cinema, and I hope to watch more movies from the Philippines. It's a country I hold near and dear, and I've never even been there. So I would love to explore their cinema more.

[Millie De Chirico]

Me too. I think we've got nowhere to go but up. So.

[Casey O'Brien]

We are on the floor. I can tell you that much. All right, moving on. We are gonna read some. We got a gripe and a grit. We got a gripe and a grip.

[Millie De Chirico]

How about, Casey, since you're a musician, why don't you create a song called Gripes and Grits Grapes and grits Grapes. Yeah. Pull out that guitar. Come on.

[Casey O'Brien]

Hold on.

[Millie De Chirico]

He actually has a guitar. Everybody.

[Casey O'Brien]

Let'S see. What genre of music should this be?

[Millie De Chirico]

I'm gonna let dealer's choice. You figure it out.

[Casey O'Brien]

Let's see. Gripes and Grits. It feels like a country song. Gripes and grits Gripes and grits Take me down Take me down to the gripes and grits Gripes and grits Gripes and grits Take me home. Something like that.

[Millie De Chirico]

I can't believe he just did that. If you don't make that the standard opening to this section.

[Casey O'Brien]

Okay. And I'll perform it live, maybe every single time. All right, so we're doing. We'll do a gripe first.

[Millie De Chirico]

Okay.

[Casey O'Brien]

Hi, Millie and Casey. My name is Ronnie and I run and operate a four screen independent movie theater in northeast region of Pennsylvania called the Dietrich Theater. Cool. Sounds like a dream. We do first run programming, film festival programming, and classics throughout the year. But enough about me. I was just listening to your Showgirls episode in your chat with Alicia Malone about the empty coffee cups, and that got me thinking about something very similar. My film gripe is with the children in films who come down before heading off to school where their mother has created a five course breakfast fit for a king prepared on the table for them. And they grab a slice of toast and run out the door. Or a piece of bacon. I feel like this is me editorializing here, but I feel like a piece of bacon happens often. It happens constantly. I see pancakes, I see fruit, I see French toast, I see eggs. It's unbelievable. Why do movie creatives insist on having this elaborate display of breakfast just for every child to run out the door with a piece of to? I half expect every single mom to flip a table after it happens. Anyway, that's my film gripe. Do you concur? Ronnie? This is great. Because this is good too, because this is a gripe. This is kind of a different subset of the film gripe. It's like gripes that things that happen in the movie where we talk about people bothering us at the movie, you know? So I think this is great. What do you think about this? I agree too. Like, this isn't a child, maybe a man child, but in Pee Wee's Big Adventure, he eats like two pieces of the Mr. T cereal and he's got this giant breakfast laid out before him and he runs out the door before eating any of it.

[Millie De Chirico]

I mean, Ronnie, you're asking if we concur? Hell yeah, we do. Here's the thing. I love breakfast so much.

[Casey O'Brien]

Me too.

[Millie De Chirico]

When you see a movie, breakfast that scrumptious and enticing, especially with the stack of toast. Oh my God, I love a stack of toast.

[Casey O'Brien]

Stack of toast.

[Millie De Chirico]

Like, I'm not talking about two shits. I'm talking about four, six, eight stacks of perfectly buttered toast on top, triangle style. Oh, my God. And the fact that that kid, usually a high schooler, is such a dumb ass. And it's like, no, just juice. Just juice.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. Gotta, gotta rip, Mom.

[Millie De Chirico]

Bye, buses here, Mom, I'm just gonna grab one triangle. One triangle.

[Casey O'Brien]

I feel like this frequently happens to the kid, runs out, grabs one triangle, husband comes down. Oh, honey, I made breakfast. You. I only have time for coffee. Bye, hon. And they're out the door, too.

[Millie De Chirico]

You know, this is why many women of a certain age get divorced and live alone and go out on cruises with their girlfriends drinking margaritas because they can't take the indignity of the family just shitting on the fucking breakfast that she made. And I personally have been a teenage kid who has been in that scenario. I don't know about you, where I'm like, listen, I love breakfast so much. I'm skipping school to eat this shit. Like, I'm not running anywhere. You made scrambled eggs. Like, an en. A giant plate of scrambled eggs. Did you put cheese on those eggs? I'm staying.

[Casey O'Brien]

Well, also, I feel like my. That always felt like such a movie thing, because I was as a kid, was always. Like, my mom would never make me breakfast or, like, prepare a large breakfast on a school day. You know, like, we're eating Lucky Charms or something. But, yeah, I totally agree with. It's a. It's. It's bad form. I don't like that in. In movies in general where people don't eat or drink all their food. They are. They like, you know, you go to a bar, order a beer, take a sip, and leave, like, all the beer. You know, that's annoying, too.

[Millie De Chirico]

No, you need to be like Elizabeth Taylor in who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? And just, like, hoofing down that chicken leg. Like, you need to be taking bites and getting it all over your face. That's what real movie eating is about.

[Casey O'Brien]

Absolutely.

[Millie De Chirico]

Can I say, first of all, thank you, Ronnie. Thank you, Ronnie, for that amazing film gripe. I'm gonna throw this out there. This is totally an aside. We can totally delete this. I've recently come to an epiphany, which is that people whose names end in the hard E sound are cuter. Like you, like me, like Ronnie, are cuter and maybe a little bit more mischievous.

[Casey O'Brien]

You think I'm going to disagree with a fact of nature? I agree wholeheartedly. I love having a cute name. I feel like, honestly, when I. If, like, I see a name on paper and you're like, you're about to meet so and so, and they have an hard E sound at the end of their name, I'm like, I already kind of like them a little bit ahead of time. Like, it's like, I. I feel like I like them already.

[Millie De Chirico]

Think about the boy. Like, you won't think about this, but I will. The boys in your school that were always, like, so cute, but, like, so bad, they're always, Tommy, Ricky, Ronnie, Bobby, Stevie, Casey, perhaps?

[Casey O'Brien]

Casey, question mark. I agree.

[Millie De Chirico]

I'm telling you, you would never go like eight pages in your diary about Ronald or Thomas or.

[Casey O'Brien]

You think Spencer is making the diary? I don't think so.

[Millie De Chirico]

I don't know anything about Ronnie. I don't even know if his full name is Ronald. But I do know that Ronnie had a motorcycle when we were in high school and was a total badass and drove it around. And all the girls wanted to, you know, hop on the back and go up to the Taco Bell.

[Casey O'Brien]

That's the kind of name you have, I think. And I like adult men who have the E at the end because I feel like it is a little bit more feminine, I would say, having the Hardy at the end. And I think if you're a grown man and you have that at your, it's kind of a softening. I like you more, you know?

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. I remember one of my friends who has a a Hardy, uses a Hardy nickname for his full name, much like me. I remember he was like, we should go back to our full names when we become adults because nobody will take us seriously.

[Casey O'Brien]

That's the thing. Everyone's worried they're not going to be taken seriously.

[Millie De Chirico]

I was like, do people not take us seriously? Look at us. Yeah, look at you and I. We're at the top of our fold.

[Casey O'Brien]

We host a podcast anyway. The most respected profession. I agree. Okay, let's move on to the grit here. Film Regret. Longtime listener, third or fourth time emailer. I'm going to preface this with I am not a film scholar. That's okay. I'm not either. Millie's a film scholar, nor was I a film major. I, unfortunately was a film major. I'm editorializing here. I am just a Gen Xer that loves movies. My film regret was watching Ti West's trilogy, or threesome, if you will, of X, Pearl and Maxine. I heard all the hubbub, so I was actually really looking forward to them. I watched them all this week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so that the story would be fresh in my mind, and I was bummed and bored. I feel like he is trying to evoke the same relationship dynamic of Tarantino and Uma Thurman. I feel like the movies were pretentious, slow, and predictable. And I'm not even a huge Tarantino fan. What were your thoughts on this threesome of films? Thanks for the laughs, Theresa. I think Ti west is a particular flavor of filmmaker, and I can see why you wouldn't be into these types of movies. But I loved all three of these movies. I thought they were great.

[Millie De Chirico]

Did you now?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes. And I thought one was better than the other. I thought X was my least favorite. And then I like. But I liked it. And then I liked Pearl more than that. And I think I liked Maxine the most.

[Millie De Chirico]

Really.

[Casey O'Brien]

I don't know. I like this kind of nostalgia, nostalgic feel of these movies, and I like the pace. And I do like Mia Goth. I'm a fan. So, yeah, I. But, like, these are slow. I think Ty west movies are slow. And I think some horror fans don't like him because his movies can also not be that scary. Scary. You know, But I don't know. That's my opinion.

[Millie De Chirico]

Well, you have your opinion and everything. No, I'm kidding, Teresa. You know, I get it. I totally get it. I think I'm with you. I. First of all, every fucker in my friend group was Juice on these. On these movies, this trilogy. They were Juice. They wanted it. Like, every movie that came out beyond X was like a Thursday at midnight Must see. Like, they were going to the Thursday midnight screening. That's how Juiced and Jazz they were. I won't say that I had the fervor that they did, but I. I think to your point, like, I liked the weird. The weirdest part for me is that I think I like Pearl the best.

[Casey O'Brien]

I might have liked Pearl the best.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Too.

[Millie De Chirico]

So Pearl was probably my favorite. And then X. Well, no, it would be like Pearl, Maxine, and then X. I think that's my order.

[Casey O'Brien]

Sure. Me too.

[Millie De Chirico]

Maxine had a lot of baddies. Did you know that? Like, not just me.

[Casey O'Brien]

You think. You think I'm not gonna like a movie with Elizabeth the Bicky.

[Millie De Chirico]

Right. Or Lily Collins.

[Casey O'Brien]

Or Lily Collins.

[Millie De Chirico]

I mean, even. Or Halls in her. Linda Dano from Attitudes on Lifetime haircut in that movie. Yeah. There's a lot of hottie baddies. Michelle Monahan. Don't forget her.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, I did. I did forget Michelle Monahan. I. I love the. Maxine is such a riff on Body Double.

[Millie De Chirico]

Exactly.

[Casey O'Brien]

Which is like, one of my favorite movies.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

And so I was pretty. I was an easy mark for Maxine.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. I think ultimately that is kind of how I see these films, is that they seem to be kind of, you know, in the same way, Teresa, that you mentioned the Tarantino thing, they are almost kind of like homages to film genres or like other films. Right.

[Casey O'Brien]

Because they're kind of in conversation with other movies.

[Millie De Chirico]

Right. Because to me, Maxine is absolutely de palma. Like, 80s, like, you know, I would throw like Abel Ferrer in there. And then Pearl to me felt very almost kind of like. I mean, it was kind of like a Herschel Gordon Lewis type of movie. Like a country bumpkin. Like. Like kind of like a motel hell.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. It kind of reminded me of like Children of the Corn even, like.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yes.

[Casey O'Brien]

Rural setting.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. And then of course, you know, I think X felt sort of very, you know, kind of slasher, you know, classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Yes, classic, kind of 70s grindhouse. So it's like, that's what I think is kind of fun about the movies is that they're kind of throwbacks to other things. But. Yeah, but I can also see your side of it.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. I watched the Innkeepers and I, like, enjoyed it, but I was. That's another Ti west film from 2011, but I was like, this is too slow. You lost me a little bit. So I understand. But I also feel like I want to empower you. Theresa, never like a movie because a bunch of other people like it. You know, if it's not for you, that's great. Move on and leave it dead in the side of the road.

[Millie De Chirico]

You know, in fact, we might even promote the idea that you could be a shithead and hate a movie because everybody likes it so much.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. Oh, there we go.

[Millie De Chirico]

That's a classic shithead move, wouldn't you say?

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, yeah. When things kind of topple over, they get a little too popular, they go to the other side of the parabola and you start to dislike them because other people like them too much. I mean, I spent so much time in film school being like, oh, yeah, I loved that movie. Maybe one of my favorites. Meanwhile, I'm like, I hated every second of watching that movie. You know, that that happened. I feel like that happened a lot with Godard films.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Like, I was like, oh my God, I moving. And I was like, I thought that sucked in my mind, in my head, but I didn't voice that until later.

[Millie De Chirico]

That's a huge grit for you. A huge grit.

[Casey O'Brien]

Huge, huge grit. Huge grit. Yeah, exactly. When I saw X, I saw it at the Highland Park Theater, which has now shuttered in Highland Park, Los Angeles. We walk in. If you know the movie X, there's a lot of nudity, a ton of. Of nudity. And it's insanely violent.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

But we walk in, sit down, and a family of like seven walked in with like the ages of like, I would say there was like a 5 year old, a 7 year old, a 10 year old, and a 12 year old and they watched the whole movie. I could not believe little kids watched that movie with us. Damn, I hope they had a good time. I hope that was a important event in their life.

[Millie De Chirico]

Oh, goodness. All right, well.

[Casey O'Brien]

You know, time to wrap things up here. Grabs and grits. Grab some grits. I got something to get off my chest. Grab some grits. Okay.

[Millie De Chirico]

And I'm in the background twitching, going, you're the man for the grit. I can't believe what I meant. What's that? Edward something in the Magnetic Zeros.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh yeah, that's been going around. You're my lantern hound. Hound.

[Millie De Chirico]

Have that film regret.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. That type of music was so big in like 2011. I saw Edward Short and the Magnetic Zeros in concert at the Sunset Junction concert. Which doesn't happen anymore in Silver Lake. I remember it was a big thing. Anyways, time to move on to employees picks. What do you got, Millie?

[Millie De Chirico]

What do I have in my little purse? So my employee pick for this week is so such a layup, honestly when it comes to melodrama, because that's the route I'm going. This week is going to point you to another classic melodrama. Definitely less grimy than Manila in the Claws of Light, but I would say a standout in the genre. And that is the film from 1955 called all that Heaven Allows, directed by Douglas Sirk.

[Casey O'Brien]

One of my favorite, I'd say that's my favorite melodrama.

[Millie De Chirico]

Oh, it's hard to beat. You've got Rock Hudson playing the hunkiest little gardener, hippie, bohemian guy you've ever seen in your life. Like maybe the movie character that all men should be based on. I mean he is quite, he's the dream, quite stunning.

[Casey O'Brien]

He's creative, he owns his own business, he's sensitive, he's hunky, wears a flannel really well.

[Millie De Chirico]

He has like interesting people coming to his little chalet.

[Casey O'Brien]

You know, he's got like all these bohemians coming with lobster and shit.

[Millie De Chirico]

And yet Ronald Reagan's wife shows up from her, you know, stuffy New England town where everybody judges you and looks at you weird and is like, make me a free wheeling lady. But her kids, I mean the, the melodrama is really about those fucking kids, which if you've seen the movie, you know exactly what I'm talking about. But those fucking kids, some of the worst kids you've ever seen in a movie. And that's all I'll say.

[Casey O'Brien]

You know, those kids are victims of the capitalist system.

[Millie De Chirico]

I would say, oh, yeah, they're completely indoctrinated into the, you know, television set juggernauts.

[Casey O'Brien]

That scene when they wheel out the television for her and the look of devastation on her face, it's one of cinema's greatest scenes. I mean, I feel like that was the straw that broke the camel's back for her. I feel like that was a motivating. She's like, I can't just be an old lady who watches TV all day.

[Millie De Chirico]

I mean, you think that a mom was offended when you didn't eat her eight layers of toast in the morning.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie De Chirico]

This moment getting red to absolute filth, Decimated, ratioed.

[Casey O'Brien]

They're basically saying, like, you have ratioed. They are basically saying, you have no point to your existence, so why don't you live the rest of your life staring at this box? And it's horrible.

[Millie De Chirico]

Anyway, that is definitely my recommendation.

[Casey O'Brien]

That's a great movie.

[Millie De Chirico]

What's up?

[Casey O'Brien]

Great movie. I have kind of an unusual staff pick. Well, it's not unusual, but it's a short. It's a short film and it's made by a friend of mine. We went to film school together. We were in the same thesis class. The filmmaker is named Andrew Stephen Lee, and he is of Filipino descent.

[Millie De Chirico]

Hey.

[Casey O'Brien]

And he is a filmmaker, and a successful filmmaker at that. He made a movie in 2018, a short film which you can watch on Vimeo. And it's called Manila is full of men named Boy. And I'll read you the synopsis on the website. Manila, July 7, 2009. As Michael Jackson's televised funeral plays throughout the Philippines despite terrorist attacks in the south. And a strange son purchases a child who can drink and smoke to impress his father. Check it out. It's beautifully shot. Shot in Manila. It's great. Check it out. 21 minutes.

[Millie De Chirico]

That sounds awesome.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, you. You'd like it, too.

[Millie De Chirico]

It sounds awesome.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. And there were characters named Boy in Manila in the claws of light.

[Millie De Chirico]

There you go. So there you go. Great employee. That was awesome.

[Casey O'Brien]

Right back at you, fellow coworker. Well, that's our show. Millie, I just want to say thank you again for letting me speak about the tragedy at annunciation at the top of the episode. That was very meaningful for me and I'm glad I was able to express that on here. So thank you so much. If you'd like film advice or if you'd like to send us a film gripe or grit. I'm not going to get out the guitar, but if you want to send those in email [e-mail] you can also send us a voicemail. Just record a voicemail on your phone and email it to dearMoviesExactlyRightMedia.com Please keep it under a minute and record in a quiet place.

[Millie De Chirico]

You can also follow us on our social media accounts. We are @DearMoviesILoveYou on Instagram and Facebook. Our letterbox handles are Acely, O' Brien and Decherico. And I'll implore you to listen to Dear Movies. I love you on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast and honestly rate and review the show. We would love it. Rate it. High five stars, please. We would love it. And that's your mission.

[Casey O'Brien]

Amazing. Next week. I'm really excited about next week's episode because I have. I've always wanted to see this movie, but I've never seen it.

[Millie De Chirico]

Oh, shit. You're in Furry Wild Ride.

[Casey O'Brien]

Everyone has talked about this movie ad nauseam to me. It is 2000, 2004's dig, exclamation point. It is a rock doc. It's kind of a famous one. I feel like people really.

[Millie De Chirico]

Oh yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Love this movie. Directed by Andy Timiner. And it's about the music of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols and those crazy guys in those bands. And I'm excited. I'm excited to watch. It'll be fun to talk about. Kind of like rock docs in general too.

[Millie De Chirico]

Yeah. And I feel like there's been. I don't know, I feel like I've seen. I don't know if it's because Oasis is popular again, but like, I just have been seeing more and more about both the Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre lately on like TikTok.

[Casey O'Brien]

Interesting. So interesting.

[Millie De Chirico]

Famous feuds, I think is the connection point.

[Casey O'Brien]

Famous feuds, yes. Well, Millie, that's it.

[Millie De Chirico]

That's a wrap.

[Casey O'Brien]

That's a wrap. Thank you again for being a great fellow coworker.

[Millie De Chirico]

Hey. And thank you for being a great fellow co worker.

[Casey O'Brien]

All right, everybody, have a good one.

[Millie De Chirico]

Bye. This has been an exactly right production, hosted by me, Millie de Cherico, and produced by my co host, Casey o'. Brien.

[Casey O'Brien]

This episode was mixed by Tom Breyfogel. Our associate producer is Christina Chamberlain. Our guest booker is Patrick Cotner, and our artwork is by Vanessa Lilac.

[Millie De Chirico]

Our incredible theme music is by the best band in the entire world. The song.

[Casey O'Brien]

Thank you to our executive producers, Karen Kilgariff, Georgia Hardstark Daniel Kramer and Millie de Chirico. We love you. Goodbye.

[Millie De Chirico]

Be kind. Rewind.

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[Millie De Chirico]

Thursday Night Football is on and it's.

[Casey O'Brien]

Only on Prime Video in for the.

[Millie De Chirico]

Touchdown this Thursday, an AFC east rivalry ignites as the Miami Dolphins battle the Buffalo Bills in a heated division showdown. Day boom.

[Casey O'Brien]

Right on the money. Coverage begins at 7pM Eastern with football's best party TNF tonight presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member?

[Millie De Chirico]

Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial.

[Casey O'Brien]

Today it's the Dolphins and the bills.

[Millie De Chirico]

Thursday at 7pM Eastern only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.

[Casey O'Brien]

Com amazonprime for details.