Is it possible to be poor but honest in the capital of the Philippines? British director, Sean Ellis, thinks not and his touching, reasonably complex tale (which won the Audience Award at Sundance) is persuasive.
A couple from the provinces, Oscar and Mai (Jake Macapagal and Althea Vega, both superb) are forced to find work in the city so they can feed themselves and their two daughters. Their separate attempts to make money are full of lush, edgy details. At a job interview, Oscar has to tell a joke – luckily, a colleague has supplied him with one and, despite Oscar's stilted delivery (he's nervous and the joke sucks) the boss duly gives him the green light. The ending doesn't ring true, but perhaps Ellis thought the audience would slit their wrists if he didn't offer them some kind of bone.
