"Tribu"

Shown at the UP Film Center on December 8, 2007, the winner of Cinemanila 2007 Best Picture Award, "Tribu," is a disturbing film about gangs in Tondo, Manila. Megged by Jim Libiran, this film is a rare glimpse of Manila's low-life. The ensemble acting was superb. One would think they were seasoned actors. In fact, they were gang members themselves enamored of hip hop and rap with no formal training in acting.
The climactic scene of a gang war during a wake, where scores of gang members were killed, was too gory to be credible. Perhaps these large-scale killings have escaped the attention of tabloids like Abante and People's Journal? And where was Manila's finest, the police, when it was needed most? Those omnipresent "barangay tanods" were sleeping on the job? In such a crowded neighborhood, nobody was awakened by the gunfire to call the police to restore peace and order?
A film must not only present a slice of life, however nihilistic, but it must be imbued with verisimilitude to become a truly great film.