ON THE JOB: THE MISSING 8 ***1/2
Cast: John Arcilla, Dennis Trillo, Dante Rivero, Lotlot De Leon, Christopher de Leon, Eric Fructuoso, Vandolph Quizon, Leo Martinez, Joey Marquez.
Dir: Erik Matti.
A radio host who's a vocal supporter of a powerful mayor start to question his allegiance when his colleagues at the newspaper he works for disappears. This was screened as a 3.5 hour film in Venice where it deservedly won the Best Actor prize for the lead actor John Arcilla. I saw it in the form of a miniseries on HBO Go Asia and I've been told apart from editing in titles and credits in between chapters, it's pretty much the same film so I'll review it as such. Yes, it's a very long film but director Erik Matti's pacing is brisk and personally, I think the arc of the lead character benefits from such a long running time which contributes to his performance. If you're a Filipino or if you follow Filipino politics at all, you can definitely see the parallels and what this film is saying about a certain someone. But even if you don't, this is still a pretty slick and exciting political thriller which will give you a lot to chew on. Excellent film.
