Bayan Ko: My Own Country

Made under the noses of the Marcos censors in the thick of Manila's social and political turmoil, this is based on two news stories from 1980. It centres on a brawny, sympathetic Manila print-shop worker, whose political naivety lands him on the wrong side during a strike, and whose anger and frustration finally drive him into crime. Shot with the urgency of newsreel, the film is a brilliantly topical thriller, and an admirable act of civil disobedience. If ever a film caught the spirit of its time, this is it.