Communists in a New Life

Huk Sa Bagong Pamumuhay

Philippines

1953

120 Min

Black and White

Tagalog, Filipino

Currently 0.0/5 Stars.
1
2
3
4
5

CAST Jose Padilla Jr., Celia Flor, Ven Medina, Rose Aguirre, Leroy Salvador, Rolf Bayer, Joseph de Cordova

Celia Flor portrays Trining, Carding’s wife and better half. She holds dear to her heart that someday Carding will come back to her. We see Carding entralled by the rebels way of life, and an American communist affirms this, portrayed by the film’s writer, Rolf Bayer. In an entrapment operation, Carding’s brother gets killed as Carding slips through. This eventually led to his arrest when Trining’s brother, Jesus (Leroy Salvador) shoots Carding in the arm in a military encounter. Carding then gets a bargain from the government to lay his arms on the table and change his ways, and in turn they will turn a blind eye on his past mistakes. Carding and his family leaves for Lanao to settle in the area set by the government for former rebels to start a new life. However, the communist leader, Maxie (Joseph de Cordova) is not convinced, he infiltrates the settlement to wreck havoc once again. However, Carding sees to it that they will no longer destroy his new life. —Eboy Donato

Director

Lamberto V. Avellana

Lamberto V. Avellana, director for theater and film, has the distinction of being called “The Boy Wonder of Philippine Movies” as early as 1939. He was the first to use the motion picture camera to establish a point-of-view, a move that revolutionized the techniques of film narration. Avellana, who at 20 portrayed Joan of Arc in time for Ateneo’s diamond jubilee, initially set out to establish a Filipino theater. Together with Daisy Hontiveros, star of many UP plays and his future wife, he formed the Barangay Theater Guild which had, among others, Leon Ma .Guerrero and Raul Manglapus as members. It was after seeing such plays that Carlos P. Romulo, then president of Philippine Films, encouraged him to try his hand at directing films. In his first film Sakay, Avellana demonstrated a kind of visual rhythm that established a new filmic language.

Sakay was declared the best picture of 1939 by critics and journalists alike and set the tone for Avellana’s career in film that would… read more