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The script was in English, but Ellis allowed the actors to translate their lines into Tagalog. Ellis said it was strange to direct a movie in a language he could not understand, but for only "about five seconds, because then you start to see the performance and you're not worried about the words they're saying, you trust them to say the words that are in the script." Macapagal, 47, who spent a decade in Europe working in the musical stage production "Miss Saigon," said the role was "challenging but not very far from every Filipino's plight." Macapagal said he could easily relate to Oscar's life because he does not come from a privileged background. Manila's dark side has been explored in several films by Filipino directors, including the classic 1975 film "Manila, in the Claws of Light" by the late award-wining director Lino Brocka, and more recently by noted director Brillante Mendoza. "There's a texture in our city that we don't normally see because there are times we numb ourselves to the poverty," Macapagal said, adding Ellis "looks at things you don't normally look at." Arcilla said the poverty shown in the movie can be found in slums in many countries. "For me it's not really about poverty, its more on human survival and more on human sacrifice," he said. Vega, 25, said it was a story about taking chances and making desperate choices to survive.
[Associated
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