Those hoping to leap directly into the new wave of Filipino cinema will find a thrilling entry point in Brillante Mendoza’s latest film. Shot on hand-held digital video, Slingshot has caused multiple critics to cite British director Paul Greengrass. Indeed, Mendoza’s film has all of the kinetic, frenetic energy of Greengrass’ THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, but its attention to atmospheric detail places it squarely within international art cinema.

The atmosphere in question is a Manila slum, a cramped maze full of junkies, thieves and their loved ones. The film opens feverishly, as the slum’s residents scramble to avoid a police raid, a seemingly frequent occurrence. Stolen goods are quickly hidden, couples are interrupted mid-coitus and addicts scurry into the darkness. The film follows a series of these characters as they lie, cheat and steal—the constantly fluid camera capturing their desperation with a documentary-like intensity. In this world, drugs—and specifically meth—rule: a beautiful young woman hustles to pay for dentures, while a penniless father hawks jewelry to feed his addiction instead of his baby.

It’s against the constant backdrop of political elections that Mendoza displays his knack for comic absurdity. He shows the great disconnect between the reality of the street and the stump speech. When the politicians speak—offering blustery rhetoric about national prowess and religion in schools—they seem horribly out of touch with daily life. Sound familiar, America?
—Jonathan L. Knapp, San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival

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