Directed by Lino Brocka • 1982 • Philippines
Starring Christopher de Leon, Phillip Salvador, Carmi Martin

A high-pitched melodrama, a timeless Biblical retelling, and a furious allegory for the Marcos-era Philippines all in one, Lino Brocka’s lush actioner puts forward a powerful examination of the landed class and its frontier justice in the guise of a pulp thriller. Firstborn Lorens (Phillip Salvador) toils the land by buffalo while Ellis (Christopher de Leon), the apple of his mother's eye, is given a university education in Manila. When the latter returns to the family’s hacienda with a metropolitan fiancée (Carmi Martin) in tow, the domineering Señora Pina (Mona Lisa) immediately disapproves. Looking to reassert her influence, she asks her youngest to name his inheritance. Ellis claims the land—sparking a family feud that boils over into all-out filial war.