The Story

Manila Kingpin profiles the life of Nicasio Asiong Salonga, a true-to-life badass from Tondo who lived several decades ago, back when gang wars were prolific in the notorious parts of Manila. The movie shows Asiong at the height of his career and notoriety, and mixes it with an insiders look on what its like to live like a true gangster boss. The opening sequence shows how he had to fight his bloody way to the top of the ranks. He is shown delivering brutal revenge and is depicted a la Godfather, on how he treats his minions. The movie also takes a peak at his personal life. His pregnant wife always fears for his safety. His cop brother scolds him to take a straighter path. Even his parents show their disapproval of his lifestyle. As for Asiong, despite being fearless in the streets, he is wary of every knock on the door, packing a gun whenever someone enters his home, always ready to pounce on possible threats. The film also shows his nobler side as Asiong tries to champion his neighbours and protect them from more abusive thugs. He gives alms to the poor, and even helps an old woman up as she falls down. Think Robinhood, but instead of a bow and arrow, Asiong uses a retro machine gun and some rusty daggers. But of course, majority of the film showcases his badass fighting skills and uncanny ability to give ruthless orders not only to his friends, but also to his enemies

Black and white. Its such a bold risk to have the entire movie in black and white. (although the effect was probably due to post production rather than authentic black and white film, thats why they were able to put a slight tinge of blue on the effects) Choosing to do the film this way means that the filmmakers had to produce EXTRA effort in making each frame look nice despite the absence of color. This takes us back to the glory days of film noir where each scene has to be carefully planned in order to produce a shot that has depth and visual appeal despite being in just black and white. I noticed that Asiong used a lot of smoke and shadows to make shots look thicker in a way. I really applaud the lighting for this film, especially for eskinita scenes done at night, where the actors are seen to go under a shadow, but still have their faces visible. I also liked the Ingrid Bergman attack they did on Carla Abellanas big doughy eyes, where she was always facing the light in a certain way to illuminate her eyes better and make them sparkle. It reminded me of Casablanca. Manila Kingpin should also be given props for their costume and set design. Being a period film, they had to find locations which will pass for a story that happened during the 50s. This includes locations forbangketa, house and

street shots. There was even a movie house setting which I really liked. There was also a lot of effort in the props, clothing and hairstyle. For the mens fashion though Im quite amazed that those looks seem trendy right now as we approach 2012. The gents in Asiong looked quite dapper! The soundtrack was also top-calibre. The most brutal scenes are backed by eerie vocal arias and some choice scenes almost came out as haunting. Other low-key action sequences are backed with a modern rock soundtrack which also added to the sound appeal. Oh, and Eli Buendia made a camio there too, as a singer of course. The closing theme song Hari ng Tondo by Gloc 9, I didnt like too much, but I will let it slip because Gloc 9 is a good rapper.

Masmasarap mamatay sa kamay ng kaaway, ngunit masakit mamatay sa kamay ng kaibigan - Asiong Salonga