''Child of Sorrow'' ( tl, Anak Dalita; subtitled ''The Ruins'') is a 1956 Philippine

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

-tragedy film written by Rolf Bayer and directed by

Lamberto V. Avellana Lamberto Vera Avellana (February 12, 1915 – April 25, 1991) was a prominent Filipino film and stage director. Despite considerable budgetary limitations that hampered the post-war Filipino film industry, Avellana's films such as ''Anak Dali ...

. Set in the slums of Manila, recovering from the aftermath of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the story follows Cita, a prostitute with good intentions and Vic, a war hero who served in the Korean War under PEFTOK, living together in the ravaged capital but when they were involved with Cardo's nasty plans, they, along with Father Fidel, join forces to stop him to succeed. It was theatrically released by LVN Pictures on March 20, 1956, but it did not do well at the box office despite the failure, it became Avellana's cinematic masterpieces and one of the greatest Filipino films ever made due to its acclaim at the awards and positive reviews and given importance by film critics and scholars in modern times. The film was selected as the Philippine entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 29th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. The film won the Golden Harvest for Best Film Award at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival in British Hong Kong.

Cast

Rosa Rosal Florence Danon Gayda (born Florence Lansang Danon; October 16, 1928), better known as Rosa Rosal, is a FAMAS award-winning Filipina film actress dubbed as the "original femme fatale of Philippine cinema." She is also known for her work with the ...

as Cita * Tony Santos, Sr. as Vic *

Joseph de Cordova Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

as Kardo *

Vic Silayan Victor Payumo Silayan (January 31, 1929 – August 30, 1987), commonly known as Vic Silayan, was a Filipino actor who is best known for his roles in ''Kisapmata'' (1981) and ''Karnal'' (1983). Personal life He was born in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, ...

as Father Fidel *

Vic Bacani Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

as Ipe *

Leroy Salvador Leroy or Le Roy may refer to: People * Leroy (name), a given name and surname * Leroy (musician), American musician * Leroy (sailor), French sailor Places United States * Leroy, Alabama * Le Roy, Illinois * Le Roy, Iowa * Le Roy, Kansas * Le ...

as Soldier *

Rosa Aguirre Rosa Aguirre (1908–1981) was a Filipina actress who worked for Sampaguita Pictures and Lvn Pictures. She was married to actor Miguel Anzures and mother to controversial actor Narding Anzures. She made her first movie on 1938, ''Himagsikan ng ...

as Tinay * Oscar Keesee as Club Manager (as Oscar Keese) * Alfonso Carvajal as Customs Officer *

Johnny Reyes Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Variant ...

as Army Doctor *

Eddie Rodriguez Luis Clemente Enriquez (August 23, 1932 – October 12, 2001), better known by his stage name Eddie Rodriguez, was a Filipino film actor and director. Early life Enriquez was born on August 23, 1932 in Zamboanga City. He spent his childhood and ...

as Eddie *

Arturo Moran Arturo is a Spanish and Italian variant of the name Arthur. People * Arturo Álvarez (footballer, born 1985), American-born Salvadoran footballer * Arturo Álvarez (footballer, born 1959), Mexican footballer *Arthuro Henrique Bernhardt (b. 1982), B ...

as Gerry

Production

Unlike most LVN productions of the time, ''Anak Dalita'' didn't contain a single singing or dancing performance because of its theme—poverty and crime in post-war Manila—and because the lead stars of the film were minor box-office actors. The project was almost rejected by LVN Pictures founder and executive producer

Narcisa de Leon Narcisa may refer to: * ''Narcisa'' (beetle), a genus in the tribe Gymnochilini ; people *Narcisa de Jesús (1832–1869), Roman Catholic saint from Nobol, Ecuador *Narcisa de Leon (1877–1966), Filipino film producer *Narcisa Freixas (1859–19 ...

, widely known as Doña Sisang, due to the said circumstances. Fortunately, her son, producer Manuel de Leon, believed strongly in the screenplay and convinced his mother to approve the project.

Locations

The film was shot in Intramuros. According to the recollections of the director's daughter Ivi Avellana Cosio, her father Lamberto used the existing locations as the setting of the film. For the part of the wooden houses, he and his team asked permission from the residents and house owners to use their residences as the setting for the characters, with the residents moving into nearby houses for the duration of the filming.

Restoration

The film was digitally scanned and restored by the

ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project or also known as Sagip Pelikula, was a digital film restoration project of ABS-CBN Corporation in partnership with Central Digital Lab. The project is headed by Leo Katigbak of ABS-CBN Film Archives and Manet Day ...

. The 2K digital scanned and restored version was first premiered online on October 31, 2020, as a special screening for the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino exhibition. On March 31, 2021, on the eve of Holy Week, the 2K version of the film was live-streamed on ABS-CBN Film Restoration's Facebook page.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Child Of Sorrow 1956 films 1956 crime drama films Films directed by Lamberto V. Avellana Philippine crime drama films Tagalog-language films Squatting in film Philippine black-and-white films