''Fight for Us'' ( fil, Orapronobis) is a 1989 Philippine

political thriller film A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle, high stakes and suspense is the core of the story. The genre often forces the audiences to consider and understand the importance of politics. The ...

directed by

Lino Brocka Catalino Ortiz Brocka (April 3, 1939 – May 22, 1991) was a Filipino film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and significant filmmakers in the history of Philippine cinema. He co-founded the organization Concerned Ar ...

and written by Jose F. Lacaba. It stars

Phillip Salvador Phillip Mikael "Ipe" Reyes Salvador (born Felipe Reyes Salvador; August 22, 1953) is a three-time FAMAS award-winning Filipino film and television actor. Acting career Salvador made his film debut in 1971 with ''Adios Mi Amor''. He toiled in m ...

and

Dina Bonnevie Geraldine Schaer Bonnevie-Savellano (, formerly Sotto and Penson; January 27, 1961), known by her stage name Dina Bonnevie, is an actress in the Philippines. Before joining Philippine showbiz, Bonnevie was first runner-up in the Miss Magnolia 19 ...

. During its initial release, the film was banned in the Philippines by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Corazon Aquino due to its subversive message (Brocka was a member of a progressive organization representing artists). It was shown to the Filipino public after its premiere out of competition at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

In 1985, in the obscure town of Santa Filomena, the Orapronobis, a cult under the leadership of Kumander Kontra (

Roco Roco, based in Salzburg, Austria, is a manufacturer of model railway equipment. History The company was founded in 1960 by Ing. Heinz Rössler and started with a plastic Minitanks series of military vehicles. After export to the USA became succ ...

), murders a foreign priest who gave the last rites to an alleged rebel, who was also executed by the same group. At the success of the

1986 EDSA revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...

, political detainees, led by Jimmy Cordero ( Salvador), celebrate the fall of the

Marcos Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portug ...

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...

. All political prisoners are released, including Jimmy, an ex-priest-turned-underground revolutionary. Not long, after, Jimmy marries a human rights activist, Trixie ( Bonnevie). Jimmy becomes an advocate of human rights. Despite Trixie's protests, her brother, Roland (Lorenzo), and Jimmy go on a fact-finding mission to Santa Filomena to investigate the latest crime committed by the Orapronobis. Jimmy meets Esper ( Alajar), his ex-girlfriend. He finds out that he has a son with her, Camilo ( Herrera). They agree to keep Jimmy's true identity a secret from the boy. Conniving with the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, the Orapronobis step up their acts of terror. Jimmy's group helps evacuate the townspeople to the town church, then later to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. Back in Manila, Jimmy turns down a friend's invitation to rejoin the underground movement. Later, he and Roland are ambushed. Jimmy survives, but Roland does not. He recovers and shortly after that, Trixie gives birth to their child. Soldiers raid the refugee center with a masked man who identifies several of the barrio folk as rebels. The refugees and the human rights activists complain to the government. Esper and her son are abducted by the Orapronobis who accuse Esper of helping the rebels. She is raped and beaten up by Kumander Kontra in front of Camilo. Fighting back, she shoots at Kontra. In a hysterical rage, Kontra goes on a shooting rampage, killing Esper, Camilo and the captured barrio men. Later, the military bring the casualties to the town where Jimmy weeps over the bodies of Esper and his son. The film ends with Jimmy contacting his old colleague from the underground.

Cast

as Jimmy Cordero *

as Trixie Cordero *

Gina Alajar Regina Liguid Alatiit (born June 28, 1959), professionally known as Gina Alajar (), is a FAMAS and Gaward Urian Award winning Filipino film and television actress and television director. Career Since appearing as a child actress in the ea ...

as Esper *

Bembol Roco Rafael Aranda Roco, Jr. (born November 20, 1953), popularly known as Bembol Roco, is a Filipino actor whose work ranges from films to television. He is famous for his critically acclaimed role as Julio Madiaga in '' Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liw ...

as Kumander Kontra *Abbo dela Cruz as Django *

Pen Medina Crispin "Pen" Parungao Medina Sr. (born August 27, 1950, in Arayat, Pampanga) is an actor from the Philippines who started acting in theater plays in his youth. He eventually played versatile roles on the big screen and in various television s ...

as Chief Sparrow *

Joel Lamangan Joel Lamangan (born September 21, 1952) is a Filipino film director, television director and actor. His award-winning films includes '' The Flor Contemplacion Story'', '' Sidhi'', '' Deathrow'', ''Hubog'', '' Aishte Imasu 1941'', '' Blue Moon'' ...

as Col. Mateo *Gerard Bernschein as Father Jeff *Ernie Zarate as Bishop Romero *Jess Ramos as Capt. Sumilang *Obby Castañeda as Politician 1 *Pocholo Montes as Politician 2 *Ben Vibar as TV Newscaster 1 *Raquel Villavicencio as TV Newscaster 2 *

Joe Taruc Jose Malgapo Taruc Jr. (; September 18, 1947 – September 30, 2017), also known as Joe Taruc, was a Filipino news anchor who worked at DZRH in the Philippines. He was one of the top-rating news anchors on radio. Aside from being a news anchor, ...

as TV Reporter 1 *Dodie Lacuna as TV Reporter 2 *Thea Cleofe Salvador as Government Representative *Archie Adamos as Henchman *Fred Capulong as Henchman *Rene Hawkins as Henchman *Esther Chavez as Mrs. Medina *Estrella Kuenzler as Mrs. Cordero *Ruben Rustia as Monsignor *Apo Chua as Jun Lazaro *Tess Dumpit as Malou Lazaro *Raquel Tan as Secretary *Suzette Rigor as Midwife *William Lorenzo as Roland *Mae Quesada as Volunteer *Ramon Hodel as Volunteer *Lito Tiongeon as Volunteer *Mad Nicolas as Volunteer *Nanding Josef as Volunteer *Roger Moring as Orapronobis Death Squad *Boy Roque as Orapronobis Death Squad *Jun Nido as Orapronobis Death Squad *Emil Estrada as Orapronobis Death Squad *Ver De Guzman as Orapronobis Death Squad *Ray Ventura as Refugee *Connie Chua as Refugee * RR Herrera as Camilo *Beth Mondragon as Refugee *Evelyn Vargas as Refugee *Raul Alfonso as Refugee *Ernie Cloma as Refugee *Chie Concepcion as Refugee *Bituin Rada as Refugee *

Malou de Guzman Malou de Guzman (born August 24, 1958) is a Filipina stage, television and film actress. Personal life De Guzman has a daughter Luchi, with former actor Ross Rival. She is an alumnus of the University of the Philippines-Diliman , image ...

as Refugee *Atong Redillas as Refugee *Dante Balaois as Refugee *Jovy Zarrate as Refugee *Suyen Chua as Refugee *Rody Vera as Terrorist *Carol Villena as Terrorist *Mina Nicolas as Terrorist *Elson Montalbo as Terrorist *Arthur Venegas as Terrorist *Benjie Ledesma as Terrorist *

Menggie Cobarrubias Domingo "Menggie" Cobarrubias (August 10, 1951 – March 26, 2020) was a Filipino actor who appeared in approximately 200 television shows and films. Cobarrubias received a Gawad Urian Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1979 film ...

as Human Rights Lawyer *Ellen Ongkeko as Human Rights Lawyer *Khryss Adalia as Human Rights Lawyer *Rey Malte-Cruz as Human Rights Lawyer *William Tan as Photojournalist *Ramon Acasio as Photojournalist *Jojo de Guzman as Photojournalist *Arman Son as Photojournalist *Peter Carillo as Photojournalist *Vilma Deonio as Photojournalist *Roger Escleto as Photojournalist *Gil Martea as Photojournalist *Mark Moncado as Photojournalist *

John Arcilla Romeo Gonzales Arcilla (born June 24 1966), professionally known as John Arcilla, is a Filipino actor and environmentalist. He won Best Actor at the 78th Venice International Film Festival for his performance in '' On the Job: The Missing 8 ...

as Photojournalist *Jenina Limlengco as Photojournalist

References

External links

* {{Lino Brocka 1989 films 1989 thriller films Cold War films Films directed by Lino Brocka Films about totalitarianism Philippine political thriller films Films about human rights Films about fascism Philippine thriller films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links