''Tirador'' () is a 2007 film directed by

Brillante Mendoza Brillante "Dante" Mendoza (born 30 July 1960) is a Filipino independent filmmaker. Mendoza is known one of the key members associated with the Filipino New Wave. Career He was born and raised in San Fernando, Pampanga. He took advertising ...

. Produced by the Centerstage Productions, the film shows the political undertones of the Filipinos who are living in poverty.

Plot

The film revolves around the lives of Rex, Caloy, Leo and Odie in the streets of Quiapo, Manila. Quiapo is known to be one of the most crowded, depressed and notorious areas in Manila. The movie was set during Holy Week and the 2007 elections that showed both the political and religious stands of a typical Filipino in the slums. The low-life criminals are portrayed in a way that humanizes them, and was compared to the corrupt and hypocritical politicians who exploits the poor.

Cast

Jiro Manio Jiro Manio (born , 9 May 1992) is a Filipino actor who started acting at the age of seven in the film ''Pamana'' in 1999. Early life and education Manio was born to a Filipina mother Joylene Santos (died August 8, 2006) and Japanese father . ...

as Odie *

Coco Martin Rodel Pacheco Nacianceno (born November 1, 1981), known professionally by his stage name Coco Martin (), is a Filipino actor, director, and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead roles in ''Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin'', '' Walang H ...

as Caloy *Kristoffer King as Rex *Nathan Lopez as Leo *Harold Montano as Rod *

Jaclyn Jose Mary Jane Santa Ana Guck (born October 21, 1964), better known by her stage name Jaclyn Jose, is a Filipino cinema and television actress who has earned international critical acclaim. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Private Sho ...

as Zeny * Julio Diaz as Diego

Production

The movie was produced by Centerstage Productions, Rollingball Entertainment and Ignite Media. Tirador was distributed in the Philippines through the same production in 2007 and was also shown internationally in France through Swift Distribution and Peccadillo Pictures in 2009 in UK.

Themes and symbolism

Low-life and character depth

The movie showed the cruelty of the society and how a regular Filipino, living in the slums survives another day.

Machismo

Tirador showed how men are forced into machismo, and how weak a human soul is. Evil has its own way to corrupt the minds of people in all social classes because of strong and selfish human urges.

Impact

The main actors played realistic roles, that mirrored how men live in the slum area. The movie exposed the contrasts of corruption in all classes, where the influential was placed in the hot seat. It also showed the difference of societal levels and the animalistic instinct of humans to survive.

References

External links

* 2007 films 2000s Tagalog-language films 2000s crime drama films Filipino-language films Philippine crime drama films {{Philippines-film-stub