Muro ami (1999)

Cast

Cesar Montano - Fredo
Pen Medina - Dado
Amy Austria - Susan
Jhong Hilario - Butong
Rebecca Lusterio - Kalbo
Jerome Sales - Filemon
Teodoro Penaranda Jr. - Tabugok

Movie quotes:
 Aria!!
"Walang kakain hangga't walang nahuhuling isda”

Awards and Citations:
Winner of thirteen awards of its sixteen nominations at the 1999 Metro Manila Film Festival including Best Child Performer (Rebecca Lusterio), Best Story (Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Ricardo Lee, Jun Lana), Best Screenplay (Ricardo Lee and Jun Lana), Best Director (Marilou Diaz-Abaya) and Best Picture. It also received the Jury and Public Choice Award in the Bénodet Filmfest in France. –wikipedia

A fisherman's wounded spirit begins to give out as he loses his hold on his livelihood in this drama from the Philippines. Fredo (Cesar Montano) is a fisherman who has endured more than his share of hardship in life; his wife and child both perished in a boating accident, and today Fredo approaches each trip to the sea with the angry determination of a man out for revenge. Fredo commands a crew of young people from poor families as he takes his rattletrap ship into the ocean in search of fish that live along the reefs, snaring catch with an illegal netting system. Not all of Fredo's youthful sailors are willing to put up with his abusive arrogance, however, and even his father Dado (Pen Medina) and close friend Botong (Jhong Hilario) have grown weary of Fredo's tirades. Fredo's body is beginning to betray him as well, and as he and his crew damage the sea's reef beds in search of fish, no one is certain how much longer he will be able to continue…
The movie gives a good impression of the gruesome child-labor practices -- even though the truth is even more horrible -- and the destruction brought forth by the illegal fishing practices. The movie includes a lot of impressive underwater scenes, and makes a good piece of drama.

Award winning movie and I must say that Cesar Montano is one of my favourite male stars because of his role in this film. I watched this when I was still young but I never failed to notice the child labour and hardships that this film wants to give out to the public, great movie. One of my favorites.

Image source: Wikipedia