Muro-Ami (film)

Muro-Ami
Muro-Ami
	GMA Films' Muro Ami (Reef Hunters)
Directed by	Marilou Diaz-Abaya
Screenplay by	Ricardo Lee; Jun Lana;
Story by	Marilou Diaz-Abaya
Produced by	Butch Jimenez; Jimmy Duavit; Marilou Diaz-Abaya;
Starring	Cesar Montano
Cinematography	Rody Lacap
Edited by	Jesus Navarro
Music by	Nonong Buencamino
Production; company	GMA Films
Distributed by	GMA Films
Release date	December 25, 1999;
Running time	113 minutes
Country	Philippines
Language	Filipino
Budget	₱30 million
Box office	₱60 million

Muro-Ami (transl. Reef Hunters) is a 1999 Filipino adventure drama film directed by Marilou Diaz-Abaya. It stars Cesar Montano as Fredo, a ruthless captain of 150 muro-ami divers, who employ illegal fishing practices, such as pounding and crushing corals to scare fish, driving them towards the nets. It depicts one of the worst forms of child labor in the illegal fishing system.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

The film has won 13 out of 14 nominations in the 1999 Metro Manila Film Festival, including Best Picture.^[7]

Plot

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.^[3]

Cast

Cesar Montano as Fredo Obsioma
Pen Medina as Diosdado "Diyos-Dado" Lacar
Jhong Hilario as Botong Maldepena
Amy Austria as Susan Bacor
Rebecca Lusterio as Kalbo Kee
Jerome Sales as Filemon Dolotallas
Teodoro Penaranda Jr. as Tibor Lague
Walter Pacatang as Tibo
Ranilo Boquil as Kokoy
Ariel Estoquia Mijos as Bahoy Ballasabas

Accolades

Year	Awards	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
1999	Metro Manila Film Festival	Best Picture	Muro-Ami	Won	^[7]
		Best Director	Marilou Diaz-Abaya	Won
		Best Actor	Cesar Montano	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Pen Medina	Won
		Best Cinematography	Rody Lacap	Won
		Best Production Design	Leo Abaya	Won
		Best Editing	Jess Navarro and Manet Dayrit	Won
		Best Child Performer	Rebecca Lusterio	Won
		Best Original Story	Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Ricardo Lee and Jun Lana	Won
		Best Screenplay	Ricardo Lee and Jun Lana	Won
		Best Musical Score	Nonong Buencamino	Won
		Best Visual Effects	Marc Ambat (Optima Digital)	Won
		Best Sound Recording	Albert Michael Idioma	Won
		Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Awards	Muro-Ami	Won

References

^ The film industry lives. Philippine Daily Inquirer. January 9, 2000. p. 40.
^ Muro Ami tops Box Office. Manila Standard. December 31, 1999. p. 15.
^ ^a ^b Eusebio, Aaron (November 19, 2020). "GMA at 2020 PPP: Muro-Ami". GMA News. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
^ Hellingman, Jeroen (October 10, 2002). "Movie review: Muro-Ami". Bohol. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
^ Burlingame, Burl (November 8, 2000). "Muro Ami a predictable fish tale". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
^ Kalu, Ogbu; Low, Alaine (August 5, 2008). Interpreting Contemporary Christianity: Global Processes and Local Identities. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. p. 58. ISBN 9780802862426. Retrieved July 16, 2021 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Tariman, Pablo (February 22, 2010). "Muro-Ami 10 years after". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 16, 2021.

External links

Muro-ami at IMDb
"Muro Ami". Archived from the original on October 27, 2009. Retrieved August 14, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)