Steel Is the Earth

  • 114'
  • Philippines
  • 2013
Mes De Guzman builds his ‘earth trilogy’ around three raw materials - stone, steel and ice - that are at once elixir and poison. Necessary to survive, but also a threat to life.
Carlito, protagonist of the second part, has a patent on steel. His motorbike and pistol are made of it, and in his business he uses it in many ways. Steel stands for cold, hard and mechanical, contrasting with the soft, warm emotional issues in his life.
For instance love: Carlito is getting married. But he doesn’t dare tell his parents. He also takes advantage of the safety of the bartering rural community from which he commutes back and forth to work.
Meandering loosely and with apparent improvisation - apparent because it’s based on a substantial script full of dry comic dialogue - the film works treacherously: the mood almost inconspicuously becomes grimmer as it heads for a fatal - or steely - conclusion.


  • 114'
  • Philippines
  • 2013
Director
Mes De Guzman
Premiere
World premiere
Country of production
Philippines
Year
2013
Festival Edition
IFFR 2013
Length
114'
Medium
Betacam SP
Original title
Ang mundo sa panahon ng bakal
Language
Filipino
Producers
Mes De Guzman, Susan Santos, Rhea Operaña
Production Companies
Sampaybakod Productions, Cinelarga
Sales
Cinelarga
Screenplay
Mes De Guzman
Cinematography
Tristan Salas
Editor
Abbas Tabas, Ronnie de Acal
Production Design
Seño Dee
Sound Design
Mon Ching
Cast
Jess Evardone, John Paul Escobedo
Local Distributor
Hubert Bals Fund
Director
Mes De Guzman
Premiere
World premiere
Country of production
Philippines
Year
2013
Festival Edition
IFFR 2013
Length
114'
Medium
Betacam SP
Original title
Ang mundo sa panahon ng bakal
Language
Filipino
Producers
Mes De Guzman, Susan Santos, Rhea Operaña
Production Companies
Sampaybakod Productions, Cinelarga
Sales
Cinelarga
Screenplay
Mes De Guzman
Cinematography
Tristan Salas
Editor
Abbas Tabas, Ronnie de Acal
Production Design
Seño Dee
Sound Design
Mon Ching
Cast
Jess Evardone, John Paul Escobedo
Local Distributor
Hubert Bals Fund