In the Claws of a Century Wanting is a filmic symphony depicting an increasing everyday violence in the aspiration for a city fit for globalization. In the everyday of four small homes, the film traces imprints of the larger world.
Four families live in the seams of Manila’s busiest international port. In the hours of their ordinary days, they hear and see the wealth of different nations packed as cargo, passing them by, leaving and entering Manila’s shores.
Anne gives birth to her third child. Akira learns reading and writing while foraging for scrap metal and coal. Eddie entertains himself to sleep with a broken TV before another nightshift work as a stevedore in the port. Emelita prays over the funeral of her husband. Around them and their days, the port is slowly expanding. Anne’s midwife, Paning, brings the news. The film is a symphony of increasing everyday violence preceding the construction of today’s ideal city.
