Adela
World Cinema
•
1h 26m
Directed by Adolfo Alix, Jr. • Drama • With Anita Linda, Joem Bascon, Jason Abalos • 2008 • 90 minutes
It is Adela’s 80th birthday. A former radio personality, she lives on her own in the slums of Manila. Adela is surrounded by a sea of humanity and with it their problems, successes, and trivialities. While going through her daily chores, Adela gets swept up in the mundane and dramatic events of those around her.
She helps to deliver a child in front of a crowd of onlookers. She watches the residents of the slum organize a political rally. She prays in church and runs into an old colleague, now a successful TV presenter. She visits her son in prison. She even sits for a short time at a karaoke bar for an impromptu birthday party. Ultimately however, eating her birthday dinner alone, she watches the sun set over the Bay of Manila, contemplating a life of disappointment. Adela is about the quiet moments in life that can fill us with either joy or sorrow.
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