99 kills, one name, zero chill — Filipino cinema's most patriotic body count.
A re-telling of Artemio Ricarte, a Filipino patriot who fought against the Spanish and later Americans. He was later supported by the Japanese during WWII. Nickname was "El Vibora" (the Viper).
Direction
Bernal's operatic framing of political violence as spectacle.
Acting
Vic Vargas smolders through 99 kills with unsettling conviction.
Production
Period detail that somehow cost less than your monthly rent.
Director
Ishmael Bernal
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Real Artemio Ricarte died in Japanese custody in 1945; this film's sympathetic Imperial Japanese portrayal reflects 1970s Marcos-era diplomatic ties with Japan.
Ishmael Bernal made this between his feminist breakthroughs (Nunal sa Tubig, Himala)—some critics read it as deliberate macho pastiche before his softer period.
PH
