Ron Morales’ sobering and unflinching kidnapping film Graceland was a big hit at Fantastic Fest last year. After making the rounds at other festivals and winning fans along the way, this fine addition to the Filipino new wave is gearing up for its official theatrical release. The story of a father’s relentless quest to find and rescue his kidnapped daughter feels so scarily real you’d think you were watching the events in real time. Have a look at the newest trailer that was released on iTunes yesterday…
Family man Marlon Villar is the longtime chauffeur of Manuel Chango, a notoriously corrupt Filipino politician. One day as he and his daughter accompany his boss’ preteen daughter home, their car is ambushed and, in the ensuing confusion, the wrong girl is kidnapped and held for ransom. Determined to rescue his child, but trapped between the competing motives of Chango and the kidnappers, the unassuming driver’s life takes a sudden, terrifying turn that propels him into a horrifying downward spiral. As events unravel, Marlon, Chango, and their families become entangled in a game of deceit and betrayal that will leave no one innocent.
While the brief synopsis sounds like a less adrenaline fueled version of Taken, Morales’ film is less meant to be popcorn excitement and instead address a very real and hot topic in his home country of the Philippines. We’ll be posting our interview with Morales in the next few weeks so be on the look out for that. Ron Morales’ acclaimed kidnapping-gone-way-wrong thriller is being released by Drafthouse Films and hits iTunes/VOD this Spring on March 28th and theaters April 26th, 2013.
