Off World

2009
1h 16m

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

YOUR RATING

Delving deeper into the subject matter of Director Mateo GuezÂ’ 2009 Contact Toronto Photography exhibit of the same name, Off World is an ethereal, occasionally disturbing portrait of one of The PhilippinesÂ’ most notorious slums.
Though fictional, Off World plays like a documentary, following a young Toronto man named Lucky, whose life is utterly transformed during a journey to his birthplace of Smokey Mountain. Once known as the Kingdom of Tondo, Smokey Mountain is now one of the most densely populated urban landscapes in the Philippines; a vast slum surrounding a mountain of garbage 12 storeyÂ’s high, named for the methane gases that leak continuously from refuse accumulated over the course of more than half a century.
Here, where entire families eke out a meager living as scavengers, Lucky grapples with the echoes of his past in an attempt to define himself and reconcile his comparatively affluent Canadian upbringing with the hard-bitten existence of the children of Smokey Mountain. Guided by Julia, a worker at a local NGO, Lucky discovers a living brother who has managed to escape the life of a scavenger, but still lives in the slums surrounding the dump. Without revealing their relationship, and in an effort to fill the gap between them, Lucky immerses himself in the culture of Smokey Mountain and his brotherÂ’s life, uncovering still more tangible links to his past.
Finally revealing himself to the family he had no idea still existed, Lucky finds more than just the answers to his questions about his origins. He uncovers a spirit of hope and a rare beauty that grows wild even in the most squalid corners of our world; ultimately bridging the distance between the life that lies before him, and a past he only narrowly escaped.
The beauty uncovered by Lucky is enhanced as much by the stunning visual compositions of Guez and DOP Francois Dagenais, as by a score composed by Toronto based music and new media producer Byron Wong.

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Follows a young Toronto man whose life is utterly transformed during a journey to his birthplace of Smokey Mountain, one of The Philippines' most notorious slums.Follows a young Toronto man whose life is utterly transformed during a journey to his birthplace of Smokey Mountain, one of The Philippines' most notorious slums.Follows a young Toronto man whose life is utterly transformed during a journey to his birthplace of Smokey Mountain, one of The Philippines' most notorious slums.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Featured review

6/10

Somewhat of an enlightening experience about Manilla

(2009) Off World SOCIAL COMMENTARY DRAMA

The idea about a young man, Lucky (Marc Abaya) returning to the Philippines to find the brother (Marco Morales) he has never seen and the mother (Irma Adlawan) who gave him up for adoption, is just used as a backdrop to showcase some of the worst slums of Manila. Produced, written and directed by Mathieu Guez starring Marc Abaya, heplays Lucky, an adoptee coming to visit from Canada, expressing his grievances through narration, while walking through a known dumping area called "Smokey Mountain", which tries to be subtle and while it has it's moments it doesn't always go on a rhythm.