| The Child | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Rory B. Quintos |
| Screenplay by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Joe Batac |
| Edited by | George Jarlego |
| Music by | Shaun Gaspar |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 119 minutes |
| Country | Philippines |
| Language | Filipino |
| Box office | ₱165.93 million |
Anak, internationally titled asThe Child, is a 2000 Filipino family drama film directed byRory B. Quintos from a story and screenplay written byRicky Lee and Moira Lang. The film starsVilma Santos andClaudine Barretto, withJoel Torre andBaron Geisler, and tells the story of a mother who works as a domestic helper in Hong Kong and her struggle to see her children grow up which she hopes a better future for them.
Produced byStar Cinema, the film was released on May 10, 2000, and became a box office hit. It grossed over ₱165 million in its theatrical run, surpassingIsusumbong Kita sa Tatay Ko... to become the highest-grossing Philippine film of all time until the release ofAng Tanging Ina in 2003. It was the Philippines' submission to the73rd Academy Awards for theAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[1][2]
The film has been restored byABS-CBN Film Archives. The restored version premiered on ABS-CBN's movie channel,Cinema One, on May 22, 2015.
A woman struggling to make a better life for her family finds that her efforts have caused a problem between her and her children in this downbeat family drama. Josie is a mother of three children (Carla, Michael, and Daday) from the Philippines who takes a job inHong Kong as a nanny for a wealthy couple for several years. She knows she can make more money in Hong Kong than she could at home, but also has qualms about how her absence will affect her children, especially when her husband died not long after she left.
When Josie returns home, she has gifts for everyone and savings from her salary, which she plans to use to start a business. Her children, however, don't welcome their mother with open arms. The younger kids, Daday and Michael, are guarded around Josie, and while they eventually mend their relationship with their mother, the oldest, Carla, does nothing to disguise her resentment for what she sees as callous abandonment of her family. Carla openly challenges Josie's authority, starts dating boys she knows her mother wouldn't approve of, flaunts her burgeoning sexuality, begins using drugs
In the end, Carla realizes what she has done and understands the reason why her mother didn't return home at her father's death. She forgives her and changes her ways, and promises to take care of her younger siblings when she goes back to Hong Kong.
Anak was a box-office success. The film grossed ₱14 million on its first day and earned ₱165.9 million for its theatrical run, surpassingIsusumbong Kita sa Tatay Ko... to become the highest-grossing Philippine film of all time.[3][4][5] Its record was surpassed in 2003 byAng Tanging Ina.[3]
| Year | Award-giving body | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Catholic Mass Media Award[6] | Best Film | Anak | Won |
