Jueteng is a numbers game played in the Philippines. First reported in the late 1800s while the Philippines was under Spanish rule, it was made illegal in 1907 after the United States occupied the country. Despite this, and successive subsequent crackdowns, the game remains popular throughout Luzon, while similar games exist in the rest of the Philippines, being particularly popular among the poorer communities. The game is essentially controlled by the Mafia, who also take care of bribing the authorities, which are quite loose in enforcing the law on those who run it. Furthermore, there is a hierarchy, with the bookies (Kubrador in Filipino, as is the local title of the movie) working the bottom, essentially meaning convincing people to play or simply taking the bets from those who want to, followed by the treasurers, local managers and “the boss” whom is never seen.
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The protagonist of the movie, Amy is an elderly kubrador, who roams the Manila slums collecting bets, while trying to avoid the police, all the time smoking cigarettes or having mint candies in her mouth. Although she is quite good at her job, the miniscule percentage she gets from a game that is already addressed to the poor does not solve her intense financial problems, as she owes money to the treasurer of the game. Her husband is supposedly running a small convenience store which is placed in the front room of their house, but is essentially an incompetent man who spends all his day stuck on the TV. Her daughter-in-law constantly takes whatever she needs from the shop without ever paying, while her son tries to make some money by selling tabloid newspapers on the street. Another son of hers is dead, although his spirit seems to accompany her while she walks around. One day, luck shines upon her, but hope does not last for long.
Check the interview with the producer of the movie, Joji Alonso
Jeffrey Jeturian uses the story of Amy and the concept of the Jueteng in order to present a thorough look in the lives of the poor in the slums of Manila, with Boy Uniguez’s handheld camera following Amy in documentary-like fashion, with the overall, rather realistic approach here essentially moving towards this particular direction. In that fashion, cockfights, karaoke, the numbers, gossip, chased by and bribing the police, priests asking for alms, loan sharks and cooperative funds create a rather thorough portrait of the particular life. At the same time, however, and although the movie could easily become a misery porn, Jeturian takes care of showing that most of these people are actually happy, even within their poorness, as this is essentially the only way they ever knew of living their lives. The always feisty Amy definitely helps in that regard, with Gina Pareno giving a great performance in the role, essentially being present in every scene, filling them with her acting and overall charisma.
At the same time, the comments regarding the corruption of the authorities are quite pointed, adding another level to the realism and the overall contextual richness here. On another, more metaphysical level, Jeturian seems to show that death lurks around her all the time, starting with the ghost of her dead son, continuing with the death of the son of the neighbor, and concluding with the finale, where the violence that seemed to have been being built throughout the story finding an outlet. Lastly, the film also functions as a road movie through the slums, on yet another level that cements the rather rich narrative.
Jay Halil’s editing adds to the documentary-like approach with his cuts being quite rare, while the overall low budget production actually adds to the realism of the movie.
“Bet Collector” is an excellent movie that works well as both a drama and a documentary-like presentation of the particular type of life, through a style Brillante Mendoza repeatedly implemented on his most successful movies.
