Stealing a middle-class woman’s smartphone is the biggest mistake in the petty-criminal life of Jestoni “Jess” Biag (singer Nico Antonio in an attention-grabbing performance). It not only gets him locked up and waterboarded, but also gives him a crash-course in the workings of the deeply corrupt system personified by his nemesis Inspector Domingo. The phone’s memory contains an embarrassing video, which makes the owner Grace Rosuello determined to get it back; her persistence lands Jess in custody. The script has the wit to provide a context for his “education” by including glimpses of other criminals, others complainants, some of them very amusing. But the focus is on the process which turns Jess from a street thief into something much worse, and it’s presented in whip-sharp scenes which waste no time on melodramatics or phony emotional posturing. Fajardo’s powerful film gives the term “police procedural” a very dark twist.
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