Deathrow (2000)
A neglected and unloved orphan raised by poor relatives in the slums of Manila is wrongfully convicted of murder that resulted from a heist he was compelled to join. Unable to prove his innocence and his minor age, he is thrown into the cruel, perilous and horrifying world of death row where he is introduced to other inmates all awaiting their execution by lethal injection. One of them is a 70-year-old man who detests the jungle of jail and is feared by all the convicts. He would serve as the boy’s protector and savior and in the process touch and shape enormously the violated youth’s life in prison and beyond.
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Seen as part of the 2002 Melbourne International Film Festival Program this film failed to live up to its promise of offering real insights into Manilla prisons and the plight of the 16 year old imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Poor scripting and production destroyed the credibility of the plot which at times looked like the very worst of TV soaps. Many festival patrons walked out-some didn't undoubtedly hoping for some reward for sitting out the movie but unfortunately the credibility of the film didn't improve as the producer attempted to convince us that the jail inmates behaviour focussed on a cocktail of violence and murder alternating with tearful prisoners embracing and farewelling the next man to be executed !