Cain and Abel

Details

This listing is for the standard edition Blu-ray. The limited edition slipcover (designed by Tony Stella) was limited to 2,000 units and is sold out. The two versions are identical, aside from the slipcover.

Named after Yasujiro Ozu’s custom-made, tatami-level, crab-like tripod, Kani is a new home video label dedicated to leveling the gaze and furthering the understanding of Asian cinema in North America. Focused on genre-defying films, Kani aims to expand the canon, bolster up-and-coming filmmakers and reintroduce repertory classics in context. Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company, OCN Distribution, is thrilled to be representing this diverse and unique home video line!

Firstborn Lorens (Phillip Salvador) toils the land by buffalo while Ellis (Christopher de Leon), the apple of his mother's eye, is given a university education in Manila. When the latter returns to the family’s hacienda with a metropolitan fiancée in tow (Carmi Martin), the domineering Señora Pina (Mona Lisa) immediately disapproves. Looking to reassert her influence, she asks her youngest to name his inheritance. Ellis claims the land – which sparks a family feud that invites tragedy and boils over into all-out filial war.

Penned by the prolific screenwriter Ricardo “Ricky” Lee and directed by Lino Brocka on the heels of masterpieces such as WEIGHED BUT FOUND WANTING (1974), MANILA IN THE CLAWS OF LIGHT (1975) and INSIANG (1976) – the first Filipino film to play at the Cannes Festival – CAIN AND ABEL is a powerful examination of the landed class and its frontier justice. Part high-pitched melodrama; part allegory for the rampant bellicosity of the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos; part timeless Biblical retelling, with nods to Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 STRAW DOGS, Brocka’s lush actioner is a powerful introduction to the pulpier side of the National Artist of the Philippines.

directed by: Lino Brocka
starring: Christopher de Leon, Phillip Salvador, Carmi Martin, Cecille Castillo, Baby Deldago, Mona Lisa
1982 / 112 min / 1.85:1 / Tagalog with English subtitles

Additional info:

• Region Free Blu-ray
• CAIN & ABEL: AN APPRECIATION (2022, 12MINS): NEW FEATURETTE BY JOSÉ B. CAPINO
• INTERVIEW WITH CARMI MARTIN (2022, 13 MINS)
• INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTOPHER DE LEON (2022, 16 MINS)
• BOOKLET INCLUDING “UNRIGHTEOUS KIN” NEW WRITING ON CAIN AND ABEL BY JOSÉ B. CAPINO, SELECT ARCHIVAL MATERIALS, AND NOTES & ANNOTATIONS BY RICKY LEE
• English subtitles