The classic film is an examination of class, ambition, manipulation, and the Filipino condition during the late 1970s
The neo-noir crime classic “Jaguar” (1979) by Lino Brocka is having a powerful resurgence with a newly completed 4K restoration, marking a major moment in Philippine film preservation and national cinema history.
“Jaguar” made history when it first premiered: it became the first Filipino film to compete for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980. Decades later, this restored version opens new pathways for Filipino audiences and international viewers alike to engage with Brocka’s uncompromising vision.
The film stars Phillip Salvador as Poldo Miranda, a low-paid security guard (colloquially called a “jaguar” in Manila) who dreams of upward social mobility. His chance comes when he protects the son of a wealthy family and becomes his bodyguard—but gradually is pulled into a web of crime and moral compromise.
The screenplay was co-written by Jose ‘Pete’ Lacaba and national artist Ricky Lee, based on a true-crime account from trade-journalist and literary figure Nick Joaquin’s “Reportage on Crime.”
The film functions not only as a crime thriller but as a socially conscious examination of class, ambition, manipulation, and the Filipino condition during the late 1970s.
The restoration was made possible through the Film Restoration Program of the Philippine Film Archive under the FDCP. It cost under ₱2 million—a remarkably competitive figure, according to film restorer Ricky Orellana—but the project’s success also owes much to the foresight of the late Pierre Rissient, the legendary Cannes talent scout and longtime friend of Brocka. Rissient had safeguarded the film’s original reels at the LTC film laboratories in Paris on behalf of producer Bancom Audiovision (now Union Bank), with vital assistance and reference copies from Filipino film collector Jojo Devera.
For Philippine cinema, this kind of restoration is vital: preserving the work of a national artist, enabling new audiences and scholarship, and reclaiming cultural heritage that might otherwise have been lost.