Cavite (2006)

Suffers from a ceaselessly roving camera and overuse of shaky handhelds, as well as even less successful editing tropes, and some very fake-looking blood.

Arbitrarily arranged and awfully acted... proof positive that well-meaning creative wishes and savvy, low-fi merging of production means and narrative concept doesn't automatically produce heady results.

A harrowing but ultimately empty indie political thriller about Muslim terrorists.

Cavite...will probably be cited in years to come as a classic example of the post-9/11 action thriller

...there's...a certain unseemliness to the endeavor that is difficult to dismiss.

... cunning meditation on the birthing grounds of religious extremism ...

The budget for this film is one of those miniscule amounts when compared to a studio film, which just goes to show it's not how much you spend to make a movie, but what you put into it.

Cavite will go down in history as a classic of no-budget filmmaking, making such ingenious use of bare resources that it's a wonder the movie is an effective, even thoughtful thriller.

A thrilling and scary ride through the side streets of a third world that is rarely seen in the movies, and carries a revolutionary message that is frightening in its political implications.