A Dangerous Life


A Dangerous Life is a 1988 English-language Australian film directed by Robert Markowitz and written by David Williamson. The story is about a love affair and the journey of a foreign correspondent set during the final years of Ferdinand Marcos presidency in the Philippines, from the assasination Benigno Aquino, Jr. in 1983 to the People Power Revolution in 1986, as well as other key events that led to the ouster of Marcos.
The film stars Gary Busey as American news correspondent Tony O'Neill, and Rebecca Gilling as his estranged journalist wife Angie. It also stars Tessie Tomas as Imelda Marcos, and Laurice Guillen as Corazon Aquino, the roles for which they won awards and praises from the media. It was shot on location in Manila, Philippines, Colombo, Sri Lanka and Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne in Australia.

Plot

After being informed by Fabian Ver of Senator Ninoy Aquino's arrival, Imelda Marcos tells her husband Ferdinand about her warning to Ninoy about not returning to the Philippines due to dangers to his life.
American news correspondent and journalist Tony O'Neill, who has just been flown to the Philippines, is driving with his cameraman and technical operator Ramon to Manila International Airport to cover the arrival of Senator Aquino from the United States. At a nearby hotel, Rolando Galman is handed a Philippine Airlines maintenance engineer's uniform by colleagues before they leave. Inside the airport's two-year old modern terminal, he and other journalists witness the arrival of the aircraft, a China Airlines Boeing 767 and enter the airbridge to await the senator's entry. Seconds later, Ninoy is shot along with Galman and several other gunshots force Tony and the other journalists to leave the scene as Ninoy's body is loaded to a van. Fleeing to the arrival concourse, O'Neill asks Ramon if he filmed the entire incident, wherein the latter only responds that he failed to do so as everything "happened too fast".
Meanwhile in Boston, a telephone call awakens Corazon Aquino. The caller tells of her husband's death and asks her to confirm it to which she states that she never received such news. She and her family fly home from the United States and during the wake of Ninoy, she tells her two daughters that they shall vow to avenge his death and identify the perpetrators. The day after the assassination, Marcos and Olivas preside over the initial investigation of Aquino's assassination. After answering the questions of the journalists, Marcos condemns the previous day's incident and warns everyone not to make any dangerous assumptions.
O'Neill covers Aquino's funeral and calls it as "larger than that of Gandhi's". At a phone call in his residence, he asks his superior Alex to allow him to stay longer in Manila due to the recent events, to which Alex agrees. Before going to Malacañang Palace

Cast

Fictional characters

Production credits

Although the film was shot on location in the Philippines, some scenes were shot in Sri Lanka, mostly due to political and legal pressures from Juan Ponce Enrile who also appreciated the film but did not like the way he was represented. Other reasons were that the producers had experienced similar conflicts when filming a similar film, The Year of Living Dangerously in 1981 in Manila.
Some scenes were shot in Australia. The scene of the late Butz Aquino calling from Camp Crame was shot in Sydney.

Release

Manila Standard columnist Emil P. Jurado disparaged A Dangerous Life, calling it an "insult to the Filipino people... and to the heroes of EDSA in particular" for its poor acting, conspicuously Sri Lankan extras, and treatment of foreigners as the main heroes. Jurado, however, noted "flashes of brilliance" from the performances of Laurice Guillen and Tessie Tomas as Corazon Aquino and Imelda Marcos respectively.