‘On the Job: The Missing 8’ Review: Sprawling, Uneven but Gripping Thriller About Multi-Level Filipino Corruption
Jessica Kiang Scrappy filmmaking can sometimes deliver superb storytelling, as is proven by Erik Matti’s initially wobbly but increasingly gripping, increasingly thoughtful, increasingly increasing three-and-a-half-hour “On the Job: The Missing 8,” the prolific Filipino director’s Venice-competing sequel to the 2013 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title “On the Job.” While the film unfolds more like the TV show it’s about to become (together with part one, it is due to be re-edited into a six-episode HBO Asia miniseries), that’s hardly a diss these days.