Vilma Santos and Claudine Barretto were very fond throughout filming. In addition to this, the film also shows an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) mother and her struggle to see her children grow up, and her hopes for a better future for them. Throughout the film there is a popular discussion about family life, and the importance of relationships, communication, and relationships personal needs.
The film has been restored by ABS-CBN Film Archives. The restored version premiered on ABS-CBN's movie channel, Cinema One, on May 22, 2015.
Plot
A woman struggling to make a better life for her family finds that her efforts have caused a problem between her and her children in this downbeat family drama. Josie is a mother of three children (Carla, Michael, and Daday) from the Philippines who takes a job in Hong Kong as a nanny for a wealthy couple for several years. She knows she can make more money in Hong Kong than she could at home, but also has qualms about how her absence will affect her children, especially when her husband died not long after she left.
When Josie returns home, she has gifts for everyone and savings from her salary, which she plans to use to start a business. Her children, however, don't welcome their mother with open arms. The younger kids, Daday and Michael, are guarded around Josie, and while they eventually mend their relationship with their mother, the oldest, Carla, does nothing to disguise her resentment for what she sees as callous abandonment of her family. Carla openly challenges Josie's authority, starts dating boys she knows her mother wouldn't approve of, flaunts her burgeoning sexuality, begins using drugs
In the end, Carla realizes what she has done and understands the reason why her mother didn't return home at her father's death. She forgives her and changes her ways, and promises to take care of her younger siblings when she goes back to Hong Kong.
Anak was a box-office success. The film grossed ₱14 million in its first day and earned ₱165.9 million for its theatrical run, surpassing Isusumbong Kita sa Tatay Ko... to become the highest grossing Philippine film of all time.[3][4][5] Its record was surpassed in 2003 by Ang Tanging Ina.[3]
