(Credits: Netflix)

You do not always stumble upon a film like this. It is not marketed with loud trailers or plastered on the front page. It waits quietly, tucked away in a corner of Netflix, until someone happens to press play. And then it hits. Not with spectacle, but with truth. Ordinary People on Netflix is not here to entertain in the usual way. It shows you what happens when the world moves on and two young lives are left to figure it out alone.

Set on the streets of Manila, the 2016 film follows Jane and Aries. Teenagers, parents, thieves, and survivors. They are not looking for your sympathy. They are just trying to make it to the next day. When their baby is stolen, survival turns into urgency. Their reality, already fragile, begins to collapse.

Hasmine Killip, as Jane, delivers a performance that does not need dramatic music or long monologues to be felt. She is fiery, desperate, numb, and vulnerable all within a single breath. Ronwaldo Martin’s Aries is just as layered. He is young, unsure, and trying to protect a family he is barely old enough to raise. Their chemistry feels like survival, not romance, which is exactly what makes it work.

The film does not dress up its world. There are no dramatic turns, no magical moments of rescue. It sticks close to the pavement, following Jane and Aries through alleyways, convenience stores, and busy intersections. The camera moves with them, handheld and shaky, like another person trying to keep up. Sometimes, security footage takes over, giving you a cold and distant view of their livesas if , even the city prefers to watch from a safe distance.

Director Eduardo Roy Jr does not preach. He just lets things unfold. Poverty is not shown as tragedy but as routine. You see what it means to live without safety nets, without time to grieve, without anyone checking in. And you see what happens when the only thing you truly care about is suddenly gone.

Ordinary People is not an easy film. But it is an honest one. It does not tell you how to feel. It just hands you the story and leaves the rest to you. And that is why it works. It reminds you that behind every headline and every stereotype, there are real people just trying to survive in impossible circumstances.

This is your last week to watch it on Netflix. The film is leaving the platform on June 26. Once it disappears, it might not return for a while. Films like this often go unnoticed. And once they are gone, they are harder to find.

If you are in the mood for something real, something that does not just pass the time but sits with you after pressing play on Ordinary People. Let it challenge you. Let it sit uncomfortably. Because sometimes, the quietest stories are the ones that stay the longest.