New Trailers: Philippine Films in Cannes 2009: Manila, Independencia, Kinatay

Manila


Independencia


Kinatay
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New Trailer: Tutok

Ded Na Si Lolo

Rainier Castillo, Roderick Paulate

In the 80’s, Roderick Paulate’s gay roles were a brand unto itself. In comedies like Binibining Tsuper-Man and Petrang Kabayo at Ang Pilyang Kuting, he played a version of the parlorista archetype that became so popular, it was easy to dismiss it as stereotypical. But it wasn’t as simple as we may remember. Paulate’s comedy was amazingly physical – he cranked his energy up to eleven; his body flipped and curled with every over-pronounced line – and he imbued the exaggerations with a deep sense of moral pride. He was an effeminate who kicked butt, a swishy but completely able action hero that snared audiences in droves – unheard of until then and still unmatched. The guy deserves a lifetime achievement award.

The treat of the new movie Ded Na Si Lolo is that it possesses that same edge-of-sanity bombast. Paulate’s parlorista persona – this time he’s a stage impersonator who makes an entrance at his father’s funeral in a red dress – is still a blast, especially since we’re seeing him in the fresh context of our post-politically correct times. He’s right at home in an ensemble of terrific actors, with Gina Alajar, Manilyn Reynes, Elizabeth Oropesa, and Dick Ysrael – playing siblings reunited by the death. They each bring their A-game, times ten. The film’s most memorable running gag is how each member passes out as a result of the emotional stress. Writer-Director Soxy Topacio has marshalled a loud, noisy, over-the-top picture, but grounds it with real humanity – a hysterical comedy as well as a hysterical drama.

The film is structured within the traditional Filipino rites of death, beginning with the news, to the days of the wake, to the burial, making room for necessary steps like preparing food for the guests and accounting surmounting costs, but mainly finding humor from the piles of superstitious practices. I bet, like me, you didn’t know there were so many. In one scene, Rainier Castillo hops from neighbors' door to door covered in soap suds and a towel, because he was forbidden from taking a bath in the house where the dead lay. The hottie teen plays the crush object of many gays, but there are other eye candies to behold, such as Dave Cervantes in a significant other role. Bellie, Cookie, Phil and Diego appear as lively trannies. There are more small parts, and practically everyone makes a mark.

I would like to see how international audiences would respond to the uniquely Filipino culture on display, and also if they could appreciate the heightened performances as a truthful depiction of the Filipino tendency to over-react and make a big deal out of everything. The film is a triumph of tone, and will prove to be a Filipino crowd-pleaser for years to come. There’s not much by way of character development, but it does offer an acute reflection of a family who must push themselves to exhaustion before they can find peace.

GRADE: A-

Related Links:
Mixed Review by Philbert Dy
Positive Review by Butch Francisco
Movie Trailer
Roderick Paulate Explains Why He is Still Single

Unkoverd Boyz

The jerkoff video -- where guys pleasure themselves for our viewing pleasure -- is commonly believed to be the territory of porn. In this age of Corbin Fisher and Sean Cody dot coms, it may seem futile to us to watch a wanking that doesn't eventually produce a cumshot, even though images of men sexing themselves, whether literal or merely suggested, have been around in the arts for centuries and is still being made today around the world as erotica.

In Unkoverd Boyz, the sequel to Koverboyz Fantasies, we learn that the thin line between jerkoff hardcore pornography and jerkoff erotica is not a matter of artfulness, but simply of concealment. The video takes creative pains to hide the stiffies -- by blurring or soft focus and with objects obstructing the view, such as a leaf or a chair -- even though it also allows us generous little peeks at the erections and other dangling goods. That's how we know the makers weren't really making porn, just "frustrated porn". Someday, hopefully soon, I would like to see a version of this released without the blockage, because I'm sure it's hibernating in somebody's hard drive somewhere.

In terms of creativity, Unkoverd Boyz surpasses its predecessor. Writer/Director/Producer/Cinematographer Cris Pablo appears to be more sure of his shots, and for the first time, I finally get his use of interstitial text, a style he has been employing in his past features to drive a narrative, like silent film captions worded in a pidgin gay street language. At its best, Unkoverd Boyz plays like a sexual reimagining of the silent film form. A guy masturbates to a photo of a hottie, then the hottie comes to life and they masturbate together front-to-front like mirror images. A similar one occurs with one guy inspired by a magazine, back-to-back with his fantasy guy garbed in an Arabic-inspired anti-clothing, and they never see eye-to-eye. Segments such as these remind me of the works of Kenneth Anger and Pink Narcissus, because of the far-out homoerotic dream logic, only with less psychological heaviness. If there's any justice, Cris Pablo will also be revered, perhaps in a less judgmental future, as a gay filmmaker who bravely put his raw queer idiosyncrasies out there in his movies for all to see.

My favorite vignette is the craziest one: Topher Barreto, out of breath and covered in mud, approaches one gay man after another, begging for water. They deny him, except for the last one. In gratitude, he drags the man to the sea, where they frolic and the dirt washes off, revealing a beauty in the form of Topher Barreto, as if you couldn't recognize him with the mud. It's a twist on the old folk myth of the old and ugly beggar who rewards the person with the golden heart. In this case, the reward is the frog prince himself, offering his lips to ravage and bushy groin to devour. I thought it was utter genius.

Two or three segments are lame in comparison because they're the tired old setups of guys sitting on beds touching themselves, but the varying sexiness of the guys pays off, especially a fresh face named Echo, leaning against a wall with his rock-toned chocolate body glazed with ocean mist. The other guys in the cast include Andro Morgan, Paolo Moreno, Edwin Vargas, Mark, Aris, Xander, and Ian Portuguez.

GRADE: B+

Related Links:
Mixed Review by Pinoy Gay Guy Confidential
Review of Koverboyz Fantasies

New Trailer: Heavenly Touch

New Trailer: Ded Na Si Lolo

Related Link:
Sine Direk Film Series Schedule of Screenings