Meet My Angel (2021)

Thinking about Life, and Love

I have really mixed emotions about this series. No one should watch it expecting to finding fluffy BL content. It is much more in the tradition of Pinoy LGBT cinema. Taking place on a sunlit farm, it is not literally dark, but the subject matter is dark indeed -- especially if, like me, you are not much of a believer.

The Good Points:

-- The story makes you really think about life, and love and hope (or the absence of hope) and what it means to confront all of those challenges as a gay guy. Some seriously heavy stuff. On balance, I thought this was one of the strongest points in the series -- it doesn't paper over the issues, but makes you think about them and about what you really believe. It also frames these issues in a context of Christian/Catholic belief, which is obviously spot on for the Philippines, but maybe not for everyone.

-- All three of the actors were excellent. Kaleb Ong is clearly a very talented actor and I hope to see more of him in different kinds of roles in the future. His progression from hopeless depression to caring and loving, even while staring death in the face, is the major theme of the plot, and he pulls it off quite well. (The scene where he jumps out of bed, and up into Enzo's arms was so full of joy......what a contrast to the suicide scene.) I also really liked Gio Emprese, whose character Peter is a beautiful man -- so giving of himself to his hopeless nephew, and yet torn by so many doubts and fears. At first I kept asking myself what his motivation could be -- and then later in the series we discover it is purely religious/philosophical. Anyway, I thought Gio's performance was very convincing.

-- Those are the pros. There are unfortunately also many cons. Poor sound quality, which particularly grated during the loud scenes when the characters berated God and each other. Very slow pacing. I'm afraid many people will switch off before they get to the last few episodes where the whole point is discussed -- I thought the scene where Angelo and Damon are talking, in bed, about what it means to be gay, is the best scene of the series (and no one moves!!) and it is a shame that I think many viewers will never get there. The end tries to provide a bit of uplift, but I think it fails just because it turns a drama into a cartoon (figuratively). And it all happens against the background info that Damon has suffered through five more months of debilitating disease and weakness before finding rest. I did not find the cartoon ending at all reassuring.....

So my recommendation is to watch this one if you are in the mood to accept some serious contemplation. Even better if you have some level of belief yourself, because then the struggles of the actors will seem more relatable. But don't expect a polished, high-quality production.

Lees verder