There are directors with fetishes and obsessions when it comes to creating. On more than one occasion, a specific actor becomes an indispensable figure in a director's filmography. While the filmmaker is in charge of creating a universe that highlights the virtues of his favorite actor, the performer lends voice and face, perfectly understanding the objective pursued.
This union is so powerful that the actor ends up becoming a "fetish" for the director, a blind belief in his talent, necessary perhaps so that his films turn out as the director expects, or because said actor knows and understands the perfection his vision; making their films develop as fluidly as possible, because the chemistry between the two is so natural that the final result is unique.
One of these artistic partnerships between actor and director has as protagonists the Filipino performers Ace Toledo and JM Martinez and the filmmaker Tim Muñoz, who apparently finds it almost impossible not to have these two actors in his film productions.
Being openly homosexual, most of his themes are gay in nature, having the filmmakers Marco Berger, from Argentina, and the Mexican Julián Hernández as his new idols.
In 'Estranghero', from 2016, Tim Muñoz's first film after filming some short films, he addresses a recurring problem in his work, an obsession, you could very well call it: heterosexual boys experimenting with gay sex. 'Estranghero' also marked the first foray of both actors into the seventh art.
In 'Lodi', from 2017, the director and screenwriter of the largest television network in the Philippines, ABS-CBN, for about 15 years, before settling in the United States, returns his fetish actors to the big screen. The protagonist, named Franco (JM Martinez), a sex worker with a beautiful body, is criminally obsessed with Brent (Ace Toled), a heterosexual boy, and will not hesitate to commit the most violent crimes to fulfill his erotic fantasies.
Accustomed to immersing himself in every detail of the production, from the script to the direction, from the camera work to the editing, Tim Muñoz builds in 'Hombre' (2018), the cinematographic anthology extracted from the Pinoy blog M2M Erotica, a drama of LGBT+ theme, Maduro and Ómnibus, with explicit sex, extreme sexual content and nudity that revolves around his recurring obsession and also features the prominence of his fetish actors.
Each of the stories that make up the film raises the question: what would a heterosexual man do in a gay situation?
Also known by the title 'When heterosexuals become homosexuals', 'Man' tells five stories that try to answer the previous question.
"Hombre" is a Spanish word for the English word "Man." And yes, we get plenty of them in this sexy and delicious gay erotic movie from the Philippines.
The main of the five film stories that make up the film and to which the rest of the stories are integrated is titled 'Blog', and stars Ace Toledo and JM Martinez, who play Bonnie and Cholo, respectively.
In 'Blog', a heterosexual man, Cholo, discovers that Bonnie, his cousin and blogger, who lives under his same roof, has fallen in love with him and fills the pages of a blog with his erotic dreams in which the two are protagonists. What will the straight boy do once he has discovered his cousin's secret?
'Good Boy' is the name of the second story. Starring Mark Roca as JV and VJ Gomez as Hiro, it revolves around a man whose vehicle breaks down late at night in the middle of a dangerous neighborhood. So he gladly accepts a kind stranger's offer to spend the night in his cramped room. Only to realize that she had already met her handsome host earlier that day.
Meanwhile, 'Batang Bilog' (English title 'The Boy for Circle') tells the story of a handsome gym instructor in deep debt who recently lost his job. When the debt collector knocks on your door, you have to figure out how to get out of this difficult situation. Especially when the attractive visitor is clearly irritated and has had enough excuses. This story features Jerson Bugarin as Dennis and Ordy Yu as Rockie.
'Turuan Mo Ako' (English title 'Teach Me'), starring Ron Canda as Benji and Mico Madrid as Ryan, takes us to the story of a young student who received an unusual gift from his girlfriend: a dildo. Now you are experiencing the joy of using it, but you are too embarrassed to tell anyone. One day, his brother-in-law discovers his little secret. How will you explain this?
Finally, 'Bayad Utang' (English title 'Payback') introduces us to a heterosexual renter who, in the middle of a night of bad luck, is pleasantly surprised when he receives a visit from a former colleague. His mentor in the flesh trade is now a successful businessman with a wife and children of his own. But what is he doing in his seedy place for sexual encounters between gay boys? This story stars Jerom Umali as Obed and Carlo Mendoza as Galo.