An absolutely exceptional film by Philippine standards (highly rated on ČSFD, MDL and IMDb) collected so many awards, victories for the creator and actors at film festivals and nominations (56 in total) that it is perhaps impossible to count in America (Santa Monica, Montreal, Park City and Toronto), Asia (Tokyo, Singapore, the awards of the Philippine Film Academy and three other Philippine organizations) and Europe (Turin, Berlin, Rotterdam, Warsaw, Tallinn and Amsterdam) and is atypical worldwide mainly because of the main story of a young man, indeed almost still a childhood gay. Reality shines through, from the beginning of the film in a documentary style (how the poorest sections of the population live by necessity in the suburbs of Manila), later added the component of a young policeman, with whom he and Maximo fall in love, and criminal plots and, above all, excellent acting performances by almost all of them, led by a not even fourteen-year-old ( at the time of filming) by Nathan Lopez.
This reality was evident in Maxim's family, where the brothers and father were played by typically well-chosen actors and the Manila policeman Victor followed closely behind them. The fact that gays sometimes twist more and put flowers in their hair is typical for East and South Asia and the whole of Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), in some countries gays unfortunately have no other option but to play "at woman" (as a tolerated third gender) rather than being despised.
So if I take away the Pinoy mannerisms, the technical shortcomings (sometimes the camera and the tinny, rather strong music component - for that I deducted two points for the music and processing), then for me satisfaction and I agree with the absolute superiority of all reviewers on all world servers, who rate the film very positively. Actually, if the processing was perfect in the "American" way, it wouldn't be the right Pinoy movie for me. Here on GT, in my opinion, the director's best film, closely followed by Boy (I) and then Esprit De Corps.

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It's a very different movie.
He is completely different than most.
It is Thai, where the Thai branch of Buddhism predominates.
It is necessary to look at him from this point of view and not to evaluate only through the eyes of a Central European viewer. Why is the scene like that, why are the actors playing it like that, why is the film pensive, poignant almost from the beginning.
The content of the film is very well described on ČSFD, be sure to read it before watching the film.

When the viewer is able to put all this together, he cannot make a bad assessment. It is a film about images, about feelings, about LIFE. It is a film whose message will remain forever in my soul...

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Wow, that was a powerful experience!!

A completely unique subject, script, dramaturgy and what can be seen and felt most about this film is that it is significantly different from the cinematography of the yellow race and turns towards the perception of the viewer of the white race (style, plot, processing) and I cannot even evaluate more critically what remained Asian, Korean in the film, on the contrary, I honor it with all respect and humility.

A brilliant idea and perfectly executed by all means of film, the fact that the viewer actually feels a little bit during the process, what is reality and what is just a "role". And even though the film has a high rating on IMDb and ČSFD, I take it as the overall "artistic impression" comprehensively and exceptionally, and I don't look at the individual evaluation criteria.

I recommend it to all sensitive souls...

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A very depressing movie that will definitely not lift your mood. Here, the director plays the oldest of three more or less deranged brothers (the middle one constantly masturbates, the youngest abuses and bullies young female soldiers in the army), waiting for their father to return from prison, where he was imprisoned for the rape of a young schoolgirl. So squadra to watch...

Let yourself be surprised how it all turns out, but don't expect any romance. On the contrary. Violence, blood (the father of the last victim, a schoolgirl, enters the game), conflicts, destruction, depression, humiliation.
I was a bit more bothered by the stilted and affected theater acting this time, which is why a point down in the acting section. The processing was less believable, because where the situation absolutely required it, after "pulling down his pants" a miniature cricket appeared in a thicket of hair, while in two seconds he was already "loading" a drunk woman somewhere in the canal ...

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In my opinion, the film is not quite a typical representative of the production of Pinoy gay films and it is mainly dominated by Topher Barreto (Cris). Not even the famous "nudity" here except for one scene near the end. A picture with a stronger story did not leave me completely cold, but the big shortcoming for me is the bad copy of the film and the unavailability of English subtitles ...
In my opinion, the film is not quite a typical representative of the production of Pinoy gay films and it is mainly dominated by Topher Barreto (Cris). Not even the famous "nudity" here except for one scene near the end. A picture with a stronger story did not leave me completely cold, but the big shortcoming for me is the bad copy of the film and the unavailability of English subtitles ...

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Another of the Pinoy movies didn't really appeal to me. Yes, we see that Oliver and Chito need to earn money, a warm twisted half-old man who owns a brothel makes a smile, but that's about it.

The film is not only from the gay area, Melissa Mendez is constantly shaking her tits, at first you will have to wait a long time for some plot, and mainly what bothered me about this processing was that everything was "just like" (the boy washes himself with a cup of water, including his hair, and doesn't actually wash it, the fight of the guys is just an embarrassing farce and I could go on).

Despite the fact that the story of the film is still good and I was a little interested, the other components of the evaluation are quite weak for me and I rather do not recommend the film ..

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A longer and above average Filipino film with seven wins and 29 nominations for the film. festivals, which this time does not take place in shacks and slums, but between Manila and New York, has a stronger story dominated by the excellent Vilma Santos as Shirley, although I think she sometimes "ran away" from the role a little. But it's still a Filipino film, it could use a little editing, at the beginning it's also a lot of screaming, maddened and even hysterical.
The gay component here is indeed prominent, but in my opinion it is only a means to the film's story, however, played no less well by both protagonists Mark and Noel (John Lloyd Cruz - he collected several film awards for this role).



Delší a nadprůměrný filipínský film se sedmi vítězstvími a 29 nominacemi na film. festivalech, který se tentokráte neodehrává v chatrčích a slumech, ale mezi Manilou a New Yorkem, má výraznější příběh, ve kterém dominuje výborná Vilma Santos jako Shirley, i když si myslím, že z role někdy malinko "ujížděla". Stále je to ale film filipínský, slušelo by malinko prostříhání, zpočátku je i hodně uřvaný, ztřeštěný až hysterický.
Gay složka je tady sice výrazná, ale dle mě je jen prostředkem k příběhu filmu, ovšem zahraná neméně dobře oběma protagonisty Markem i Noelem (John Lloyd Cruz - posbíral několik filmových cen za tuto roli).

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Those who are a little more interested in Pinoy movies with a gay theme will see in this movie the Filipino "nudity" star Marco Morales, who has starred in several films listed here. The main role was played by Tyron Perez, known here from the movie Twilight dancers.

Although these films are enough for one "brdo" (usually the content in various variants is the sale of the bodies of the main characters to men and women in order to improve themselves), but Pipo in particular unintentionally negatively impressed me that even in the 21st century people can live in such lairs on puddles of dirty water full of garbage. I give the film a slightly above-average grade from the point of view of a Pinoy viewer.

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It's a completely different Scud film than we're used to. The gay component is omitted and for the viewer's eye there is maximum gay interest and (not only) male nudity, which is sometimes too much. It is a puzzle of stories connected by memories of a psychiatrist and taking place in Mongolia, Malaysia, somewhere on a ship, Holland. One of them also stars Sebastian Castro, whom I also mention in the movie 4 Days. This young American, the son of Peruvian-Asian parents, was kicked out of their house on Long Island by his parents when he told them he was gay at the age of 17. The picture, even though I give it a decent rating, didn't impress me that much. When the Scud, in my opinion, makes things in the film more complicated than they really are, and in his work in general ...

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A very solid film by Philippine standards.
First of all, I was very interested in the story, a story based on the real events of Walter Dempter/Walterina Markova, and of course I watched from the perspective of an Asian viewer, because on other continents the story would probably be filmed differently.

Yes, the world of homosexuals for the entire timeline it depicts is portrayed in a feminine way, but it probably couldn't have been otherwise, a non-feminine gay would probably not have survived in those days of Japanese wartime rule. And it's shot less drastically than the reality probably was, probably with not only the Filipino viewer in mind.
The role of the "old" Walterina is played by Dolphy Quizon (unfortunately deceased today), and the interesting thing is that the roles of the younger and youthful Walterina are played by his sons Eric (we know him from the film Pusong Mamon mentioned here) and Jeffrey (he played the most and very well.. .). It is also interesting that the "old" Walterina enters some of the war scenes physically, as if in memories, as if she wanted to change the unfavorable fate.

Maybe someone will say, this type of nonsense, Asian bullshit, why is someone writing about it so long here, but the depth of the picture, at least for me and my interest in it, was satisfied today.

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Although it could happen that this movie is complete bullshit, stupid, "something" breathed on me, as if I swallowed the stone too, I rose above everything and enjoyed it too. Such a partial parody of American B and C films.

Simply put, Joel Lamangan is, in my opinion, one of the best Filipino directors of LGBT films, and it was confirmed here as well.

Of course not top notch from a European point of view, but it was goofy fun, with nice people, punctuated by songs.
Although it could happen that this movie is complete bullshit, stupid, "something" breathed on me, as if I swallowed the stone too, I rose above everything and enjoyed it too. Such a partial parody of American B and C films.

Simply put, Joel Lamangan is, in my opinion, one of the best Filipino directors of LGBT films, and it was confirmed here as well.

Of course not top notch from a European point of view, but it was goofy fun, with nice people, punctuated by songs.

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A bit of berger Hawaii in a Filipino way. The tension wasn't like that, but I appreciate the effort. The story takes place on a university campus where Mark and Derek are roommates and where they discover their first love together. For Pinoy movies with a gay theme, the film is very "chaste", and that's probably how it should have been. The main roles are played by two singers and it is the first time for both of them to play the main acting roles, and the interesting thing is that certain scenes had to be improvised by both boys. Sebastian Castro is a famous YouTuber and gay singer, and Mikoy Morales even composed and sang the music for the film. Friendship, affection, love(?). For me, a solid Pinoy movie that would sound better with a translation or dubbing (ha ha), which is definitely not going to happen.

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By Philippine standards, a very successful family comedy not only about the mother of the Luz family and her three sons - Oscar is a hidden gay, at least at the beginning (he has a girlfriend but also a secret beautiful lover), Orson is gay after CO (such a squeaky aunt) and the youngest Orwell still he doesn't know exactly where his sexuality will go. In addition, Luz's younger (and handsome) boyfriend, Gerry, is also in the family. On the eye, the image of the Happy Family suddenly receives an unexpected blow, with which Luz has to fight and the end is certain. For those who know Pinoy movies, I recommend this one for a good mood...

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The handsome Filipino Johnron Taňada in the role of Rico owns a cafe called Kape Barako, which has few customers, almost none, and the bank loan repayment deadline is approaching, otherwise the business will be closed. Rico tries to keep the business going, even by selling his body, and gradually learns how to perform erotica with men. His employees start to secretly mix their sperm into the coffee, the excellent coffee becomes famous in a wide area and the business begins to turn into a gay bar willy-nilly. Let yourself be surprised how it all turns out. She's actually such a Filipino fool, you could say, but anyone interested in Pinoy movies can't throw this cute, naive puzzle in the trash. Maybe in time someone will find a better copy of this movie..

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