This Blog is an outlet for the random thoughts of an amateur opinionator.
What's an opinionator?
An opinionator is somebody who has power without responsibility, and the ability to spout off on any subject without worrying too much about the consequences of what comes out of the mouth. All you need is an opinion and the opportunity to voice it.
TV is full of professional opinionators. The internet gives the amateur his chance.
> anG LihiM ko aT ni anToniO
Author: aLmich
WARNING : Before you read this, make sure you have a fully developed brain to understand what I’m saying and why I’m saying it. So backoff pea-sized brain! If you don’t know the art of writing or blogging per se, don’t read one. I don’t want people reading my blog then use it against me. I hate to hear people making “parinigs and pahagings” because their brains couldn’t seem to grap the essence of writing.
This is my sanctuary, my place of thoughts. So if you don’t have what it takes to understand it, jump off the building. You’ll realized how stupid you are before you even hit the ground.
While having our banchetto lunch earlier and with the neverending stories to be shared by one another, Abhi shared what Ron made her watch through YouTube. It was the “Ang Lihim ni Antonio” flick. Everybody turned so interested as we all tried to picture all it’s scenes in our minds. I have heard of this film before but never took time to watch it.
For whatsoever gift Abhi has, I got so curious and decided to watch it also. It was really one hell of an effort to view it through YouTube but it was nice and all anyway.
It’s the story of a gay 16-year old and the random events that happen in his life. First time actor Kenjie Garcia was okay and very brave. Brave that he had scenes where he had to literally touch another man’s penis and go full frontal for a masturbation scene. The story is really simple. That’s all there is to it. A falling out of friendship after drunken sex; coming out to another friend; living with a compassionate but broken mother; reaching out to an absentee father; and the arrival of a hunk uncle. The plots don’t exactly bleed into one another in a satisfying, cause-and-effect, or thematic fashion. Collectively, they paint a portrait of a coming of age that is incoherent, and maybe that’s the point.
The director really knows how to push beyond the boundaries. Unlike his previous film ]Ang lalake sa Parola], I felt his versatility as a director on this one. He used the “videocam” technique in almost the entire film. Some people are bothered by this style since the camera moves constantly but on the contrary, it gives a more dramatic effect, especially if you’re trying to get a more realistic approach. It was just right for this film.
The “uncle” played by Josh Ivy Morales [which of course immediately became my crush] wasn’t as bad as well with his piece, since it didn’t really require any major acting. I can presume that the reason why he was cast for this film, is because he had a past experience in doing porn [Manila nights]. So, I wasn’t really surprised when he had frontal erection scenes. These set-ups are not new from film maker Jose Altajeros, too bad if you decide to watch his movies in the cinema, these hard core scenes are deleted but you can always wait till it gets released in the video house. The VCD/DVD version will always have the director’s cut. My take with Jose’s films, when it comes to feeding your sexual appetite, he is the master! He knows how to get to the root of your sexual desire [homoerotic] and at the same time balance it with a good script, good acting and good directing skills. I guess, this is where we can draw the line between porn and film. These kind of movies aren’t new in the french cinema, but for a filipino audience, this movie can be considered extreme.
I got disturbed in the last part of the movie, I was there in my office [alam kong bawal sana but I can't help it] table totally awed by the scenes. I felt the anger, the trauma and the cursing “putang ina mo!!” That very same line played in my head while it is being delivered by Sharmaine. And on another note, the acapella version of “silent night” played in the background which made it more striking. Sharmaine Buencamino has always been a fine actress, if it wasn’t for her performance, this movie would have been a waste.
The movie’s main fault is that it doesn’t really make us care about any of this. Antonio is a walking empty shell. None of what he does, or what happens to him, seems to have any gravity. What keeps us watching is not that he’s interesting, but that the occurances are familiar to us as gay men who’ve been there before or at least heard stories about it. Sure, I giggled at the memory of wearing somebody’s used underwear on my face, but what was so special about that scenario, really? I got tired of scenes unfolding without distinctiveness or consequence. I stayed on my seat mainly because I already know uberstud Josh Ivan Morales will eventually flash his hefty manhood and that he will finally do it with cute newcomer Kenji Garcia. It was just a matter of when.
Talking about being naughty [hehehehehe].
