Der Masseur

It's a great victory for Filipinos to have won in the Locarno film festival. Low budget digital film is the saving grace for the dying Philippine film industry. And with the surge of interest in producing this kind of films, young brilliant Filipino film makers are given a chance to shine.

Masahista is a very engaging film even if it's done with a shoestring budget. It gives you a very realistic view of the life of a young man trying to survive poverty by offering massage and sexual services.

Filmed documentary style with occasional graininess and shaky camera angles, the film never the less engages you to the life of the "masahista" (masseur) and those people around him.

I particularly like the way Brillantes weave his story. There's this scene where he moves from the the protagonist life as a masseur, doing his thing in the massage parlor then intertwining to his life as a dutiful son consoling his mother and helping in preparing his father for burial then intertwining it again to the massage scene.

Try to catch this one if ever it's shown in your area.

There is a reason this film from the Philippines has garnered so much attention and audience approval at festivals around the world. Yes, it is a very low budget film (and technically that shows), but the message is a sound one. Not just another film about the massage parlor antics created to titillate the viewer, THE MASSEUR (MASAHISTA) as conceived and written for the screen by Boots Agbayani Pastor is a close examination of the old conflict between father and son, expectations and disappointments, needs and failures to fulfill, and in the end the mourning for a relationship that never succeeded. Director Brillante Mendoza has found the balance between sensual imagery and social comment that makes this little film work very well indeed.

Illiac (Coco Martin) is a handsome young lad who, because his alcoholic and carousing absentee father cannot support his family, has left his home to work as a masseur in Manila, assuming the financial responsibility of his family. Illiac works in a massage parlor - rooms like closets so close that conversations are easily heard - where he has his regular clients as well as newcomers, each of whom pays for massage an tips for all the 'extras' the boys are more than willing to offer for a price. The film moves back and forth between Illiac's home and his work in Manila and after his father dies, Illiac must return home and be the one who must assist the mortician in preparing his father's body for burial. This tradition becomes an analogy for the work Illiac performs on the massage table and the conversations and physical involvements between Illiac and client mirror the ministrations at the funeral parlor in a powerful and deeply moving way. Illiac is able to cope with both sides of his lot until he discovers some secrets left in his deceased father's belongings. At this point the concept of the film becomes touchingly apparent.

Though the cast is well known in the Philippines, only a few of the faces will be familiar to most viewers. What Mendoza is able to achieve with his cast is a feeling of honesty and ensemble work that allows both sides of Illiac's life to be credible. The film is in Tagalog with English subtitles and though the DVD cover would suggest this is a gay film, in reality it is a study of family life and the consequences of distance between father and son. It is worth viewing. Grady Harp

The movie was interesting, the filming and such really offers great entertainment. Great for family get together movie. Totally recommend watching this. And also coco martin masarap

Award-winning movie from highly-acclaimed Philippine director Brillante Mendoza. This movie steeled my perception of what indie films look like:a low-budget film with superb acting and a story that touches on some moral and social issues(sometimes controversial). One thing this movie boasts of is the acting even from newcomer Coco Martin. Now on to the story...Although standing-alone it is an eye-opener movie that depicts the plight of masseurs, I thought that some scenes are too overt and sexually explicit yet unnecessary. For the benefit of anyone who has no idea of what I'm talking about, the story's about a masseur(Iliac) who caters to gay clientele. Just some incentive and you'll get something more than a massage. The film only centers on two parts of his life:when his estranged father died and his client for the night.. someone who called himself as Marina. He is a bread-winner therefore he has to strive harder and because money is faster in this field, he succumbed to it. Don't get me wrong, I love the movie and its depth. The movie is beyond the shaky cam or the amount of sensual scenes of this movie. I'm not someone to judge these masseurs but I thought that this movie realistically portrayed them and their situation. What I find as a letdown on this movie as what I mentioned is some scenes that are in my opinion unnecessary and just drags the movie longer without touching on the story and bringing it forward to another level. The movie could do well with lessening some sensual parts that are repetitive and just depicts one point anyway, so might as well just cut some of them and then probably do some other story(a sneak at another masseur's life to get a better glimpse of their situation as a whole, perhaps). Also, there were some scenes that seem very long..like walking that will take around 3 minutes of the movie, or just staring at another one's face that will eat 5 minutes of the movie. Something of that sort. But judging the movie in its entirety, I can say that this film certainly deserved the citations it got.

I saw this earlier this week at the Toronto International Film Festival with director and lead actor present.

Despite some graininess and jerkiness, this movie -- shot originally on mini-DV then blown up to 35mm, soon had the look and feel of a feature drama.

It's a serious drama about the life of a masseur in the Philippines. Though he has a girlfriend, he is in constant contact with male clients, always trying to up-sell on 'extra services'. But this is the background as the father of the masseur passes away, and the economic and family linkages become clearer. These events then set off a rather challenging journey for the protagonist -- work, family, girlfriend, and the one/main client who seems to return for more.

Just how can one survive? This is a moving tale with a strong feel for the real life of a young masseur and the life he lives. While I don't expect this movie will make widespread distribution in North America, or even limited distribution, perhaps in the Philippines it will be watched for a seemingly very realistic look into the life and challenges of young men in the massage + extra services industry.