L'éveil de Maximo Oliveros

Is Maxi Gay? Well, he dresses like a girl and has a crush on a hunky policeman. But as the story develops one has to wonder whether Maxi is actually a gay preteen or just a troubled boy in a difficult situation. Does it matter? Not really.

After the death of his mother due to an unknown illness Maxi has taken over her role in taking care of his two brothers and father, all petty thieves. The arrangement seems to work fine. Maxi delights in cooking and cleaning for his family and enjoys a playing Miss Phillipines with his "girl" friends. But everything changes when a hunky young cop arrives. Maxi develops a crush and is forced to choose between his family and his feelings for the cop. Needless to say thinks get complicated and even turn ugly and violent.

This film impressed me when I saw it at a screening at the International Filmfestival Rotterdam. There are faults but mainly the film is strong and well executed. The acting is impressive, although Maxi starts out a bit of a stereotypical screaming queen.

If anything the film is a bit too long, there are several moments that could be deleted without much effect. Also the quality of the picture and sound is understandably not up to western standards, although this does not distract from the story and I have seen much worse.

One of the questions I am left with is whether this accurately portrays Philipine's attitude towards (effeminate) homosexuality. If so that is to be commended, however it is hard to imagine such utter and complete tolerance, not only of Maxi but also of his friends. In a film with such a premise one sort of expects some exploration of the subject. However the lack thereof does not affect the story, it may even make it stronger.

I hope you will go see this movie, if you get the chance!

One can seldom discuss gay Filipino films without mentioning the Lino Brocka classic, "Macho Dancer". For a long time the film lorded over all the others in gay filmdom (or is it 'film gaydom'?). Sure there were competent ones like "Aishite Masu" and "Markova: Comfort Gay" but they were never thisclose to "Macho". Could "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros" finally be the one true contender for the throne?

Director Aureus Solito and writer Michiko Yamamoto have crafted a very likable coming of age story. The treatment of Maximo Oliveros' (Nathan Lopez) homosexuality is unique and refreshing for it is never questioned nor made an issue, just a fact as true as the sky is blue. It's a huge credit to the filmmakers for not resorting to easy laughs at the expense of gay characters. Camp is absolutely present but it's never overdone. In fact, I think one of the main reasons why the film works so well is because the whole film isn't overdone. The filmmakers know when to pull back just before a scene turns mushy or heavyhanded. Even something as elaborate as the mini-pageant scene is cut long enough to avoid unnecessary melodrama.

One of the film's most interesting aspects for a lot of viewers is the seemingly astonishing possibility that an effeminate homosexual can exist relatively peacefully in the slums, aka Hoodlum Central. Although I haven't seen this myself, I am convinced that cultural mores make this scenario very possible. Despite the influence of homophobic Roman Catholicism, the general mood in the country is situated somewhere between amusement, acceptance, and tolerance (though not immune to occasional spurts of homophobia). Let us not forget that pre-Spanish Philippine culture respected the 'babaylan', a gay priest(ess) of sorts.

The homoerotic love angle is beautifully handled, in my opinion. To start with, the leads are perfect. Lopez carries the film as Maximo while JR Valentin as the cop is hunky yet brotherly, respectable as necessary but not too antiseptic. You get a sense of hero worship, excessive caring, and strong attraction from the side of Maximo while from the other side you see a fraternal sense of caring, naivete, and a culturally-imbibed politeness that supersedes any possible homophobia. There's also a delicious hint of ambiguity in his sexuality. There are a number of memorable scenes between the two, but a brief, well-handled, but highly erotic one (which, under a weaker filmmaker, could've easily bordered on pedophilia considering Maximo's age) and the emotionally satisfying ending stand out the most.

Despite the fact that Maximo Oliveros is unapologetically gay the film isn't strictly gay-themed unless you consider puppy love, unrequited love, familial obligations, and economic struggles as such.

It was a proud moment to watch a Filipino film in the prestigious Lincoln Center New Films/New Directors series in New York City. It was icing on the cake to see someone from the Univ. of the Philippines do good, in the gay arena, no less. "As good as Hollywood films"? I say better. When did Hollywood ever show us a coming of age story with a gay lead character?

Absolutely delightful film, its story centering around Maxi (Nathan Lopez), a beguiling 12 year old boy who wants to be a girl, and his various flirtations, including an unlikely one with a rookie cop on the neighborhood beat. Maxi's Dad and two older brothers are criminal lowlifes capable of very bad deeds, including murder, but they are entirely devoted to Maxi, who cooks and keeps house for them (Mom died a few years before). The feeling is mutual: as Maxi says, there may be a lot of crooked people around, but he's only got one Dad.

The film is chock full of arresting street scenes in metropolitan Manila, and intriguing tensions among the principals. It is most refreshing to see loving, tender feelings binding a marginal family together, rather than the usual melodramatic dysphoria that infects, but does not inform, many movies about the underclass. (This year's "Quinceañera" is another film that plays up the positive aspects of family life in L.A.'s Echo Park Mexican-American barrio.) An exotic, spellbinding, bounteous bouquet of a film. Won several awards at the Berlin and Cinemalaya Film Festivals, among others, and was nominated for the Grand Jury Award this year at Sundance. (In Filipino, Tagalog & English) My grades: 8.5/10, A- (Seen on 11/21/06)

Regardless the controversial topic and my non-knowledge of the reality of those events (for example, volume of corruption within police and acceptance of gays in the Phillippines), as for a film as such, it was skilfully accomplished: good/great performances by major actors, versatile direction and appropriate choice of music made Ang pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros a smooth watch.

Due to limited space and time, however, the film had several documentary elements, and several events happening in the dark did not allow to follow them carefully (perhaps by virtue of modest technology used?). Thus, not a total contentment for me, but definitely a distinguishing and challenging creation to be screened in various festivals.

I really didn't know what to expect on sitting down to watch The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros. Only knowing a few details of the plot - a young Philippino boy, the slums of Manila, a cop - I was worried that this was not likely to be the feelgood film of 2007!

How wrong I was. This film is one of the most unexpected delights of recent years, anchored by a central performance from 12-year-old Nathan Lopez that is dazzlingly mature and breathtakingly charming. Although the film does veer into melodramatic territory in the predictable conflict between JR Valentin's young cop and Maxi's family of petty criminals, the central storyline of Maxi's crush on the hunky policeman is handled with tremendous sensitivity, humour and warmth.

In a perfect world performances like Lopez's would gather awards like daffodils, but in the absence of any trophies I hope he's happy to have created such a memorable character. If your heart doesn't break watching Maxi's story, chances are you have no heart to break.