Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros
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Is it just me or has anyone else observed that the only film accolades we won abroad are those from lesbian and gay film festivals and award giving bodies?
An independently produced art film and entry to Cinemalaya 2005, Maximo Oliveros has gained praises from local film critics and reviewers recently. That got me curious enough to see it. While the reviewers may claim that Maximo offers an unexpected new theme, I personally think I’ve seen this movie or heard of the story before.
It’s about Maximo and his (or her, whichever you prefer) family which composes of his two brothers and a father. Although the movie doesn’t explicitly tell us, it is apparent that Maximo’s brothers and father is in the cellphone-snatching business. They get into a sticky situation with the new cop in town who happens to be the apple of Maximo’s eyes. Nothing much to go on with such a plot but it is really just about Maxi’s point of view and in that regard, I guess the movie was successful.
Back to the awards - If a country’s movies are reflections of their society and economic standing, what does our award-winning films say about us? Maximo is also expected to win awards on the leading gay and lesbian academy. I am not underplaying the importance of the award giving bodies but with films such as Toro, Hubog, La Vida Rosa, etc, does that mean we can only win with movies that deal with sexual innuendos?
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Is it just me or has anyone else observed that the only film accolades we won abroad are those from lesbian and gay film festivals and award giving bodies?An independently produced art film and entry to Cinemalaya 2005, Maximo Oliveros has gained praises from local film critics and reviewers recently. That got me curious enough to see it. While the reviewers may claim that Maximo offers an unexpected new theme, I personally think I’ve seen this movie or heard of the story before.
It’s about Maximo and his (or her, whichever you prefer) family which composes of his two brothers and a father. Although the movie doesn’t explicitly tell us, it is apparent that Maximo’s brothers and father is in the cellphone-snatching business. They get into a sticky situation with the new cop in town who happens to be the apple of Maximo’s eyes. Nothing much to go on with such a plot but it is really just about Maxi’s point of view and in that regard, I guess the movie was successful.
Back to the awards - If a country’s movies are reflections of their society and economic standing, what does our award-winning films say about us? Maximo is also expected to win awards on the leading gay and lesbian academy. I am not underplaying the importance of the award giving bodies but with films such as Toro, Hubog, La Vida Rosa, etc, does that mean we can only win with movies that deal with sexual innuendos?
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