Auraeus Solito’s Tuli is a disappointment coming after the heels of his brilliant debut Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros. But it’s a very good sophomore slump nonetheless: a town circumciser (played by Bembol Roco, who I haven’t seen on the big screen in ages), his daughter, and her best friend, and the relationship between the three. (The copy I saw at the SF Film Fest, probably not really meant to be projected on a huge screen, was in not-so-great DV.) The screenplay is a little schematic in the way it sets up indigenous traditions versus Catholic practices (and the enforcement of morality wielded by the latter) — quite in contrast to the slowly-unfolding, delicious ambiguities of Solito’s first film.
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That’s disappointing, I really enjoyed Maximo Oliveros too. Perhaps it’s the writer you should be following and not the director? Besides Tuli, I think I’m also going to look for Magnifico now.
By the way, it’s kind of fascinating reading reviews about Maximo Oliveros, quite a few don’t get that there’s a difference between bakla and gay. Look at this review from Amazon.com: “Is Maximo Oliveros gay? He dresses like a girl and has a crush on a good looking policeman. As we get deeper into the film, we question whether he is gay or just troubled. ” We do?
Oh, and guess what, I just found Maxi’s (sadly defunct) blog: http://maximooliveros.blogspot.com
Posted 21 Sep 2008 at 10:47 pm ¶Post a Comment