Someone's Fallen for Maxi

The morning sun lay its blanket of gold across the street, at times glittering even more as it streaked past branches of trees. It was almost time for school but in the still practically deserted street, he walked alone at a comfortable pace, neither tentative nor hurried, pink backpack bouncing softly on his back with every step he made. His eyes would occasionally sweep his surroundings, sometimes stealing a glance at the trees lining the sidewalk or perhaps old paper posters half-torn from the concrete walls of houses. Nevertheless his glance would return, a compass unguided and unmanned, to check what was before him, to see how much further he had to walk. Yet in the entire duration of this albeit mundane journey, as if it were taboo, he never dared turn around and look back, a sacred rule never meant to be broken, an act too dangerous to commit.

Just a few feet away he spots a figure, leaning casually against an owner-type jeepney. He flinches just a bit, just a little bit it's almost negligible. The sun could be playing tricks on my eyes again, he thinks to himself. His pace remains the same, neither tentative nor hurried, pink backpack still plopping rhythmically against his back like a soft kick a baby gives its mother inside the womb. Eyes still dart from side to side, though less frequently, lingering a bit more to the left but quicker, furtive glances dedicated to the right. The jeepney and the figure grow bigger and clearer as he draws closer and as he walks on, his gaze is nowhere but ahead. The street is still deserted, surroundings still quiet and the sunlight still beaming silently past the trees. He is a few steps away from the jeepney and the solitary figure who is now smoking a cigarette. Pace maintained, he soundlessly walks beside the jeepney and the figure and within a few seconds, he has gone past it like a paperboat.

He walks on a little bit more and all the world is still absorbed in half-slumber, except the sun still shining brightly. He is flooded by ripples of uncertainty, rendering his legs unresponsive, which had gone by uninterrupted all this time. He slows down, a significant degree of tentativeness now evident his pace. His eyes are now downcast, sweeping the ground from left to right like marbles swirling in an empty glass. Pink backpack is now thumping an almost indiscernible sound with every step and eventually hangs still, doing nothing more than grazing the back of his carrier like second skin. After a time too brief to be a moment, too long to be insignificant, he walks on in a pace neither tentative nor hurried. But not after he almost twisted his head to look back.

And with this, Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros faded into darkness but never into film history oblivion.

There were so many underlying themes for the film which was so beautifully and exquisitely crafted. The movie title and the synopsis boast of no complicated storyline. It is actually rather straightforward and almost unoriginal: a young gay boy (Nathan Lopez) hitting puberty infatuated (or inlove, as the case may be) with a dashing, honest policeman (JR Valentin) who, in turn, pursues the boy's father (Soliman Cruz) and brothers (Neil Ryan Sese and Ping Medina) who dabble in petty thieving. But that is exactly where the magic of Pagdadalaga begins. It is never what it seems.

For one thing, it is not a gay film. It is, as its director and cast have repeatedly claimed, a coming-of-age movie. One of its actors, Ping Medina who plays Maxi's Kuya Bogs, even said "Nagkataon lang na bading si Maxi" or "It just so happened that Maxi was gay." In my opinion, Pagdadalaga was not out to defend of ridicule homosexuality, nor was it trying to justify it in anyway. Such issues involving the justification of homosexuality were not tackled in the film. It was merely trying to illustrate a young person's coming-of-age and in that attempt, Maxi could easily have been a girl or a guy.

But the fact that Maxi was gay made all the difference in the sense that his "straddling both worlds" turned him into a character with a greater universal appeal and identification. If the main character were a straight boy or a straight girl, only a selected audience could identify and empathize completely with the character of Maxi. There are some issues concerning girls which are not experienced by boys and vise versa and that in itself already presents a certain limitation to the reach of the film. But because Maxi was gay, there was a certain duality which was effectively presented. He was undergoing physical changes which would be masculine in nature because, after all, he was endowed with the physical attributes of a man. But another aspect of himself was also going through tumultuous change - his feelings and emotions which were those of a woman.

Plot-wise, though the film may seem to invoke other movies of yore, it is never just that. What sets it apart from any predecessor which may claim duplicity is that Pagdadalaga is characterized by sheer authenticity. While watching it, I remember thinking aloud and whispering to my sister "It's almost like I'm part of the movie." The script was not put-on and was always natural and free-flowing. It was as if someone installed hidden cameras in the slum areas of Sampaloc, secretly took footage of the local tambay engaged in drunken conversation with his shirtless, pot-bellied neighbor and then turned it into a movie. Take for instance this conversation which Bogs had with a female neighbor who obviously fancied him.

Bogs: Oy, libre ka ba mamayang gabi?
Girl: Oo naman. Para sayo, libre ako kahit anong oras.
Bogs: Ah ganun ba? Kasi ako hindi! (roaring laughter)

I have heard conversations of the similar nature in different instances (such as when buying adidas or barbecue from the roadside vendor) but when used in films, they always come across as fake and scripted as if the actors were trying to make it all too obvious that they were acting (duh!). These and other conversations in Pagdadalaga are always realistic and spontaneous. There was a considerable amount of profanity and diatribes in the language but in this case, it did help in firmly establishing the characters in the movie.

The relationship between Maxi and Victor, the policeman was also not as superficial as it would seem at first. It was not just a simple case of infatuation or an onslaught-of-puberty crush even if when viewed from the third-person perspective, Maxi was obviously enamored with Victor the first time they met. In some sense, both were trying to right a wrong done. Victor obviously was a policeman trying to correct the notion that all cops were dishonest, abusive and corrupt. Maxi was someone who cleaned up after his brothers and his father. He cooked their meals, did the dishes and laundry, made sure the house was always clean and organized, mended the holes in his brothers' clothes...sometimes Bogs would even ask Maxi to braid his hair! Because they shared these traits, they naturally did the same thing for each other. Maxi tried to save Victor from getting the ire of his father and brothers. Victor, on the other hand, did his best to shield Maxi from the bad influence of his father and brothers, as well as society in general.

Maxi's relationship with his family was also not a movie stereotype. In fact, it was as humanly authentic as it could be. Maxi's brothers and father earned a living by stealing cellphones and selling the pilfered items. His Kuys Boy sports a "semi-kal" hairdo and stabbed someone. His Kuya Bogs could rival Rapunzel when it comes to the hair and Dennis Rodman in terms of tattoos. His father has a pot belly, swigs more than one bottle of Tanduay in sidewalk drinking sprees and owns a cellphone he definitely cannot afford to own legally. If this were a typical movie, the father would occasionaly be drunk and beat Maxi to death, swearing he could never have a gay son. The brothers too would be no different. They would be carousing around town, indulding in their own selfish pleasures. But not in this film. Maxi enjoys a very loving relationship with his father and brothers. They never seem to be afraid of physically expressing their affection for each other. Maxi always gets hugs from his father and when he is with his brothers, they would walk side by side, sometimes with one kuya's arm around him. It appears that Bogs or Boy do not even care what others would think seeing such masculine men like them having a more than effeminate younger brother. When Victor broke Maxi's heart, he ran into his Kuya Bogs who, instead of ridiculing him, gave him a hug.

This made me think of people's duality, like Vito Corleone in The Godfather. People would look at Vito Corleone and say he was a heartless and evil man, the Devil incarnate himself. But to his family, he was a dear old man who enjoyed his wife's cooking, watering his plants and playing with his grandchildren. Same goes for Pagdadalaga. Maxi's father was not exactly Mr. Rogers and his brothers could possibly give Marilyn Manson serious competition. People see them as a thieving bunch, the greatest scum of of the universe. But to Maxi, they were Papa, Kuya Boy and Kuya Bogs. He loved them to pieces and they loved him back fiercely. That is perhaps the greatest and truest manifestation of being unconditional.

Perhaps one of the reasons for Pagdadalaga's appeal is its ability to project the truth and nothing but the truth, never over exaggerrating it, never undermining it. It is so sincere it is heartbreaking and poignant. The conflicts tackled are nothing new, such as when Maxi's father laments about how living an honest life has led him to watch his wife die because he could not afford her medications. That situation has been used and abused, hung on a clothesline in the blazing sun to dry and left to the mercy of vultures. But in Pagdadalaga, it struck home, a chord all too familiar and painful. Add that with a series of shots taken of people who live in Maxi's neighborood: a little boy playing in murky, smelly, almost-solid water from the "estero," two plump ladies squabbling in loud, high-pitched voices by the roadside, an old lady with a network of wrinkles on her face smoking a cigar. The visual tableau is shockingly stunning, brutally candid.

The ending was nothing short of perfect. It was as a real ending should be - subtle yet true. It had none of the whitewash and unbelievable benevolence of mainstream films. And it effectively delivered the quiet yet striking message of the film: Things will never be the way they were before and if forgetting were possible, then we would be forever rid of what makes us weep yet what once made us laugh, what once made us learn.

N.B. Can't get enough of Maxi? Fret no more because Maxi has his own blog (http://maximooliveros.blogspot.com). He has posted pictures of his papa, Kuya Boy and Kuya Bogs as well as his brand new slippers. He has an entry on meeting the cute Makisig of Little Big Star. In his profile, he does not hide that he is a fan of Sandara (Park) and Claudine (Barretto)!