Maximo (Nathan Lopez) is a 12-year-old unmanly gay boy who lives in the slums with his father and brothers who are lowly thieves. The story primarily revolves around the conflict between his love for handsome young police officer Victor (J. R. Valentin), and his family's illegal livelihood. Neo-realist in orientation, the film is a tale of lost innocence and redemption amidst the poverty of Manila's slums.
Maxi behaves like a girl, wearing clips in his hair and bangles on his wrists and even wearing lipstick. He is teased by neighbors and former school friends. His sexuality is, however, fully accepted by his two brothers and by his father. One night he is accosted by two men who attempted to molest him, but is saved by the appearance of Victor. Victor does not have a girlfriend, and his sexuality was never revealed. He rebuffs Maxi's advances, only affectionately stoking Maxi's head even when the boy steals a kiss.
After Maxi's father is killed by Victor's boss, Maxi resists, then, Victor's attempts to renew their friendship. The closing scene shows Maxi walking past Victor who has parked by the roadside on Maxi's way to school. He ignores Victor as he passes him, hesitates momentarily as he crosses the road, then goes on his way.
If we base our judgment of the movie on the “mainstream films” I can say that the movie is poor in the technical aspects because of the use of natural light and only one camera. Some scenes are dark and the camera is sometimes shaking and was not steady. But if we criticize it based on the category of “independent films” then I guess these flaws can be considered. Each scene is full of meaning. Each character was well presented. It’s so amazing how the director managed to build each character, from the father who does illegal activities for a living but whose love for his family is immeasurable, the brother that supports his youngest sibling, the cop that is exposed on the sad realities of life and a young homosexual whom for the first time in his life felt affection with someone.
If I were to describe Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, it’s a true representation of life. There was no over-showing of the good ones and hiding the bad. It was plain reality. That’s why every scene was outstanding, like the adherence of Maximo to his unkept neighbor, the tight bond between father and son, praying before meal, the persistence of honor as a law enforcer and the importance of friendship. In the film, the correlation of value is the highlight, and even if the characters were surrounded with violence and corruption, it was shown that there still is a room for good moral values.
The movie was greatly done but there are two things that disturb me. First, the very open acceptance of the characters to homosexuality, especially the father and his brothers considering their ways of living and the society that surrounds them. Second, is the concept that there is a need to use violence (which leads to murder) to suppress the evil.
Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros as a whole was a superb film.
Pagdadalaga is a heartfelt family movie -- a tale of life in the slums and the bittersweet aftertaste of first love. This film will surely touch your heart.
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