Fab Feb part 4

Hagas.

Ako’y nahahapo sa pagkaubos ng Ingles na ginamit sa mga nakaraang post. Kaya’t heto transition muna.

So I took a leave for Sine Bahaghari screening ng Friday, Feb 24. And I’m thankful I did.

***

Nagpanagpo kami ng Diva.Diosa.The Juna upang sabay nang makapunta sa venue, Cinema is Incomplete. And dahil na rin sa traffic sa Pasig at Cubao, napilitan na kaming magcommute via jeepney.  Madalas kase akong mag-aya magcab na lang.

Pagkadating sa drop off point, more text na sa iba pang organizers kung paano makapunta sa Cinema is Incomplete. ‘Pag dating sa Puregold Anonas Extension, konting kembot lang pala at andun na.

Nawindang ako at naalala ang aking kabataan habang lumiliban sa mga hagdanang yari sa kahoy at nang makarating sa tuktok ay mas lalong ikinatuwa ang homey and rustic ambience. Walang upuan at may mga Japanese type na mga mesa sa gitna.

Nag-uumpisa na rin ang Lovebirds  noong makarating kami. It’s a rom-com about a probinsyano boy and his Spanish lover. It’s a happy movie and you’d really get the hang of Boots Anson-Roa mixing up her English and Tomy Abuel as the passive father.

***

Next stop was Muli.

Based on Gerry Geracio’s Palanca Award-winning screenplay, Muli is the love story of an activist and a lawyer in Baguio City whose affair goes through a series of tribulations for over four decades.

Winner of Best Actor (Sid Lucero) at the 2011 Gawad Urian.

Most of the time I just sit quietly and analyze anything I’m watching and then spit out whatever I have to say later on but there are a few that are too close to the heart to just watch, Muli is one of them.

Here are some words from God Antifornicator:

The affair the two men had lasted more than four decades and the lives of their respective spouses (the lawyer married his girlfriend, the innkeeper got himself a long-term boyfriend). Did the affair weigh more than their legitimate partners? Did they love their respective spouses less? Was it a different kind of love that they reserve for each other? Should they choose the affair over the legitimate relationship?

No, the movie did not wish to answer that.

In most Filipino movies, the main characters must choose whether to go with the legitimate spouse or the mistress (usually with the legal wife winning). The deliberate moral ambiguity on how the movie presented the affair was both intriguing and frustrating. Long after the movie, Juna, Lanchie and I were still arguing about the main characters’ decision to keep the affair going for so long.

For many closeted gay men, a part of their lives will always remain a secret for many people. In the innkeeper’s case, he was a walking cabinet of secrets: a professor and member of the secretive (and illegal) Communist Party, very few people know of his political leanings, his sexuality, his boyfriend, his other boyfriend. It blows one’s mind wrapping around the layers upon layers of secrets and double lives.

Which might be the reason why his relationship with the lawyer transcended a mere affair: they shared each other’s secrets. That will not work for a normal relationship. I suspect that, if they entered a normal relationship, it will end quickly and bitterly for both of them.

After six beers that night, remnants of a past love began to creep back into my consciousness. Decisions from the past were questioned.

I wouldn't say issues weren't resolved. It was the logical choice that time.... well, after six years that is.

Sabi nga ng the Juna, "when life throws you lemons... you make lemonade." 

And once again, I'm mummbling....