"Ang Laro ng Buhay ni Juan" is hailed by The Daily Tribune as Joselito Altarejos' best new film to date. Here are excerpts from the review from Edgar Cruz:
“Ang Laro ng Buhay ni Juan” is Altarejos’ first foray into the real time mode of filmmaking. After the surrealism of “Ang Lalake Sa Parola,” the shock of “Ang Lihim ni Antonio,” the peek into discreet gay life in “Kambyo” and “Little Boy, Big Boy,” Altarejos turns full circle to stir the styles of past films in another interpretation of the secret life of bisexuals in Armando “Bing” Lao’s real time as interpreted in the script of Lex Bonife and Peping Salonga and produced by Altarejos’ own BEYONDtheBOX film production company
“Ang Laro ng Buhay ni Juan” explores two hours in the life of Juan in the big city, who is forced to go back to his hometown Masbate. Juan takes us into his “hole-in-the- wall” shelter in the backstreets of high-rises to meet marginalized Pinoys breaking the survival code with character types like unwed mother Mercy (Angeli Bayani, 2008 Cinemanila’s Asian Best Actress) and his endo lover Noel (Nico Antonio of “Minsan Pa” and “Kubrador” cast, who returns to the big screen after joining Star Magic as a VOIZboys crew).
Altarejos attacks the scenes as dispassionately as possible. There are scenes which he could have exploited, but he cuts as soon as he establishes the scene’s purpose — the mark of a mature helmer. This is perhaps the reason the MTRCB gave it an R-18 classification despite the masturbation, blow job, frontal nudity and strong language. He proves in this movie he’s an indie filmmaker in the real sense of the term. He pushes the director work to the extreme like what German poet Rainier Maria Rilke said is necessary to come up with a master work.
Suggesting fate is the work of a whimsical if random higher being in his game with humans as his objects, “Ang Laro ng Buhay ni Juan” poses the idea that male-to-male sex workers are discreet gays. In local gay films, they are usually depicted as straight guys who feed on gay fantasies, but as Altarejos boldly suggests otherwise in this film. This fresh interpretation is that they are homosexuals having a late awakening, recognition, and/or acceptance. They like what they are doing. If not, why do they stick to the job? This is a reinforcement of the film’s original idea of humans as playthings.
But there’s something that’s uniform in this movie. Mercedes picks up the rice thrown off her hands by a rushing body; Noel picks up the mixed cookies from a can that spilled when inspected by a raider. He had intended it as pasalubong. It seems this is the code of feeding to the marginalized. It’s not even hand-to-mouth existence, but what you may call as floor-to-mouth subsistence. This is where Altarejos excels — having a good understanding of material and a fearless attitude to tell it. “Ang Lalake Sa Parola” was my favorite Altarejos movie; “Ang Laro ng Buhay ni Juan” changed this!
"Ang Laro ng Buhay ni Juan" is now showing.
4 comments:
mr. lex bonife, are you from masbate? or are you anti-masbateno? we masbatenos have observed that you keep using our province in your indie films as poor, medieval and gay people. In your Parola movie, josh ivan hails from masbate, a dark character in the movie. Now, its time for juan in your latest movie, raring to go home in his province masbate due to tremendous difficulties there at the city. What are you really up to: to degrate our province. masbate and its people because of your pseudo-pscyhe perception about our culture? We are not the josh-ivan character nor the ray-an dulay persona that you personify us, masbatenos. THERE is already a pending resolution in our city council (masbate City) to declare you persona-non-grata. for your information.
Wow mr. anonymous drank a cold bottle of Hate-o-rade. Next time Mr. Lex may i suggest that fictitious character in a fictitious movie lives in a fictitious place called Disneyland, but then again Disney could sue. LOL
what's up with people nowadays. everyones angry. geessh it's just a movie. Have a banana lol atcha!
It seems I know who mr anonymous is? He is such a hypocritical rogue who personifies the culture in Masbate not open to the realities of the present times. Most of them are very hypocritical and paranoid of the present realities often denying them while embracing the so-called dogmatic and catholic impositions. We live in the global village and besides this is just a movie the reason why the move at the city council remains a pending resolution. Magpakatotoo ka nga? By the way I also hails from Masbate but I find comments like this as cyclical and nonsense.
I think Mr Anonymous is like a hypocritical rogue. He personifies most of the people in Masbate denying the present realities sometimes arrogant and how they can say one thing to you and then turn around and tell someone else something different either about you specifically or about some discussion they had with you that they the person fabricates the story or fabricates any part of the original story.Most are too self-absorbed of the dogmatic and catholic pereceptions. By the way I hail from Masbate also but comments like these are very cyclical and too hissy fit.
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