Gay Okay

Directed by Crisaldo Pablo, Duda (Doubt) is said to belong to the sex-drama genre – in the Philippines, meaning a low-budget film that, although it has a storyline (that’s the drama part), it has plenty of sex, too, as if to make sure it attracts enough people to watch it, thus recouping the expenses incurred in its making (this film is no Toro: Live Show, however).

Duda
Director: Crisaldo Pablo Cast: Andoy Ranay Pablo Gabriel Bel Clerigo Rey Pumaloy Amanda Virrey

With that said, however, Duda is not altogether doubtful – both as a better-than-okay film, and as a take at the Filipino LGBT world, not just community, and those moving in its skirts (though it may actually be a better-than-okay film exactly because of its take at the Filipino LGBT world, and those influenced by it, non-LGBT world members, in particular).

SIMPLIFYING COMPLEX

Perhaps as an attempt to demonstrate the complexities of LGBT living (and that we are, at the end of the day, similarly “issued” as the non-LGBT world), the story of Duda is multi-pronged.  There’s 30ish documentary director Cris (Andoy Ranay), fighting for the love of his unfaithful boyfriend, Erik (Pablo Gabriel), who has fallen out of love with him, and who has, in actuality, fallen for someone else.  The thing with their relationship is – and this is typically Filipino (though, admittedly, it does happen for real) – Erik is his family’s breadwinner, and he has to stay with Cris for financial gains.  Complicating the already F-ed up relationship is Azel (Amanda Virrey), Erik’s best friend, who is so much in love with that she manipulates everything to destroy his relationships.

Outside of the ménage a trios are Addi (Rey Pumaloy), who hangs on the romantic ideals of the past, though he realizes that since he is way, way beyond 30 (death continues to toll at 30 for stereotypical members of the gay community), he may actually not have much time to find the right partner; and April (Bel Clerigo), a reporter who may well be (physically and mentally – or, for more political correctness, literally and figuratively) frigid, since she feels incapable of loving.

The stories are, nonetheless, intertwined not only because the characters deal with each other at one point or another of the movie, but also thematically – they are all searching for love, and, when they thought they have found it, are tasked to face the complications that go with it, e.g. when one is willing to look the other way while in a relationship, what one is willing to pretend to not know to keep a relationship going, what extent one goes to in order to make sure the one s/he has is truly the right one.

IN TOUCH

Since the norm (excuse the term) has always been to find love (being alone isn’t generally accepted as the norm – at least not just yet), then the LGBT characters’ searches is universally linked with the human search to find love.  This works well for the movie, showing that, as the ancient (now somewhat tacky, if not downright stupid) gay chant, “We’re human too,” i.e. we’re no different from everyone.  At least, as a digital movie (this is the first digital movie made for and by Filipino gays for Filipino gays – the others attracted to it are simply add-ons to possible profit), the movie’s approach of the universal issue seems somewhat realistic (forgive some bad editing, et cetera – it is, after all, an “experimental” film), conveying the nitty-gritty of LGBT living as, truly, more often filled with difficulties a la Head On than rainbow-inspired color a la In & Out.

This, however, is also the failure – for lack of a better term – of the film.  For an alternative one, the premises of the search for love of the characters are, well, not “alternative” (refer to earlier comment on the typical Filipino gay relationship, i.e. involvement of money), making it an alternative-ized version of, say, Sibak: Midnight Dancer, or even Toro: Live Show, since both tackle the same much, much more effectively.

Not that THAT should stop people of whatever orientation from watching Duda.  At the end of the day, this is a decent – if not good – effort to put a face on the Filipino LGBT community over and beyond the stereotypical representations that, say, Joey de Leon has a questionable predilection to portray.  And for that, it deserves some commendation (with reservations).

Now, if only we can move beyond okay to come up with something much, much, much better…