My Bwakaw Experience

     

       

            (FYI: Spoiler alert)

Browsing the entries for Cinemalaya 2012 a month ago was exciting. It was like choosing the best among the best (is there a better superlative than the best?). It was like choosing a beauty queen out of the top 25 candidates in the pageant. I read teasers. Watched trailers. I believed I could only watch 3 films so I really had to decide which ones should be (given the available time and yes,budget). Bwakaw was my number one choice. Bwakaw was sold out instantaneously to my distress. Good thing it was chosen as the box office hit so slots were offered once again. Thanks to Ticketworld (though they charged me extra Php54). It was geez, raining last Sunday when I claimed my ticket at the head office. Rained even harder on my way going to CCP, but what the heck.

Bwakaw, is a movie about an old gay Rene, played by Eddie Garcia. He was  living alone, matter-of-factly waiting for his death. With him was this dog named as the title who was with him almost all throughout the film. It was not another dog story that anyone could think about. It was about a larger view of life and death as a whole. It was about acceptance, friendship, love, pain and what really matters to us.

Honestly, for some reason and I didn’t know why, I prepared myself for dramatic scenes in the beginning of the film, but to my surprise, I was laughing hilariously along with everyone inside the Little Theater! The comedy was perfect! Rene being so grumpy was simply witty. Everyone was so natural. The scenes were the kind of scenes that we could see on a day to day Filipino life. There was of course the gay lingo used so aptly. Soxie Topacio and Joey Paras, the typical gays were very ideal in their performances. Armida-Siguion Reyna’s scenes were very short but the last where she finally remembered everything was very touching. Rez Cortez was the perfect epitome of a macho & homophobic pedicab driver. He was funny and very convincing. The scene when he got drunk, awaken by Rene’s  God-knew-he-tried-not-to-do-it kisses was a stab, although I kind of expected it to be that way. Rene’s line was, “ Pasensya ka na Sol. Gusto ko lang namang maramdaman kung paano. Hindi na mauulit. Pasensya ka na…” and I was blown away. That was I think the point when I got to empathize with Rene’s thought and feelings. Gardo Versosa, the priest to whom Rene constantly gave his revised last will and who always had this fan with him, I think, made the audience doubtful if he was also gay or not.

I have to give credit to Jun Lana, both the screenplay writer and director of the film for perfectly executing the mood of the dialogues and cinematography. I believe in this film, given that the story could be expected by its mere teaser, it was the script that gave justice to the story and the angles of the camera that glorified the movie.  Of course the brilliant performance of Eddie Garcia (who else could play the role?) was an ace. He deserved the best actor award (although I didn’t see other entries).  Bwakaw was a darling in the movie. You could hear “aaawwww” from the crowd once in awhile when she nuzzled with Rene or whenever she showed obedience from her owner. I felt the thug when she finally closed her eyes. It was her death that changed something in Rene on how to deal with his life from then on.  I later on learned that the dog’s real name was Princess.

I love how the director shot the ending. It was very poetic. (I initially suspected that that the film was shot in San Pablo Laguna, I was right!) Rene was walking on the road. Everything else was Green Philippines if I may say because of the trees and sky above. Anyways, when he was walking, the road was kind of uphill, Sol’s tricycle passed him by. Sol did not acknowledge him at all. Rene looked at the tricycle as it passed him by then continued his pace on the long road. The camera didn’t stop until Rene could not be seen anymore, the trees covering his path.

I would recommend Bwakaw to everyone. It is a must-seen film. I just hope that it will be released commercially nationwide just like Ang Babae sa Septic Tank last year.