Filmes de Interés Gay

'A Gripping, Tragic Tale
of Love, Sex and
Obsession that Showcases
the Anatomy of Desire
and Longing'

The human longings that stir deep within us are the focus of "Antonio's Secret' From the very beginning of the film the viewer is made privy to the thoughts of Antonio as he makes his narrative against a musical background of guitar strums and an acoustic voice. With this kind of introduction, you know at once that you are in for an intimate ride.

Antonio's Secret is about a young boy who grows up without his father. It narrates how he and his mother are forced to get by and the bond they share through the years of nurturing and companionship. But most of all, it is about how a boy grows up knowing he is different, how he ponders on the meaning of his desires, how he represses them and how he yearns to tell someone but fears the consequences of rejection.

Newcomer Kenji Garcia gives a very real and believable portrayal of the confused young man named Antonio. We are shown Antonio's dilemma as he grows up in a world where there are no role models to emulate. He is left to discover it on his own with uncertainty and fear plaguing him all the way. This is clearly seen in one of the scenes in the movie where he watches his childhood friend sleep. It is in a scene like this that "Antonio's Secret' shows the anatomy of longing. Kenji successfully shows how a boy's desire to express his sexuality leads him to appreciate his friends' body from afar before he is spurred to come closer and caress his friend. Viewers are held on the edge of their seats in tension and fear for Antonio and what he is about to discover. The result is a childhood experiment that forever changes the relationship between two friends.


Things take a more climactic turn with the arrival of Antonio's uncle, Jonbert (played by Josh Ivan Morales). It can be said that no better choice can be made for this role than Josh Ivan. His sexuality is powerful and bleeds from the screen to the audience. Viewers easily feel the powerful attraction of the boyish Antonio for his uncle. His sideway glances; for example, at a dinner table had no dialogue but carried a depth of desire. Both Kenji and Josh Ivan's execution of their roles complement each other to form an innocent but obsessive and highly charged relationship. Jonbert's encounters with Antonio in the course of the film and Josh Ivan's performance as the hedonistic uncle may even fulfill some some viewers fantasies as well.


Also in the movie is Jiro Manio who plays Mike, Antonio's curious best friend. Jiro offers a comedic side to this otherwise serious film. His punchy lines a funny and welcome break from the intense soliloquies of Antonio or the harsh realities of a mother raising her kid alone. Jiro successfully depicts the innocence of his age faced with gender stereotypes and social realities.

But the true scene-stealer of the movie is Shamaine Buencamino who plays Antonio's mother. Her acting, most particularly in the last part of the movie, was brilliant. There was none of the over-the-top shouting and crazed gestures Filipino movies are known for. Instead, Sharmaine's acting was restrained requiring no words but only her facial expression and stance to relay her emotions. Her scene in front of a mirror peeling away the wrapped towel around her body evokes of lost years and a need to be touched while the traumatic and scarring events in the movie's tragic ending show a woman with all sanity lost, showered only by a son's love. It is truly a performance that brings to mind actress Meryl Streep in the movie 'The Bridges of Madison County'. ~ Danio Caw PEP .................(above) Antonio

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(left) Antonio and his best friend Nathan