Many reviewers have already addressed the characters and themes of this movie, with which I completely agree. I enjoyed it for the most part: it is well-made and an interesting peek into a culture foreign to me. Somewhere in the middle, though, it seemed padded with two murder subplots that I couldn't figure out. But the thing that leaves me less than supportive of this movie happens at the end and after the end credits. Maxi goes to school dressed in slacks and a pressed button-down shirt - a far cry from his seeming preference for more girlish attire. He encounters Victor, his adult man-crush, and completely ignores him. After the credits have rolled, the film shows him packing away his beloved mother's garments, symbolically closing the door on the role he had enjoyed playing for his father and brothers. I can't help but read that Maxi's "blossoming" is actually a move to a more socially acceptable hetero path. Is this a subtly judgmental view from the filmmakers that Maxi is "curable"? Hm-m-m .....
Review of Ang pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros
