The recipient of the 2016 Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, second place—‘Deadma Walking’ may just come as a great surprise to many in the coming Metro Manila Film Festival 2017 (MMFF) because of its timely issues and well-crafted as well as way better acting of its lead stars—Edgar Allan Guzman and Joross Gamboa.
At first glance, people might easily compare the comedy-drama flick to the previous gay-themed movie that once dominated in the MMFF 2016—‘Die Beautiful’; but this one by Eric Cabahug is something that the LGBT community would gladly support as well as the other moviegoers who want to have a real fun Christmas movie marathon experience.
After having watched the film, so far, this is a recommendable movie date for the whole family.
Digging into Family Relationships.
Gamboa as John, the terminally ill gay who staged his fake wake and funeral because of his desire to know if people really loved him; connived with Guzman, his gay best friend—Mark. In this movie, what made it a better version over the previous film is that—John’s relationship with his sister played by Dimples Romana was given a chance to reconcile with each other.
The scene where John was talking to his sister; while pretending to be a ghost was something that the audience would always remember.
On one scene, Guzman gave his eulogy for his best friend and stressed that ‘soul mates’ aren’t limited to romantic relationships alone. That is actually the film’s message.
It’s about Empowering Gay Men.
The gay men in ‘Deadma Walking’ aren’t really the pageant-centered crazy’ gays; but they are rather the empowered, unconventional gay men.
Though Edgar Allan’s character is flamboyant and Joross’s is on the discreet side—both characters are opposites—they still make a good tandem.
The dynamics of John and Mark’s friendship is an ideal one. They totally reflect the essence of ‘Yin and Yang’—(the ‘bright-dark’ or the ‘positive-negative’) how seemingly opposite or contrary forces complement, interconnect, and are interdependent with each other.
Besides, that’s what real friends are for.
Will Another Gay-Themed Flick win Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor?
Like the ‘Die Beautiful’ flick—Gamboa and Guzman are two equally great actors and have given justice to their respective assigned roles.
There are three scenes that are unforgettable for the audiences to watch out for.
First, there was a scene where John was trying to break-up with a guy that he and Mark shared due to guilt feelings. Second, the confrontation scene between Joross and Edgar Allan is too intense to deal with. Lastly, was the twist in the end of the film; though a bit predictable—it still provided a ‘shocker’ to some of the audience.
‘Deadma Walking’ takes pride in its powerhouse support cast as it featured Piolo Pascual, Eugene Domingo, Carmi Martin, Iza Calzado and beauty queens like—Marina Benipayo, Desiree Verdadero and Evangeline Pascual.
If one is big on gayspeak and other humorous scenes that involve gays—then this official entry to the MMFF 2017 is a good film to watch first for ‘good vibes’.
