Labels: altarejos, ang laro ng buhay ni juan, BeyondtheBox, digital films, indie films, joselito altarejos, juan, Lex Bonife
Labels: altarejos, ang laro ng buhay ni juan, BeyondtheBox, digital films, filipino films, gay films, indie films, juan, laro ni juan, Lex Bonife
A Negrense writes about Juan
Sometimes a movie comes and reminds us that for a film to be memorable, it should not be important that the actors be excessively good looking and that the plot be filled with twists and turns and complexity as what most audience expect. There are times that all it needs is a touch of realism and the feeling that one is not watching but rather experiencing what is showing onscreen. That is what makes LARO NG BUHAY NI JUAN tick!
For two hours, I was taken back to the slums of Manila where I myself was able to live a few years back. One could almost feel the glaring heat of daylight; could almost smell the decaying scent of a mixture of countless odors; could hear the mingled noises in front of the unending sound of traffic in Edsa. All these images projected to the watcher with the subliminal signals that the director, Jay Altarejos, whether purposely or not signals the viewer on what to watch out for!
The simple style of the opening credits did not impress me at first, until i realized that its simplicity gave the audience the needed ticket to be in the story. Ray-an Dulay's acting was superb in its reality with nuances that gave him credibility. The word PSYCHO in front of the parked jeepney paralleled my observation on the craziness of what was transpiring in front of me; the word PRIVATE at the back of another jeep prepares you for the private/intimate life of who Juan really was. And the almost manic grabbing of Edwin's hair by his lover (Nico Antonio) as if it would somehow get him to stay breaks your heart much like the irony of the spilled rice bought from borrowed "trenta" when free rice is being given out by a would be politician.
In comparison to the blinding light of the day scenes come the dark shadows of the night scenes. Here we feel the tension of the streets, the secrets that lurks in corners and the secrets we all would want to keep. Yes, there are full frontal nudity, but they are much needed to show each viewer that they are but voyeurs in the life of Juan.
I give kudos to direk Jay, for sharing with us a vision that otherwise we tend to forget. I refuse to declare if this is his best work considering that there are certainly more to come and that this is his first foray with a realtime feature but then this work has already a place in my own collection.
I am not a film critic but merely an avid fan but what disturbs me was that I did not just watch the film, but I was taken from my seat at the moviehouse and transported to where a lot of dreamers had been finding themselves in time and again, and what my past could have been; by sharing with me a treasured glimpse of the LARO NG BUHAY NI JUAN.
9.12.2009
ANG LARO NG BUHAY NI JUAN
A film by JOSELITO ALTAREJOS
A BEYONDtheBOX ProductionAng Laro ng Buhay ni Juan explores two hours in the life of Juan Reyes, known to others as Erwin. Juan is a 25 year old Masbate native who just found his way to Manila three years ago. Erwin has tried his hand at many odd jobs and now works as a live-sex performer at an underground gay bar but has decided to leave Manila for good.
On the day of his departure, he will take us with him as he makes life decisions—big and small. The most important one of all is leaving the impoverished place which he called home for a year, capping it with his emotional goodbyes with his lover, Noel. And, how a raid by the authorities marred his last performance in an underground bar called Inner Sanctum which changed his resolve.
The film shows how "ordinary Juan" distracts himself from the nagging problems of survival in order to continue playing the game called life.
ANG LARO NG BUHAY NI JUAN is the first film produced by BEYONDtheBOX.
PRODUCTION CREDITS:
Cast
RAY AN DULAY
ANGELI BAYANI
NICO ANTONIO
RICHARD QUAN
PERRY ESCANO
ACE RICAFORT
MARK XANDER FABILLAR
MICHAEL CAYETANO
MAY-I FABROS
ANNELLE DURANO
DEXTER PELAGIO
TONY LOPENA
Director JOSELITO ALTAREJOS
Story & Screenplay PEPING SALONGA, LEX BONIFE , JOSELITO ALTAREJOS
Executive Producer MARKK PERETE
Producers CORA DEL CASTILLO, JASON ALMENDRAS, DEXTER PELAGIO
Associate Producer ARLENE PILAPIL
Director of Photography PAO SANTIAGO PANGAN
Editing SHERWIN PESCASIO
Music & Sound
Production Design LESTER JACINTO
BIOGRAPHY/FILMOGRAPHY OF THE FILMMAKER:
JOSELITO ALTAREJOS is a television and film director.
He is also the Creative Director of BEYONDtheBOX, a group of media practitioners, which was formed in 2003. The group produces TV Commercials, Audio Visual Presentations and gives TV Production Workshops.
Altarejos’ digital films before ANG LARO NG BUHAY NI JUAN are: Ang Lalake sa Parola, Ang Lihim ni Antonio, Kambyo & Little Boy Big Boy.
ANG LALAKE SA PAROLA, a film about search for oneself, was both critical and commercial success. It was Graded B by the Philippine Cinema Evaluation Board which called it “a thinking film.” Parola also earned a nomintaion for Justin de Leon in the Best Supporting Actor Category in the 2008 Golden Screen Awards while Jeng Torres and Pot Manda were nominated in the Best Production Design Category in FAP’s Luna Awards.
His other film, ANG LIHIM NI ANTONIO, a cautionary coming-of-age tale gone tragic, is still considered the highest grossing digital film shown in Robinsons Cinemas. ANTONIO has been invited to different festivals abroad like the IMAGEOUT & CINEMAROSA both in New YorkWhen it had the European Premiere in Torino GLBT Film Festival, it was hailed, together with Areus Solito’s Boy, as the new wave of Philippine gay cinema.
ANTONIO earned for its lead actor KENJIE GARCIA nominations as Breakthrough Performance by an Actor, Golden Screen Awards and Best New Movie Actor in Star Awards this year. While SHAMAINE BUENCAMINO was also nominted in the same award-giving body in the Best Supporting Category.
FILMMAKER'S STATEMENT:
The wonderful thing about life is our freedom to make a choice. But what happens if circumstances prevent us from making our choices into reality? ANG LARO NG BUHAY NI JUAN poses the question: “Nakasalalay ba sa ating mga kamay ang ating kapalaran?”
