Oct
18
2012
Living to Die
Jun Robles Lana was able to direct a movie with serious issues while putting a comedic spin to it.
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“Bwakaw”‘s main character was a grumpy old man, Rene. He acts as a Debbie-downer towards everything. Dealing with his loneliness and finally accepting the fact that he was gay at a very old age was a serious issue in this film. Rene kept his personal materials in boxes with names of the people who would inherit that box. It seemed like he was just waiting for his death. He constantly visited the priest to update his last will and testament. He had already purchased a funeral casket preparing for his death. It was funny how he wanted to know what it was like in the casket and ended up sleeping in it. His neighbor, his best friend and his best friend’s lover were panicking as they saw him sleeping in the casket and he scared the bejesus out of them when he woke up. The cross-dresser, Tracy, was the comic relief in most situations. My favorite scene was when Rene hit Tracy with a hair dryer and Tracy completely overreacted. She was jumping up and down crying.
There was another serious moment that was turned into a humorous scene, but I actually felt guilty laughing. One of Rene’s friends gets a heart attack from a surprise going away party he threw for her and her face stayed in this terrified expression. So in her wake Rene’s friend, Zaldy, tried to make her look as good as possible, which didn’t turn out so well.
Eddie Garcia played Rene perfectly as a bitter old man who realizes that life should be worth living, regardless of his age. As the film progresses, we learn that Rene is bitter about life because he finally gave in to the fact that he was a homosexual at a very old age, so he believed that his age hindered his ability to experiment and he couldn’t have a chance to be happy with someone he loved. Through most of his life, he was
leading on this girl named Alicia and blames himself for not letting her find someone who truly loves her.
This may be Lana’s very first movie but I see major potential as him being a well- known auteur. I can picture his future films containing drama and comedy. I can also picture an overly dramatic cross-dressers featuring in his films because in Filipino entertainment there is usually and funny cross-dressers to loosen up the mood. Another potential signature for Lana would be the use of animals.This dog played a major role in Rene’s life, before and after her death. Bwakaw showed Rene’s sensitive and caring side, which he has never shown to anyone else. Bwakaw was with him every second of everyday as a loyal companion. After Bwakaw dies, Rene has a new outlook on life and appreciates it so much more. Bwakaw has made me appreciate my dog even more. I was honestly crying when Rene was burying his one true best friend.
After watching Bwakaw I’ve learned:
1. Don’t live your life waiting to die because that’s not living.
2. Be true to yourself.
3. Beware of dramatic cross-dressers who think they look like Beyonce.
I like your very creative title for your review. I like how you created a list of things that you learned while watching Bwakaw. I also learned to be true to yourself. I like the humor you incorporated into your review by telling the reader to “beware of dramatic cross-dresses”. What else did you learn from watching Bwakaw? What did you think of the ending of Bwakaw?
“He acts as a Debbie-downer towards everything.” I couldn’t not comment after seeing that line. I thought that was the perfect way to explain his lack of enthusiasm for life. It is the perfect balance between being considered suicidal and just losing one’s lust for life.
It was a pleasant surprise to learn that a lot of filipino entertainment uses cross-dressers to loosen up the mood. In Korea we rarely see cross dressers in films and dramas. Maybe it is just a reflection of the culture and the society we live in, which tend to be very conservative especially concerning sexual orientation. It was truly amazing how the director incorporated the theme without giving out any atmosphere of discomfort or offensiveness. In fact, it allowed audience such as myself to have a deeper understanding of the issue and their lives.