The Butcher | PaThirsty: A film that knows no gender boundaries

If you believe everything uploaded on the internet, you will be convinced that gender fluidity had been around since forever (maybe it had been). One channel insists that same sex relationship was common during the Roman era and even more popular in Grecian culture. Another vlogger claims that in some Oriental cultures in the past, powerful men took in young boys as concubines.    

But somewhere along the way, a group of people must have insisted that there should be conventional rules regarding gender compatibility – that men should be attracted only to women and having desires otherwise is an aberration. They even have religion on their side.     

It was Karl-Maria Kertbeny, a Viennese-born Hungarian journalist who coined the term homosexual in 1868. It became an ugly word and was used to persecute homosexual men in several countries. 

In the Merchant-Ivory film Maurice, which stars Hugh Grant and James Wilby, the story shows how gay men were imprisoned for their sexuality. The film’s setting is early 20th century England. 

It wasn’t until 1967 when homosexuality was decriminalized in the UK.  Of course, homosexuality is still a punishable offense in several other countries to this day.

Hollywood began experimenting with homosexual themes in the 1960s, but with great trepidation. Of course, the Philippines, which had always idolized America, followed suit. Local films began featuring gay characters, but as comic relief. 

This is one of the reasons why Dolphy is having difficulty getting named National Artist. Except for Ang Tatay Kong Nanay and Markova, all his movies where he was cast as gay – from Jack & Jill to Facifica Falayfay and Fefita Fofonggay – proved to be a disservice to the LGBT community. At the film’s end, he had to be cured of his homosexuality like it’s a disease that could be treated by swallowing a pill. 

To be fair to Dolphy, it wasn’t all his fault. The censors during the 1950s and 1960s most likely wouldn’t have allowed his films to be exhibited publicly if his gay character didn’t reform by falling for the opposite sex at the end of the story.  

While Dolphy’s Fefita Fofonggay was going to town and having fun with his gay antics in the early 1970s, Eddie Garcia was being miserable as a rich businessman who had to get married to Lolita Rodriguez to conceal his homosexuality. The bigger tragedy there was that he was being blackmailed by his lover, played by Mario O’Hara, who threatened to expose his true identity if he didn’t pay up. 

Little by little, local films began exploring the issue of homosexuality with seriousness. There was Macho Dancer, which will always be regarded as an iconic movie. Unfortunately, the films that tried to ride on its success (Midnight Dancers, Twilight Dancers, etc.) all turned out to be exploitative films – with the sole intention of making money off the gay crowd. That strategy won’t work on movie audiences anymore with the arrival of the internet that changed all our lives.

Gender identity had also become more complex. Why, it used to be just gays and lesbians. The acronym LGBTQ just keeps adding more letters and gender fluidity had opened not just a faucet, but a fountain of sexual identities: homosexuals, bisexuals, pansexuals, non-binary, etc. There is a lot more, except that the list would take up so much space.

Anyone who wants to get a complete listing may either google the various terms or catch the Vivamax streaming of PaThirsty. The characters enumerate all the sexual preferences that had been identified by today’s generation of young people.

Directed by Ivan Payawal, the movie has two lead characters: Pearl (Adrianna So) and Achilles (Kych Minemoto). Pearl swings either way and has had lesbian relationships in the past. Achilles, on the other hand, is strictly homosexual – a screaming Mimi will only go for men.  

They are the best of friends who look out for each other. Their friendship is put to a test, however, when they fall for the same man, Ali (Alex Diaz), who happens to be bisexual.

The plot line of PaThirsty is as flimsy as the sheer material of a Victoria’s Secret lingerie. But surprisingly, the film still works. This is due to the performances of the cast members.

Adrianna So, who first gained public attention as Pearl in Gameboys, is always a delight to watch. There is something luminous about her. It also helps that her energy seems boundless and that keeps the audience perennially entertained.

Kych Minemoto’s presence in PaThirsty is also vital. The film probably wouldn’t have worked if the Achilles role had been given to another actor. Oh, he is gay as gay can be in the movie. He is a screen hunk, however, believe it or not outside of this film.

He works so hard on the character that it’s difficult to believe that he is not gay in real life – although there is nothing wrong there if he is inclined that way. What is praiseworthy about his performance is the fact that he truly embodies the part. 

No, he doesn’t merely resort to a swish here and a swish there to be able to portray the gay part convincingly. He allows Achilles to possess his whole being.      

Adrianna and Kych are also well supported by the rest of the cast members: Alex Diaz, Chad Kinis, Kate Alejandrino, Bob Jbeili, and Rey “PJ” Abellana. They all help keep the film afloat despite the rather insubstantial storyline.

To be fair to the creators of PaThirsty, the movie’s material may not be solid, but they make the effort to keep the viewers interested and entertained all throughout the film’s run. For one, they come up with some of the freshest comic situations that truly elicit laughter from the audience. Very few of the jokes fall flat.    

PaThirsty may also look lightweight, but it is a brave effort to make a statement about gender fluidity that is now slowly being accepted by society. Of course, this is going to be a long fight – as depicted in the part wherein Rey “PJ” Abellana (as Ali’s rich, but conservative father) drives away Pearl and company from his resort because he couldn’t stand their queerness. 

PaThirsty may not be voted best comedy picture of the year, but the freshness of its material should be appreciated by the viewers. The movie-going public had long been complaining about the staleness of comic materials. The innovations put together by the people who mounted this film may just quench the thirst of audiences hankering for a fresher approach to local comedy.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

The Butcher | Devirginized forests and maidens

The Butcher | A tribute to the National Artists other than Nora

The Butcher | No reason for Vilma to resent Nora’s National Artist status

The Butcher | What netizens should know about celebrity living

FOLLOW US ONLINE: 

Facebook: facebook.com/pikapikashowbiz

Twitter: twitter.com/pikapikaph

Instagram: instagram.com/pikapikaph/

YouTube: youtube.com/pikapikashowbiz

TikTok: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZGJBapkV4/

and join our Viber Community: tinyurl.com/PikaViber


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Claire Castro, rumesbak sa “bastos” na basher ng sister niyang si Raffa

Image
PHOTOS: @clairevcastro & @elluhh.bear on Instagram; INSET: @jdomagoso on Instagram Hindi pinalagpas ni Claire Castro ang pambabatos ng isang basher sa kanyang kapatid na si Raffa. To the rescue ang daughter ng aktres na si Raven Villanueva and actor-turned-broadcaster Diego Castro sa comment section at tinawag na “bastos” ang nasabing basher. Ipinagtanggol ng Kapuso aktres na si Claire Castro sa kapatid niyang si Raffa mula sa isang bastos na basher. Kasunod ito sa naglabasang ulat na ito umano ang ina ng two-month-old baby ni Joaquin Domagoso , ang actor at anak ni outgoing Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno .  Naganap ang pangba-bash kay Raffa nang mag-post ito ng selfie photo sa Instagram nito lang June 27. “Addicted to car selfies,” maikling caption n’ya sa kanyang IG post.  Dito umatake nang out of context ang basher at walang pasintabing pinukol si Raffa ng mga below-the-belt at malalaswang comments na may kinalaman sa kanya at kay Joaquin.  Hindi pinala...
Read more

Jean Garcia, naiyak sa heartwarming birthday greeting ng anak niyang si Jennica

Image
PHOTOS: @chic2garcia & @jennicagarciaph on Instagram Dahil wala si Jennica Garcia sa birthday celebration ng mama niyang si Jean Garcia ay babawi na lang daw sila pagka-uwi n’ya galing sa lock-in taping. Naglambing pa s’ya ng French seafood soup sa mama n’ya dahil na-miss n’ya na daw ito maging ang mga luto nito. “So, tirhan n’yo ako kung ano mang ulam n’yo today. Paabutin n’yo ’yan ng September 7. Mama, please make Bouillabaisse soup for me. I super miss your cooking. I love you, Mama,” saad ni Jennica. Hindi umano napigilan ng seasoned actress na si Jean Garcia na maiyak sa ipinadalang birthday video greeting ng anak n’yang si Jennica Garcia . Jean turned 53 years old yesterday, August 22, at sobrang na-touch daw s’ya sa ipinadalang video ng daughter n’yang kasalukuyang nasa lock-in taping ngayon.  Sa tuwa ay nai-post ng Kapuso actress sa Instagram ang video ng anak para ibahagi sa kanyang mga tagahanga at kaibigan “Mama, happy, happy birthday, Madam. Maligayang ka...
Read more

Love at the End of the World star Nico Locco signs up with the Viva Artists Agency

Image
Photos: @akoposinico Italian-Canadian actor Nico Locco has signed up with the Viva Artists Agency in April. His most recent work, the BL movie Love at the End of the World, was screened on Vivamax Plus. Nico Locco, Nicholas Timothy Fowler offcam, is an Italian-Canadian international model, actor, and host, currently living in the Philippines. He is known for the 2019 movie Sabado where he became the first foreigner to win a Best Actor in the Gawad Sining Awards and the first foreigner to win the award in a Philippine-based film competition. In a past interview, Nico said that the reason he stayed here was because he felt at home and he could connect with Filipinos. “Na-in love ako sa culture at mga Filipino at nakakataba ng puso kasi they welcomed me with open arms.” In 2019, Nico appeared in a non-speaking role in the South Korean film Byeonshin . He also played an American reporter in Rendezvous and an American soldier afflicted with leprosy in the 2019 MMFF movie,...
Read more