Customer Reviews

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This moving coming of age movie about about a 12 year boy's puppy love for a young cop had this big tough guy bawling like a baby.

Maxi---played by Nathan Lopez---is a sensitive 12-year-old boy whose life has deteriorated into a surrogate existence of his dead mother. Relegated to housekeeping and caring for his criminal father and brothers, Maxi becomes infatuated with a kind and honorable policeman---played by J.R. Valentin. The policeman responds to the boy's infatuation compassionately but behaves responsibly by gently refusing sexual contact. Instead, he befriends Maxi and tries to steer him to a more respectable way of life. But his relationship with Maxi and his family has an unexpected and tragic result.

Did Maxi blossom? Yes, in a big way! Not only did Maxi take his mother's place cooking and cleaning, but he also becomes the heart of his family. It was his big heart that moves his brothers into the future after the tragedy that occurs to the family during the movie.

Turn off the cable TV and watch this quirky, little movie from the Philippines. It's a classic coming-of-age movie that will move and inspire you.

THE BLOSSOMING OF MAXIMO OLIVEROS is masterful on so many levels. One, it's a coming-of-age story expertly structured. Its dramatic momentum, its turning of the screw, is gripping. Motivations are complicated, outcomes surprising. Two, its rendering of Manila is honest, raw, personal, and illuminating. It captures both the hope and the desperation of life in a third world slum. It shows the beauty co-existing with the sludge. It does so without varnish, and without sentimentality. Three, it explores sexual identity in a fresh way. It's been on the festival circuit for a couple of years, selling out everywhere it plays. I'm thrilled to see it's finally released on dvd.

In reading the prior reviews and descriptions of this movie I was not prepared for what an intense drama it really was. Wow.

There are not may movies which would dare to depict a 12 year old boy as truly transgendered and accepted as such by his family, friends and neighbors. His two older brothers even refer to him as their "sister." Most other movies of the "gay coming-of-age" variety show boys encountering their gayness for the first time as masculine, or pretending to be masculine, as their parents and peers try to steer them in the traditional straight/masculine direction. Not Maximo. He acts and dresses like a girl and takes care of the men in his family as if he were female. He adores them and they adore him just as he is. When he does get bullied and threatened with rape by older thugs, his brothers come to the rescue (maybe a little too zealously as it turns out).

In the beginning of the movie and for the first 40 minutes or so, we see Maximo at his most carefree and innocent. He plays games (mostly with girls), dresses up, watches movies, and models exotic women's clothes on a pretend runway. He falls in love with a handsome and kind 20 something policeman. All is well with the world. But as the story unravels we learn secrets about Maximo's family, and especially his father, that force Maximo to question his sense of right and wrong, his view of the world as black/white and good/evil. We also learn things about his policeman/pseudo lover. Everything begins to take on shades of gray and Maximo must choose his loyalties and in the process lose his innocence, and I don't mean sexually. Suddenly, his sexuality takes a back seat to other aspects of life which are universal to everybody, men/women, boys/girls, gay/straight or masculine/effeminate namely loyalty toward family vs. loyalty toward a love interest. It also forces Maximo, and the viewer, to question the acceptable boundaries of behavior/misdeeds you can overlook in a parent, brother, friend or lover, in order to continue to maintain a relationship with them, and which ones you can't.

The acting was excellent. I believed everyone in their rolls. The main characters were all well written and 3-dimensional. This movie will stay with you for a long time. It is extraordinary. I highly recommend it as a purchase as opposed to a rental because you will want to watch it more then once and share this unique experience with others.

This is not your ordinary gay movie. Caution should be given to those who want to get this movie, as it is about a very young child (12) finding friendship and love in the most unlikely places.

The story line is about the growing up of a very feminine boy. It is set in the Philippines, primarily in the slums of Manila. The movie, is not only a good lesson on an impoverished culture, but on the unity of a family, how they fully accept what he is, even is made up of rough, straight brothers and father.

Maxi, Nathan Lopez, belongs to small neighborly group of boys who are extremely feminine, acting very much like girls. He is a school dropout as other boys pick on him for what he is. He is well liked, both by his family, and other neighbors. He assumes the role of a dead mother in his home, takes care of his father and bothers, he does the cooking, cleaning, and mending around their impoverished home. In turns, they protect him. It is interesting how these rough guys accept him as a girl and encourages him. People can learn from this movie by how a family can function well with a gay member.

Maxi meets a young new cop who moves into the local precinct. Victor, JR. Valentin, befriends this sweet boy, and Maxi develops his first crush. Maxi's closed family starts crumbling down when a series of crimes are committed by members of his family. Victor gets beaten up by them. A new police chief arrives, takes Victor under his wing. Maxi's father gets murdered by this police chief because of some old wounds with this family. This is watched by Maxi and Victor.

Maxi's sexual fantasies of Victor never materialized because of Victor's knowledge of right and wrong (as a cop), and Maxi being a minor. One of Maxi's brother gets absolved from a murder because his father pays the price. And finally Maxi goes back to school. There is scene toward the end in where Victor is crying (while he exchanges whistles with Maxi) showing that he really loves this boy (as a friend.)

The final scene shows Victor watching Maxi going to school (there is no exchange between the two.)

This is a good social and cultural movie. The gay issue may be offensive to some because of the age. Some countries are more accepting of sexual issues involving minors than perhaps ours. There was another Dutch movie involving minors, I did not like that one, the age was too young for me. When picking up gay movies, I have been successful and enjoy most of them. When I started watching this one I did not care much but the story grows on you. Again, caution is warranted, or you could be extremely disappointed.

While I realize this movie may not be for everyone I can only say I really enjoyed it. Maxi is a 12 year old who emulates his dead Mother by taking care of his family by doing the cleaning, ironing, cooking, etc. He is very effeminate and obviously not interested in girls. However I found nothing sexual about the movie and moreover we are concerned with Maxi and his family's way of life.
Maxi meets a police officer who befriends him and tries to set him on a better path than the one his family is following. There are truly some funny scenes here and also more than one heartbreaking scene that had the tears coming down my face. This film is not only about the Blossoming of the young Maxi but also his family and the impact the police officer has on all of that, and I was as happy with the ending as the rest of the film. A unique coming of age story.

THE BLOSSOMING OF MAXIMO OLIVEROS (Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros) is a fine little surprise of a film, a film honored in many festivals yet one that has not had the theater life in the US that it deserves. Perhaps one of the major reasons for this lack of public recognition is the manner in which it has been promoted: the cover and comments suggests that this is a comic gay film about a cross-dressing teenager and that is simply not the meaning. This very sensitive verismo story, written with skill by Michiko Yamamoto, is a window into the life of a Filipino family living in the poverty section of Manila, a family of a father and three sons after the death of the mother figure, now supporting themselves on income from petty crimes.

The youngest of these is Maximo (Nathan Lopez) who has assumed the mother's role in the household. Yes, he is effeminate, associates with others his age in private drag shows, but he is completely respected and loved by his father and two brothers who are grateful for the feminine role Maximo is filling. Because numbers games and selling stolen cell phones, etc. are the support of the family, naturally crimes are noticed by the police, most of whom can be paid off. Yet a new young and handsome recruit Victor (J.R. Valentin) moves into the neighborhood control and soon is protecting Maximo from bashing incidents and thus getting to know the family. Maximo sees Victor as a kind alternative man who represents a path out of poverty and crime and despite the age difference between the two, a tender relationship ensues: Victor protects Maximo, and Maximo nurtures the beaten Victor. And there is a beautiful very pure love relationship between these two that never borders on the physical.

Tragedies are expected in this life and when they hit Maximo's family there are ramifications that follow, incidents that alter the way the family interacts and the way the relationship between Victor and Maximo changes. In a moment of sensitive storytelling the film ends with a surprising and illuminating gesture.

Director Auraeus Solito knows how to push the story along, allowing us to view and understand what levels of poverty can drive people to do, and how important family bonds are in a society that is crippled by assaults from misunderstood events. The actors are all very natural - Nathan Lopez is able to capture our hearts as is JR Valentin as his 'hero' - and the family as portrayed by Soliman Cruz, Ping Medina, and Bodjie Pascua are well developed people with whom we can empathize despite their lives of crime. The cinematography by Nap Jamir is appropriately gritty and the musical score by Pepe Smith and Mike Villegas is primarily a solo guitar with occasional very beautiful vocal songs inserted. This is an important little film that has the courage to leave the meaning of the title, THE BLOSSOMING OF MAXIMO OLIVEROS, to the viewer. In Tagalog and English with subtitles. Grady Harp, September 07

I wasn't sure what I was getting here. Was worried that it was more dodgy than it turned out to be. This was quite delightful - has a sad ending for you romantics out there like me...just an early warning for you. I like that the family not only accept Maximo's sexuality but cherish and encourage him. There is no shame - just support and protectiveness. The family are a "successful" crime family - living quite a nice life in their neighbourhood. Well for them it seems a nice life...not for me that's for sure. Maximo (Nathan Lopez) was played so well, utterly beautiful in the delivery of his character. In comes the new cop - strong, brave, handsome and not corrupt. The latter seems to be unusual in this place. Maxi falls into an infatuation - worrying the family who have much to hide. Unfortunately things become as bad as they can. Won't ruin it for you. However, the cop turns out to be not so brave and easily corruptible for the cause (stopping crime and seeking vengeance). Nothing happens between Maxi and the cop, nothing sexual I mean. Emotionally the boy is more mature, he puts himself out there and is rebuffed. Later on the cop seeks out the boy but the boy has become a man - straight or gay I am not sure. But strong enough to say no to someone he may still love but who is not the man he thought he was - who is not worthy. Sad, funny, lovable, sad, full of hope and acceptance is how I would sum this up. I love a happy ending - boy gets girl, boy gets boy or whoever gets whoever they want. This isn't it, but it didn't seem to matter, which is very unusual for me. Enjoy:0)

It's tough to find good Filipino films. This isn't excellent for the film industry, but it's the best Filipino film I've seen so far. It's not for Hollywood fans, shot entirely in the Phillipines by amatuer actors, but I enjoy that sort of thing and enjoyed this film. The main character will make you just fall in love with him, he's great.

I have wanted to see this for a while but reviews across the web were varied. I finally broke down and bought the DVD; I am glad I did. I was honestly surprised how good this movie was. I wasn't expecting the level of class that Max's character was allowed to have nor was I expecting the drama surrounding Max's family and the law. Few movies keep me entertained and captivated to the end, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros did just that and more.

Frankly, I wasn't expecting much from this DVD, since lady-boys are not at all my type (much less 12yo lady-boys). But, just as a person, the 12yo lady-boy won my heart.

And that is perhaps the crucial thing about this film. Folks who come prepared to condescend will likely wind up wishing they knew more people like Maxi. Sure, he's an effeminate gay boy, and he's only 12, but... how to put it?....he's a great guy, sincere, affectionate, hard-working, and his dreams are firmly fixed on the stars. To sum it up: he's a believable character, and very sympathetic.

Now you have to get ready for the "Romeo & Juliet" part of the story. Maxi lives with a family of criminals, and he falls madly in love with an honest cop. To say any more would spoil the story, except that I will say this: the story is about love, not about sex. In the end, both Maxi and Victor have been seen in tears. The affection is very real.

Frankly, I don't regard this as a "quirky little film." It is a film about real human feelings. (When I was living in Iran, I had the same experience of a young boy falling in love with me! It happened during a vacation trip, and so it was short, but neither of us ever forgot it.) I don't think I need to repeat myself, but it was all about affection, and never about everyone's favorite subject. The last I heard, a dozen years later, Arman was in medical school --- and I was overjoyed to hear it.

In precisely the same way, Maxi and Victor come to care for one another, and to care ABOUT one another.

And that's really what life is about.