REAL REVIEW: Joselito Altejero’s ANG LIHIM NI ANTONIO 2008.

I always go to Marikina and eat in Lola Helen’s Paciteria with my officemate, Pritz who is a resident of that city. When Viva Film  and Beyond the Box Production set and shoot the film entirely in Marikina, this indie-film provide in dept study of puberty, society and  homosexuality.

Antonio, played by Kenjie Garcia was a typical 15-year old boy who’s searching for his identity amid of the city in which gay social awareness and their right’s are in its height. While the father is an OFW and her mother (Shamane Buencamino) a social worker, Antonio struggle to leave in a society in which searching for identity is too difficult since the machismo perception of barkada’s  (his best friend Jiro Manio and one time sex partner Ninio Fernandez) in his age is difficult to bare. When his pervert uncle Joe (Josh Ivan Morales) arrived to stay while waiting for his paper to go abroad, Antonio continue his sexual escapade to his uncle. But Joe became aggressive, violent and when he try to sodomized Antonio, the teen ager refused; her mother caught them in the act and stabbed Joe to death.

Independent film always lack of funds for bankable artist to create a well stage production. ANG LIHIM NI ANTONIO has minimal musical score (probably none), well shot camera and well known casting. Nevertheless, Joselito Altejeros create a film with magnitude vision and remarkable story and Lex Bonife written a screenplay that has its simplicity that you can easily appreciate and understand. It is too difficult to go inside what is really happening in our present youth with baring a location, which is the cleanliest well-disciplined city. Probably the reason is reality.