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Ang Lalake Sa Parola

2008/01/01Gay Confusion, Movies and MusicTags: , , , , , , , ,

parola.jpg

“For a gay relationship to work, dapat tanggap nilang pareho ang kanilang mga sarili.” (Jay Altarejos, Director, Ang Lalake Sa Parola)

This holiday season I had a chance to watch the movie Ang Lalake Sa Parola. Despite a number of negative reviews I read about the film, I personally liked it. Minus the pathetic acting, and perhaps the erratic pacing, I reckon the movie to be a sensitive one, a Pinoy gay movie that has both brains and balls. Given the chance, I’d like to congratulate and shake the hands of Jay Altarejos (director) and Lex Bonife (writer).

The DVD is now out, I encourage you to get a copy and watch. After the jump, watch “Ang Pelikula Sa Parola,” the behind-the-scenes special, included in the DVD.



* * *

And my new year’s wish for all: self-acceptance. For some this may appear simple, but especially to us gay men, this can be tricky. So I wish that each of us be able to further our self-acceptance, because I believe we can only appreciate and love another person up to the same extent we can appreciate and love ourself. Cheers, and may we all have a bonggang-bonggang 2008! Mwah! World Peace!

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  1. #45  honest guy

    ahhhh……..
    ahhhhh………
    ahhhh……..
    ang sarap mo harry!!!!!!!!

    08/11/09 08:45

  2. #44  Wildsong

    i have just watch the film last night april 27,2008 after the long times of download and converting it to 3GP format…

    so here goes my comment…

    acting wise, some say that the actor who played the role of matteo lacks a sense of acting

    but for me he captures the typical “probinsyano” image who is not aware of many things…

    the tone of the voice captures the character of innocence in some matters of life although exagerated at some times…

    the one who played jerome has a nice portrayal…

    story contentwise, i feel this story captures one of the aspects of the Philippine Culture of Bi and gay society…

    somehow i caN say, it captures the 3 phases of the life of a bi and gay…

    also i like the element of making a twist in the narration to add a mytonomy and synecdoche in deliverance of the story…

    i like the symbolism and the subliminal effect of the message of the representation.

    indeed it is a movie that triggers my mind to think about thing before reacting…

    though open-ended i feel it relates to most of the bi and homo society in the philippines…

    very original and can be leveled to the story writer of brokeback montain who captures the american culture in a a specific period of time…

    the erotic scene although soft really is remarkable when it comes to adding the flavor of the story…

    a must see movie….

    i love indie films

    mabuhay ang mga indie producer, writer, director, actor/tress etc

    they have a great way of capturing real things in life..

    08/04/28 14:37

  3. #43  lito mauricio panag

    harry saan ka ba nanggaling eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    08/02/18 22:07

  4. #42  RonTab

    I love this film. It was refreshing to see raw actors, having a hard time projecting. Yet you could see the promise in them. I liked the cinematography and the script. A real breath of fresh air. Very erotic too. A sad ending though, real and biting.

    08/02/18 17:31

  5. #41  Leo Alen

    The concept and story line were very good, but the artistry is poor: both because of poor technology and over emphasis of the sex scenes…

    at some parts, the movie is also didactic. Some lines are already cliche. Some points like the treatment of gays in rural areas need not be stated. The movie should have used its opportunity of SHOWING it..and not by saying it…

    Harry Laurel on the other hand fits the role perfectly. A soft-spoken and innocent guy from Bicol. His acting is very fresh and just natural— no over-emphasis, neither unceracting,… just normal of a probinsyano guy…

    The last part was symbolism in bad taste. That face of Mateo(harry laurel) fitting the face of the “diwata” in the painting is not really the representative of the awakening of being gay… for not all gays will want to be fairy or a woman… Mateo was awakened of the deepest desires of a man, and not longing to be acting the role of women… That symbolism twists the idea of Mateo the movie presents…

    08/02/18 17:02

  6. #40  omeng

    Justin really good as BJ.hahaha

    08/01/18 09:39

  7. #39  omeng

    is Harry Laurel really comes from Bicol??

    08/01/18 09:37

  8. #38  watcher

    question po bakit parang fake yung private part ni harry nung naka erect during bj dun sa gf nya? parang dinugtungan kasi baliko at parang humaba masyado, since pag tinignan mo yun with out erection di sya ganun kalaki.

    the movie is nice naka relate ako but again sabi nga the acting is bad. parang kulang sa chemistry during sex scene di natural. maybe justine is just doing the acting but i think harry had experience already since he know how to portray the role during sex scene.

    08/01/12 17:16

  9. #37  Loyalista Mirasol

    Di na nagaudition si Justin sa papel na Jerome..I heard he was handpicked na kasi walang mapili na magaling umarte sa role ni Jerome…The guy has acting talent talaga..More movies for Justin de leon please!!!

    08/01/10 00:47

  10. #36  miong

    http://miongxxx.blogspot.com

    08/01/08 21:07

  11. #35  curiousguy

    grabe andami pa lang nag audition para sa papel na jerome, pati c ahron villena sumali na rin, pero hindi yata nababagay sa kanya ang role na bading-badingan, hehehehe, pero sa lahat sa kanila c justin ang nagwagi

    08/01/08 11:41

  12. #34  Jesse

    so again… where is the DVD available? which store?

    08/01/06 00:21

  13. #33  marvz

    ive watch a part of it in another site where harry laurel had the frontal nudity and mind u its erected…

    08/01/05 09:37

  14. #32  Jesse

    so just where is this DVD available?

    08/01/04 22:25

  15. #31  mighty mikee

    Gusto ko talaga mapanood ang movie na to.. I missed it at RobErmita… Sayang limitado lang na theatre pinalabas kaya konti lang nakapanuod… Nung nakita kong na feature ni ABSCBN Showbiz reporter Mario Dumawal sa Star Patrol ang indie film na ito, nag ka interest na tlaga ako..Now, may DVD na… may chance na mpanuod… Harry Lim is very raw… Inocente…

    08/01/04 01:30

  16. #30  jimg29

    kenchu chan pointed out a harsh critique yet but missed on why there ought to be a movie such like this…acceptance and understanding is much better than having not experienced it at all, and for him to generalized viewers as perverts is as casting stone or salt to street-dogs deliriously doing it.

    08/01/03 16:43

  17. #29  Loyalista Mirasol

    Di naman…Cute naman si Justin de leon in person noh..Si Joross Gamboa ang kahawig nya…

    08/01/03 09:18

  18. #28  bisibisihan

    si justin de leon kamukha ni vice ganda at dra. margie holmes hehe

    08/01/03 07:18

  19. #27  silent expectator

    Hi Migs!

    I am one of those who browse and read your blogs.

    I saw the movie last night. Not so impress with the acting, and I find some scene awkward. But as a whole, i admire the sensitivity of the film. Sensible and true. Hope many could watch it because its kindda educational for those who are confuse and homojudgemental people.

    On the other hand, thank you Migs for going out of your own way to accommodate us. You just don’t know how much freedom you gave us eventhough we’re not acquinted.

    Looking forward to a more thought provoking and deep hearted ideas and realization.

    08/01/02 19:02

  20. #26  Kiks

    happy new year, MGG.

    true, acceptance is very important – by one’s self as well as that by others.

    08/01/02 17:51

  21. #25  red

    VERY GOOD MOVIE!

    08/01/02 16:12

  22. #24  mrs.j

    o well seen it sa 1st screening sa UP sad lang kasi maganda un story pero d executn kasi medio kulang talaga.. sayng un mga scenic spots na magaganda at some of the cnmatgrphy medio poor aun it cud hav been better,

    infairness maganda ang behind d scene mgnda pa sa film choz!

    08/01/02 14:37

  23. #23  kenchu chan

    ‘lalake sa parola’ is an experiment on how to parallelize trivial issues with the unknown. it is a massive disgrace to anybody’s sensibility since it only boasted of not being a hardporn to the bone (which could have redeemed its miasmatic narrative state). the reason why people watched it was its hype; and the brutal but pretentious exposure of some of the performer’s sex organs of which watching dogs doing it on the street is much better… especially for its target audience: PERVERTS.

    08/01/02 13:53

  24. #22  chickoo

    love the poster btw. aside from the obvious hunkiness of harry laurel it’s well-made, ‘di baduy at ‘di ‘th’ nor pretentious. i doubt it’s ‘kubrador’ bit the film looks decently made. the ‘making of clip’ is enjoyable, perhaps a little too much, medyo tmi pero it ultimately convinced me to buy the dvd. wait, any scheduled runs out of the country pala? please let me know! salamat!

    08/01/02 13:47

  25. #21  chickoo

    anyway, back to the main topic (ha, ha, sorry for the short story, nadala) … thanks to mr. migs for this entry. harry laurel has the ‘promdi’ image to a t: maypagka-soft pero mukhang ma-el and lalaking-lalaki pa rin. and it helps na moreno and matipuno. justin de leon’s not the most goodlooking pero he more than compensates with his sex appeal, he’s beefy in that pinoy nakaka-el way–he easily stood out in that viva hot men dvd–medyo a lil too call boy nga lang ang dating minsan (sorry). most likely, i’ll get this on dvd.

    btw, nakakalito na with lots of little gay pinoy films out there. but it’s nice to see na dumadami na’ng mga choices. you have ‘pusang gala’ (with lauren novero–sarap!), cris pablo’s films (’bilog’, ‘duda’, ‘bath house’), brillante mendoza’s ‘masahista’, etc. … now there’s ‘roxxxane’, ‘tuli’ (lesbian), ‘tirador’, ‘maximo’ (of course), among others. so what other titles are good? it’s a mixed bag as expected (for example, i liked pablo’s ‘bilog’–with the divine xeno alejandro easily standing out–but hated ‘duda’ and ‘bathhouse’). any thoughts? anyone? there are hidden gems out there and it’s nice when you find them (’laman’, though straight, with yul servo and albert martinez is one of the best ‘gems’ i’ve seen).

    08/01/02 13:41

  26. #20  chickoo

    uh, can we please stop comparing pinoy films to american ones? judge the film on its own merits. in this day and age when the whole world questions america’s dominance isn’t it a little passe to worship anything american (as we pinoys looooooove to do). minsan i feel like pinas na lang yata ang the only country left in the world na bilib na bilib pa rin sa ‘kano. tuta nga ba talaga? there are TONS of bad american films. hollywood is looked down upon by the art-independent-avantgarde film crowd anywhere and american independent film isn’t all that either. for big budget popcorn movies with special effects, yes, that’s their forte (even then look at horrible ‘big movies’ like that classic bomb ‘waterworld’ and, more recently, ‘i am legend’), pero if i want an insightful, creative, cutting edge film, nowadays i wouldn’t look for it in american cinema. why do you think andaming remakes na ngayon of asian horror films (which imo aren’t even that great to make a remake of). last i heard, even that horrible pinoy film ’sigaw’ (aka ‘echo’) is gonna have a remake, too.

    08/01/02 13:03

  27. #19  jimg29

    Altajeros and Bonifer, the director and writer respectively deserved much kudos for this parola…what an enlightening experience.

    08/01/02 07:40

  28. #18  KittyQT

    ooooh, the frontal scene of Harry!!! yes, his manliness has a certain bend to it- purrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

    08/01/02 07:04

  29. #17  rodier

    nice film. please watch.

    08/01/02 06:23

  30. #16  Landor

    Napanood nyo ba yung nudie scene ni Harry dito?

    Parang baliko yung **** nya…haha

    08/01/02 06:03

  31. #15  the bakla review

    i liked it too, twice.

    08/01/02 04:34

  32. #14  euges

    Correct kayo !!!!!
    Alisin ang mga part art effect nito film
    okey na. acting pasado naman
    In whole tama si migs.
    Happy new year to all !! !

    08/01/02 03:57

  33. #13  Indie Film Maker

    “I don’t think you could judge a movie ‘minus the acting’”

    A Good Story – Bad Acting = Good Film

    Bad Story – Good Acting = Bad Film

    08/01/02 02:06

  34. #12  mekare

    i agree with everything jedd said (and it rhymes!). awful acting, really.

    brave (or some may say exploitative) for having frontal male nudity in philippine cinema which is hard to come by these days.

    08/01/02 02:03

  35. #11  sijiro_05

    i am looking forward to watching this film. a high school friend who happens to be close to one of the production peeps recommends this to me. i hope i don’t get disappointed but viewing the trailer alone i can say it has good cinematography which i really appreciate and look forward to in most films i watch.

    i’ve seen justin de leon act in a theater play where he also essayed a gay role and he did it effortlessly. i expect him to deliver more this time.

    08/01/02 01:41

  36. #10  AVP

    they talk funny in this film.. parang memorized.. noone talks like that in real life.. Yan ang problem with most pinoy films.. they cant get the dialogue down.. with american films, when its good, sometimes it seems like youre eavesdropping on an actual conversation taking place.. in this film, parang walang pagka natural ng mga conversation.. and its so distracting..

    08/01/02 01:14

  37. #9  AmuseD

    shot in 3 days, and it shows.

    08/01/02 01:09

  38. #8  Loyalista Mirasol

    I love Justin de leon in this film…After all these years, he still is a hunk..Plus he has acting talent…Cute sya in person noh..I love him…Sana magkaacting award sya dito…

    08/01/02 01:03

  39. #7  Jedd

    I don’t think you could judge a movie ‘minus the acting’. The actors in Parola are so bad in what they do that it’s difficult to get immersed in the story. They talk in that unrealistic, amateur, sing-song kindergarten manner, as if to remind you: ‘hey there, we are making a movie. we’re trying to be a character here. we are acting out a scene now. this is just make believe.’
    -
    Too bad, because the movie is well shot. The colors are gorgeous. But just as you can’t call a sandwich a sandwich without its bread, you can’t call Ang Lalaki Sa Parola a great movie to watch minus the acting.

    08/01/01 23:29

  40. #6  chismoso

    I’ve seen this movie and would recommend it to a number of people, except technical film critics.

    Yes, there are technical flaws in the movie. The sequencing was a bit confusing, there were some technical glitches, and acting was sometimes a bit raw and untrained. Then again, the actors (almost all) are relative newbies. That’s why the director admittedly cast people who are apt for the characters.

    BUT, given the 3-day shooting schedule, it was amazing what the director and the entire production was able to achieve.

    My congratulations to the entire production, to the director, and to the film editors. You guys did a great job. It helps that there are delightful glimpses certain anatomical parts that titillate during the whole of the movie.

    08/01/01 23:08

  41. #5  Dunhill

    The movie has it flaws pero so far, compared to the recent slew of gay-related (indie) films released, “Lalake sa Parola” rises above the rest in terms of story, acting, direction and the movie as a whole. No wonder it was a success during its run. Ayaw ko lang yung sinabi ni Dexter Doria sa making ng movie that the reason why gays are “mapagmahal sa pamilya nila” was only because “kasi wala namang pamilya ang mga ‘yun”. That’s exactly why films such as “Lalake sa Parola” must be viewed by straight people – for them to have a better understanding of us, gay people.

    08/01/01 23:06

  42. #4  gary

    on the contrary migz, this film scores!! great directioin, cinematography, actors (support cast even). justin de leon is a genius (never had any idea this hunk is a natural!), very disciplined and focused in his approach!

    08/01/01 21:48

  43. #3  Sentosapark

    I’ve watched d movie too at robinson’s galleria Kya lng ang lamya ni Harry magsalita! Another observation: kamukha ni Justine de Leon si Vice Ganda!

    08/01/01 21:06

  44. #2  ian

    Sarap ni Harry….

    08/01/01 20:27

  45. #1  kai

    i LOVE this film…
    harry laurel’s character is a bit baffling but that’s really how it is in the real world

    08/01/01 18:04

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