MASAHISTA Movie Review By Marinette L. Panganiban BBrC 3-1D

Title: Masahista

Producer:

Fedelyn T. Geling

Characters:

Coco Martin……………………….Iliac
Jacklyn Jose……………………….Naty
Allan Paule………………………..Alfredo / Marina Hidalgo
Katherine Luna…………………….Tessa
Paolo Rivero………………………..Andrew
Kristoffer King…………………….Lester
 
 

Director:

Brillante Mendoza

Writer:

Boots Agbayani Pastor
Brilliante Mendoza

Synopsis:

Twenty-year-old Iliac performs his nightly duty at the parlour. He is neither the most sought-after nor the most desirable masseur, but his sweet, pensive look wins the dubious attentions of a romance novelist. The writer is an abusive, calculating and demanding man whose only preoccupation seems to be how to get the most out of a massage session for the least amount of money but then kindness is something Iliac rarely experiences. His girlfriend, a bar girl working in Japan, demands sex but shows little affection, and his family insists he go home to help with the embalming rituals for his father’s remains. Resigning himself to fulfilling his filial duty to a father who abandoned the family and squandered his money drinking himself to death, Iliac returns home. The flickering lights that shine in preparation for the Giant Lanterns Festival illuminate Iliac’s life in flashes, offering glimpses of a destiny he may not be able to control.

Recommended Subject Areas:

Society

The movie Masahista mirrored reality towards poverty. It gave way to what the society deals today—poverty.  The movie was more of an eye-opener than a revelation for the society to understand the realm where poverty exist and what might exist in the future because of poverty.  Social judgment may understanding or worst create the irony, but the reality that ones hunger should be satisfied whatever other people might say.

Men

Men of our society today are more liberated and open in terms of anything, maybe that’s why the preferences of men towards different things changed.  This is why homosexuality occurred in this movie, because it is reality.

Lesbianism

In this movie, lesbianism had occurred toward same sex activity of  the characters. It is the scenes where Iliac and his client got intimate. The fact that this was written and produced, we might say that homosexuality is no longer unacceptable.

Family

The love, care and symphathy to any members of your family makes you deal with whatever is impossible.  In this movie I was touched on part where the scene of the dead body of father of Coco Martin was being dressed up for his final bed simultaneous to the scene when Coco was massaging Allan Paule. It touched me because you can see at Coco’s eyes that that act reminds him of his father.

Cinematic Focus:

Character Driven

Iliac’s character justified everything in the movie. His soft and delicate character made him more of taken forgranted in any aspect of this movie. Yet, his character produced the symphathy that made the viewers hooked up to what’s the real side of the story.  The man in him taken forgranted in obvious manner—that was asked to have sex with another man.  His character also took chance for him to work for himself and for his family.  Poverty made him not less of a man yet more of courage to face what kind of life surrounds him.  It was all about him that made each  scene profitable.

Audience Stability:

R18

Points of Observation:

The movie was well presented for it discussed lots of agenda. It touched the family aspect which made it as a turning point to Iliac’s life.  It also tuckles the escalation of liberation from what’s in the social norm, presented through gay-relationship.  These are the evident agendas of the story.

Rating:

5 Stars- Highly Recommended