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The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros is one of those all-too-rare films that handles prepubescent sexual anxiety with intelligence and unflinching honesty. Twelve year old Maxi (Nathan Lopez) lives with his widower father and two older brothers in the slums of Manila, His mother has passed away, leaving the male contingent of his family to turn to petty crime to earn a better living. Meanwhile Maxi takes on the role of surrogate mother by cooking, cleaning and sewing for them. Things become complicated when Maxi meets and falls for Victor, a rookie cop who has an axe to grind with the local criminals. As event start to spiral out of control, Maxi has to make a choice: either to stay loyal to the family he mothers, or to Victor, the object of his affection. Shot in the backstreets of Sampaloc, Manila, this bittersweet tale of adolescence which has captured the hearts of audiences around the globe.
Review
Special Features: Director Commentary, Q&A with Director at the London FIlm Festival --Special Features
"Raucous, vivacious" Time Out Critics Choice --Time Out
"A fresh and moving little charmer of a film" Four Stars - Daily Express --Daily Express
"Raucous, vivacious" Time Out Critics Choice --Time Out
"A fresh and moving little charmer of a film" Four Stars - Daily Express --Daily Express
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Aureaus Solito's film about a 12 year old boy Maxi Oliveros (Nathan Lopez) is an emotive and charming drama about the highs and lows of a first love. Maxi is growing up in the slums of Manila among the detruitus of the big city, and despite his age has taken on the role of surrogate mother for his father (Soliman Cruz) and two brothers, all petty criminals lording it over their neighbourhood. Maxi cooks, cleans, washes clothes and sows - but does not go to school. Bring in the new policeman on the block, a gentle and charming young man called Victor (J R Valentine) and Maxi's little world is turned upside down with his first pangs of love and the exploration of his own sexuality.
Some viewers may initially be put off by seeing a 12 year old mincing around with his camp friends, having make-believe fashion pageants, but Solito manages never to let the film descend into sexualisation or exploration, and so we keep seeing Maxi's world through his innocent childlike eyes. Maxi is a charismatic character. And, who of us hasn't been young?
Maxi's imperfect but cosy little world is soon dramatically torn up though, and the ensuing tragic consequences make him stronger, accepting the challenges of life. The relationship between Victor and Maxi is the marker of his threshold between being a child and becoming a young adult. We are being being moved witnessing his growing up, his blossoming, while around him a constant jetsam and flotsam of humanity ebbs and flows.
The film was made on a very low budget but that adds to its colourful crispness. It is nice to see such a good script in action - as if it were live! We are, as viewers, really drawn into this world and feel with the young boy as his innocent world is torn apart but then put back together again for bigger and better things. The last scene before the credits show how he has accepted the challenges put to him and grown into a young adult - ready to get on with learning, leaving the past standing by the wayside, yet with an open option. And, don't turn off when the credits start rolling, there is one last afterthought. Something we should all do from time to time to really move on in life.
I loved this film and the feelgood factor it transmits, despite and because of everything that is going on. A true gem. Watch, see and live it!
Some viewers may initially be put off by seeing a 12 year old mincing around with his camp friends, having make-believe fashion pageants, but Solito manages never to let the film descend into sexualisation or exploration, and so we keep seeing Maxi's world through his innocent childlike eyes. Maxi is a charismatic character. And, who of us hasn't been young?
Maxi's imperfect but cosy little world is soon dramatically torn up though, and the ensuing tragic consequences make him stronger, accepting the challenges of life. The relationship between Victor and Maxi is the marker of his threshold between being a child and becoming a young adult. We are being being moved witnessing his growing up, his blossoming, while around him a constant jetsam and flotsam of humanity ebbs and flows.
The film was made on a very low budget but that adds to its colourful crispness. It is nice to see such a good script in action - as if it were live! We are, as viewers, really drawn into this world and feel with the young boy as his innocent world is torn apart but then put back together again for bigger and better things. The last scene before the credits show how he has accepted the challenges put to him and grown into a young adult - ready to get on with learning, leaving the past standing by the wayside, yet with an open option. And, don't turn off when the credits start rolling, there is one last afterthought. Something we should all do from time to time to really move on in life.
I loved this film and the feelgood factor it transmits, despite and because of everything that is going on. A true gem. Watch, see and live it!
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Don't waste your money on this totally inferior DVD. The picture quality is poor and it doesn't have the special features of the UK version. In fact if you just look at the two covers you can tell the difference. The US version loks cheap and nasty - just like the disk.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This film opens with the sight of beautiful petals floating serenely down a dirty Manila stream: beauty amidst squalor. But a squalor that smiles and does not offend: the homes are clean and spirits are strong.
It was filmed over thirteen days on a shoestring budget of $10,000; they used digital video rather than film, which made it easier to shoot on the street. The director said it was so easy to film as it was done in the neighbourhood in which he lives: he refers to it as his ode to his home. It is mostly shot using natural light.
Maximo lives with his widowed father and two elder brothers in a close family where everyone accepts Maximo for who he is: a twelve-year-old boy with feminine ways. Maximo falls for the block's new hunky policeman, who rescues Maximo from a potential back-alley rape (pun intended). But when his family has a run-in with the law (father to older son: "I raised you as a thief, not as a killer"), where should Maximo's loyalties lie? It's a small story, touching in place, but has tragic consequences.
As a westerner I found this film an opportunity to witness a different - but not that different - culture. One of the joys of independent cinema is that it gives you the chance to enjoy films that are both extraordinary and charming too. This is one such film.
What else can I say, that might be of use to a potential purchaser? Well, the original Tagalong-language title of the film alludes to the leaving behind of puberty, but the words employ a feminine gender to conflict with Maximo's masculine name. The attempt at a Miss Universe contest - and the accompanying overacting - by the local gayboys is mildly amusing. The film has a 15 certificate, supposedly because it contains strong language. Ha! So we can forget the portrayal of street violence, then?
There are a number of extras on this disc. In the director's commentary (in English) we learn of his background in documentary film-making. He is also a playwright and theatre director. He says he had interviewed local gay boys for the part, but they were either too self-conscious or overacted. As for Nathan Lopez, who took on the role, he had to learn to walk and talk the part by focussing partly on his elder sister. He was initially not keen to do the role, and neither were his family, but both his father and his sister end up in the film too!
The extras also include an eighteen-minute Q&A with the director at the 2006 London Film Festival. Is the film autobiographical? Well, partly. He came out when he was thirteen as a gayboy and his first love was an officer when he later did his military training.
Enjoy!
It was filmed over thirteen days on a shoestring budget of $10,000; they used digital video rather than film, which made it easier to shoot on the street. The director said it was so easy to film as it was done in the neighbourhood in which he lives: he refers to it as his ode to his home. It is mostly shot using natural light.
Maximo lives with his widowed father and two elder brothers in a close family where everyone accepts Maximo for who he is: a twelve-year-old boy with feminine ways. Maximo falls for the block's new hunky policeman, who rescues Maximo from a potential back-alley rape (pun intended). But when his family has a run-in with the law (father to older son: "I raised you as a thief, not as a killer"), where should Maximo's loyalties lie? It's a small story, touching in place, but has tragic consequences.
As a westerner I found this film an opportunity to witness a different - but not that different - culture. One of the joys of independent cinema is that it gives you the chance to enjoy films that are both extraordinary and charming too. This is one such film.
What else can I say, that might be of use to a potential purchaser? Well, the original Tagalong-language title of the film alludes to the leaving behind of puberty, but the words employ a feminine gender to conflict with Maximo's masculine name. The attempt at a Miss Universe contest - and the accompanying overacting - by the local gayboys is mildly amusing. The film has a 15 certificate, supposedly because it contains strong language. Ha! So we can forget the portrayal of street violence, then?
There are a number of extras on this disc. In the director's commentary (in English) we learn of his background in documentary film-making. He is also a playwright and theatre director. He says he had interviewed local gay boys for the part, but they were either too self-conscious or overacted. As for Nathan Lopez, who took on the role, he had to learn to walk and talk the part by focussing partly on his elder sister. He was initially not keen to do the role, and neither were his family, but both his father and his sister end up in the film too!
The extras also include an eighteen-minute Q&A with the director at the 2006 London Film Festival. Is the film autobiographical? Well, partly. He came out when he was thirteen as a gayboy and his first love was an officer when he later did his military training.
Enjoy!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good movie
The only thing disappointing with this movie was that the description on Amazon stated that the film was in English - in fact about 2 sentences were in English (the rest being in a... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Aaron James
Heart wrenching tale of infactuation in the Philapenes
This film is a little bit slow to start but the begininig sets the scene well.
Powerful heart wrenching story of underage infactuation in a world of volence
and crime. Read more
Powerful heart wrenching story of underage infactuation in a world of volence
and crime. Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2010 by James Walker
Pleasant
Ultimately and finally a very pleasant view of how a family accepts and supports the younger male who took on his responsibilities with more than enthusiasm, and finally due to his... Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2009 by P. Meulemeester
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