The Boy Foretold by the Stars (2020)

Definitely worth watching

I initially hesitated to watch this since it was streaming online for a price (Php 250 or about US$ 5) and it had some limitations (e.g. must be played in 5 days and must be finished watching within 24 hours from your first play). However, curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to watch a BL series on Christmas Day (besides, the other entries in MMFF 2020 were not appealing to me). I am glad I made that decision.

The story seems to be quite simple but I think what made this movie good is the acting, cinematography and music. The shots and angles were filmed nicely. (I love that miniature lamps in the field scene coz it appears very romantic and very "kdrama-ey"). The songs and background music were modern yet emotive . Although the film appears to have some budgetary limitations on the production values, the finished film was still good. Kudos to the producer, director, cinematographer and staff for this.

I am not familiar with their other works, but the actors playing the main characters were good especially Adrian Lindayag who plays Dominic. I could feel the emotions especially the "kilig" (romantic excitement) as well as the pain and sadness that comes with that kind of love especially since such relationship is forbidden by the Church (and Philippine society to a large part). The juxtaposition of having a religious background while at the same time patronizing mystic arts like tarot card reading (not to mention it is being done quite near the church) is an honest take on the ironic but real-life situation in the Philippines.

Personally, it's very relatable to me. I too studied in a sectarian catholic high school in the Philippines more than a decade ago. We were also attending masses, spiritual retreats and other religious activities coupled with strict teachers, bullying and even student fights. I especially had a laugh at the "Spanish fan" in the mass scene because that also happened to me although mine wasn't sequestered. Hello! It's a necessity considering the hot weather in school especially in the chapel. :-) In any case, it is a reality in an all-male school that some tend to be derided for being effeminate. One really has to have a strong backbone to stand-up to these dorks and survive the jungle that is high school. It was nice to reminisce high school life with its raging hormones and first love. Awww.

I guess my only small gripe was the final scene between the two leads. It somehow felt hurried to me. Although it was a satisfying happy ending, it kinda felt "kulang" (something was missing) as it abruptly ended after they makeup. Most of all, I especially loved the idea being espoused in this film - that fate is something we create for ourselves and we don't just have to rely on our supposed destiny being told by fortunetellers.

To those who are BL fans (regardless of nationality), I suggest that you watch this. I do hope that this be widely available with English subtitles very soon (and hopefully for free also) so that many more audience worldwide could appreciate it. While this year has seen plenty of Pinoy BL series (most of which are honestly sub-par), the film "The Boy Foretold by the Stars" is done quite well and a welcome "shot in the arm" so to speak to the usual lackadaisical MMFF with its inane, formulaic and predictable movies that we have been used to in the past. Hope this means we will get to see more substantial quality in Filipino movies (not just BL) in the near future.

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For me this movie was just okay. The biggest problem is that 'Luke' is not a very good actor. I don't think he delivered a single line of dialog convincingly. ('Dominic' is fantastic, though, and he has a beautiful singing voice.)

The second biggest problem is that the ending feels very forced. The movie's third act sets up a bunch of problems that it does nothing to resolve. Nothing! (Like, what about that date for prom? And Luke's homophobic friends?)

By the time we get to the final scene of the film we know that Luke is unreliable. He runs hot and cold and has no idea what he really wants. Maybe he loves Dominic, but on the other hand maybe he's just driven by guilt. So, the sentimental ending is unconvincing. It needed something that would assure us (and Dominic) that Luke really, truly knows what he wants now. As it is, I wouldn't be surprised if the next day he's back with the girlfriend. (Something tells me that will be the premise of the sequel. *Yawn* )

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Uninspired BL movie: banal story + bad acting

This BL movie depicts a quite banal romance. It had some cute moments but honestly I could not get behind the romance. I felt no chemistry and I really think the way they set up the romantic elements make it difficult to support it. Too much "destiny" stuff preventing any real character development. Destiny is pushing them together (-at least we are told so) but there is not much else there to show why they would develop mutual romantic feelings. It feel very surface level despite the fact that the film address some concern faced by the protagonists regarding their sexuality and their acceptance within society.

Unfortunately, the actors skills are pretty weak. Most of the dialogs felt super flat though strangely enough, there are also so many over-the-top and overacting moments. I cringed at so many scenes, which I am pretty sure was really not the purpose.

The production value was overall ok, it felt like your standard / middle-of-the-road high school series. The saving grace of the movie was a couple of songs sang by one of the main character. It was nice without being very remarkable.

I would not recommend this to people as there are much better BL highschool romance out there. It is only the second production from Philippines I watch and I must say that so far, I'm not convinced about what I have seen. I still want to discover more from this country because I think I might just be not lucky so far with my picks.

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A Realistic Slice of Life Set in a Religious High School

Content Warnings: none that I can think of

Overview: you might like this if you like slice of life stories

What I Liked
- the setting of an all male religious school is fairly unique from what I've seen thus far
- the main character Dominic has (stereotypical) feminine qualities which is rare to see and I liked that he character wasn't played just for laughs like I've frequently seen with trans women or crossdressing men (though this did happen with the fortune teller/assistant)
- the ex girlfriend wasn't some flat evil character, she saw that he changed, they were more compatible now and wanted to give it another try

Room For Improvement (minor spoilers)
- that Dominic lied and said he just wanted to be friends/platonic when almost the whole time he was looking at it from a romance aspect
- was it ever explained why Dominic didn't go to the playground, did he forget? what happened???
- how the ending played out, it felt like Dominic was trying to force Luke...

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This just didn't grab me

This was an interesting story, produced well with very attractive camera work. Among the actors, Adrian Lindayag gave a wonderful performance. (I don't find effeminate gay characters very appealing, but he managed to get beneath my skepticism.)

For the rest, I just didn't feel any chemistry between the actors. The whole thing just seemed a bit two-dimensional. The Luke character was going through a serious emotional crisis but I never felt any of that. It all seemed to fall a it flat.

Also, I have to say that the setting in a Catholic boys' school induced a huge dose of disbelief on my part. Maybe things have changed in the church since I was a boy (I HOPE so) but I find it hard to believe that the level of tolerance for sexual minorities that is depicted in the movie is anywhere near real-life.

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Sweet a bit too religious for my personal taste but I love this angele to it...

This movie is really sweet, the main couple is adorable and their story is pretty typical guy who thinks he is straight falls for another guy and struggles with it. Not much new to that but also something always nice to to watch. what I do love is the way they for once let gay people be religious. So yes I love the representation here, the way the religion is portrayed and even if I personally am not a big fan of the whole jesus loves you theme when it comes to my personal belief as an atheist, It is not really my cup of tea to watch. However the freedom of religion person within me is thrilled with this type of movie. It brought down the entertainment value but I am really happy this movie exists and hope many people will watch it!

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A beautiful film through and through

I adore The Boy Foretold by the Stars because the film knows what it wants to convey. It is well-written and directed by Dolly Dulu.

Which reminds me, I did a little research. The film is base on a play, Ang Hangal, which director Dolly wrote in college.

“The story is based on my personal experience back in high school. It’s a very personal story that I wanted to share with the audience. It’s not just a passion project, it’s a material that carries a very important message specifically for the members of the LGBTQ+ community,” the director told Manila Standard Entertainment in a virtual interview. 

No wonder you can feel a sense of genuineness (Is this a word?). There was no hint of pretentiousness. I guess we also need to thank the wonderful actors, especially Adrian Lindayag, the actor who portrayed Dominic.

Every time he appears on the screen, my heart and mind would say, I hear you, I feel you, and I understand you. He surely identifies well with Dominic, so he was able to convey what the character wanted.

If you get a chance to catch this, please hit play. The Boy Foretold by the Stars (2020) is a beautiful film through and through.

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Fluffy and light feelgood

This movie is a great watch. It's well-paced, with humorous notes and some emotional scenes at exactly the right timing. The chemistry between the two leads is very present, and you can really feel their falling in love through the screen.
Representation is usually done well in Phillipine BL, and this one is no different. It's scenery is a typical high school environment, where competition, bullying and teen-angst are omnipresent. Furthermre, this is a catholic high school, with actual clergymen as teachers and headmaster. It's a delight to see that there is no condemnation from the faculty towards the openly gay community in the school, they are even welcomed as organisers of some kind of bible-camp where the students learn about the love of Chist.

The feel of this movie is very fresh and light, with some more serious notes here and there. Above all, it's a movie about falling in love for the first time and what that does to a person.

Highly recommend that if you watch this movie, you watch "Love Beneath The Stars" the series right after, where the story between Dominic and Luke is explored more deeply.

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Lovely funny movie about high school gay love. Cinematography is great, and so is the music.

Acting was okay, considering these are newbies in the movie scene. I would've given this movie a 9.5 rating, but I deducted a half point because of the following...

There are eyebrow-raising scenes:

1. Dominic said that his family doesn't know he's gay and he doesn't want to tell them because they might be disappointed. Really??? His actuations and voice are dead giveaways, so... really?

2. When Dominic revealed to his 2 gay friends that it's Luke who is the "boy foretold by the stars," the two friends were surprised. Why??? Didn't the entire school witness the "scandal" when Luke brawled with his groupmate to defend Dominic? They really didn't know about THAT?

A more fragile looking actor should have been cast as Dominic, so that it will be more credible that a straight guy (Luke) would want to protect him. I didn't feel any chemistry between the two leads, that is why their kiss didn't titillate, in fact it was quite cringey.

I also didn't like how the ending went. It seems to be lacking something. It left so many loose ends (what will happen to Karen now and the grand ball, for example). It felt incomplete. I also don't like the idea that Dominic was "forcing" Luke to love him or choose him over Karen because a fortune teller said they're meant for each other. That scene was quite cringey.

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Memorable Storyline

I finally decided to watch this movie after seeing it repeatedly on our TFC ads with the iconic line (I remember the most), 'I thought you were better than this!'

It's a very bittersweet movie feeling that goes into a rollercoaster. It's a little bit slow-paced for me but the ending satisfied it for me. There are a couple of plotholes (like Luke's friend who had called him an F-slur. How was he still friends with him? What happened after? Maybe it'll be answered in the upcoming drama).

I like the soundtrack but I really only remember one song which was Ulan by Bugoy Drilon (I'm not kidding when I say it's on repeat for me. It's such a great song). The cinematography was great and it was beautiful, especially scenes with the lanterns at night.

The Boy Foretold By The Stars has a very unique storyline that kind of goes beyond traditional Filipino beliefs such as; Dominic and his best friend going to Baby R who's a famous fortune-teller (because we're very religious-based people, we don't believe in that stuff); Luke flipping a coin to choose his destiny; the obvious, sexuality which is slowly being embraced in our conservative country. This movie isn't that typical, 'I don't like men, I only like you,' which often becomes a huge part of the storyline in a lot of dramas (and even movies) we watch. We know by the end, Luke comes to terms with his sexuality although it might've taken a while (which is very realistic).

It's pretty realistic when portraying high school romances and especially in a religious school where two men fall in love because there will always be those who don't support and those who do. Luke's character is realistic as he came to terms with his sexuality. Not everyone would suddenly go, 'oh, I'm gay. Cool.' We go through emotional phases that CAN hurt people around us and in his term it was with Dom. He slowly begins to realize he was falling for him but being gay could make a lot of people hate you and throw slurs at you in their school (we know that was the case with Luke's very homophobic friend) so he blew off on him and the iconic line, said by Dominic, 'I thought you were better than this!' came. They weren't on speaking terms and Luke even flipped the coin to determine his destiny with Dominic.

It was a rollercoaster of a ride with a third party ruining their relationship but as expected, they did have a happy ending!! I would definitely watch it again.

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