Without a doubt, 'Soon of Macho Dancer', 2021, (Original title 'Anak Ng Macho Dancer'), can be considered the legitimate heir to the film series started by 'Macho Dancer' (1988), in which rentboys confront to the sordid realities of poverty in the Philippines. In fact, its director, multi-award-winning filmmaker Joel C. Lamangan, stated that his film was the first authentic sequel to Lino Brocka's greatest global success.
This last film was followed by other films with high-voltage homosexual themes such as 'Midnight Dancers' (1994), 'Burlesk King' (1999), 'Twilight Dancers' (2006), all directed by the late Mel Chionglo, interested in continue exploring the world of dancers who pose in scanty clothing for the homosexual clientele of Filipino venues.
Let us not forget that Brocka first attempted to depict the underworld of male prostitution through a largely improvised sequence in 'Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag' (1975), most of which was removed after the author of the original novel opposed the invention.
Considering the defiance and frustration that Brocka expressed just before his unexpected sudden death, 'Soon of Macho Dancer' could very well be the film he would have made had he survived to the present and the current discontents in the Filipino population, not very different from those of his time. No greater award can be given to a Filipino filmmaker who claims to have made a work worthy of the highest aspirations of the director of 'Macho Dancer', and Lamangan's film turns out to be one of those rare cases.
Most of the characters in these films have in common that they are overwhelmed, defeated by the sad political and socioeconomic reality of the Philippines, which is why they will be forced to practice prostitution as a means of escape from misery, in addition to being driven to claim freedom. lost dignity, without ignoring the insularity of the situation of sex workers.
'Macho Dancer' paved the way to investigate the degeneration induced in the Filipino population in general, and the male population in particular, by the presence of US military bases that curtail national sovereignty while exercising a not-so-hidden political and economic power. but they abandoned those concerns once the main character leaves for Manila or another major city in the country.
Lamangan, who played the role of a rebellious queer lady in 'Macho Dancer', 33 years after its controversial premiere, gives 'Soon of Macho Dancer' the same perspective of a hellish underworld. In this film, the director continues the story through Pol's son, the protagonist of that film, also forced to enter the sordid world of prostitution, when the coronavirus begins to reveal itself as a pandemic.
This pessimistic vision of today, which, however, is not as dark, sordid and sensual as the original, revolves around the coming of age of Inno, a 19-year-old boy who, together with Karla (Elora Españo), his girlfriend, sells clothes online offering sensual dances in front of her mobile camera with the aim of motivating the client, she has to help her father Pol (Allan Paule), a retired stripper addicted to drugs. His dancing skill will be shown later in another gloomy and dark setting.
To get out of debt and pay bail for his father, who is frequently imprisoned for public scandals associated with drugs, Tere (Rosanna Roces), Inno's mother, forces him to work in a male strip club. Like any merchandise, he sells it to Mama Jimmy (Jim Pebanco), the owner of the establishment and retired macho dancer: "He dances well and has a good penis." Faced with Inno's resistance, he assures him: "Your penis will be very successful here." In another scene he instructs him: “Use your head. If you are offered the opportunity to choose between being supported by a gay pimp or a woman, be sure to choose the richer one.”
But just when Inno starts working, Tere, who had turned to prostitution to support the family after Pol's car accident, abandons her son and her husband. At the same time, the club's premises close due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Circumstances put pressure on Inno's life, and he finds himself in need of money like never before. The family dynamic has changed drastically, as the father demands cash to pay for the drugs. Faced with this reality, he breaks up with Karla, whom he considers a hindrance, and delves into the exercise of selling his body in order to survive.
In Club Mankind, Inno will meet Bambi (Jaclyn Jose), a former prostitute who organizes private parties to sexually satisfy the rich. Inno, as "fresh meat" placed on the sales platform, is invited by Bambi to join those parties, but at the first opportunity he fails to be chosen by Kyle (Ricky Guimera), the attractive 19-year-old boy in charge of choose the young man with whom you will have sex.
Although initially nauseated by the abject nature of his new sex work (as opposed to the dancing for the audience, male or female, or escorting that he used to do at Mankind), Inno manages to find some professional equanimity in selling his body, motivated by his father's deteriorating health, increasing financial pressures, and buoyed by the camaraderie of his fellow dancers.
"This place is a pit stop for you. But it's a happy stopover for those kids looking for a better life. I know it's what you want. But don't let your heart guide you. Reject anger. Use your head. That's it the only thing that will help you." With the advice of Mama Jimmy who transmits her experiences as a veteran macho dancer, very similar to those of Tere, Inno turns out to be more skillful than expected. He understands that it was not Kyle, who he would have to conquer in his quest for a better life, but Jun Mallari, the wealthy gay businessman hidden in the next room, who masturbates while watching his favorite sex toy on the cameras with the boy on duty.
In this way, the main character of this film that combines drama, thriller, prostitution and homosexuality, seduces Jun, attracted by the life full of comforts that it offers him, becoming his new sexual puppet and abandoning his father, without to know what awaits him in that world that has opened its terrifying doors to him. Feeling like owner and lord of the mansion he shares with Jun, he will soon want to escape from it and get away from hell.
It turns out that the additional challenges that await the narrative hero increase from this point, quickly and terrifyingly, without giving us time to catch our breath. The turning point occurs in a chain of events that begins with Pol's arrival at Jun's house to look for his son, and the plunge that the protagonist suffers into an underworld of drugs, violence, crimes and parties to which his Millionaire lover invites prostitute boys.
From the get-go, Kyle warns Inno to stay away from Jun before it's too late. But Inno, mistakenly believing that he is acting out of jealousy, turns a deaf ear and ends up entering a world even more violent than the one he was escaping from.
Throughout these dramatic changes, Lamangan ensures that we are aware of Inno's plight by maintaining unconditional empathy with the character he seeks to save at all costs.
The film shows a sordid and violent world, in which the main character will see his self-esteem gradually diminish, especially when a client asks a male dancer to do something he doesn't like. It is natural. The loss of dignity and virility due to the money he needs to survive marks his path. "My father was a whore. My mother was a prostitute on the streets. And I, another whore. We are a family of whores!", Inno confesses to Bambi, who has recognized in Pol the macho dancer with whom he interacted in last.
The film aims to open the viewer's eyes to the unbearable facts and circumstances of life. The protagonist himself makes it clear in an interview: "Not all of us are lucky enough to have the opportunities that are presented to us, so we do not have the right to fire or judge someone for their choices (…) I am not saying that these macho dancers They may be saints but they all fight for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. They all have a story that we must understand and respect. When you hear their stories, if people take the time to really listen to them, it will impact you a lot. Others have already arrived to the conclusion that your choice is easy."
"Soon the Macho Dancer" fully fulfills its purpose of making the public reflect and inviting them to controversy.
'Anak ng Macho Dancer' leaves me with some life lessons. Among these, the way in which Inno overcomes the consequences of his actions and choices that lead him to live a true hell stands out. He's not just fighting for his life. What Inno believes is right for the people he loves, he does it head-on. He knew that his choices are not good, and in the face of the consequences of the choice, there is a lesson to be learned. Mistakes and struggles, also triumphs, are an integral part of human life.
The viewer should keep in mind the film's message, summarized in Pol's words to Bamby: "We still have the opportunity to correct the mistakes we have made in our lives."
Even with less than ideal material, Lamangan is able to guarantee stellar performances. The filmmaker resorts to exposing, very accurately, a decidedly negative queer image seen before in his other films, such as Lockdown, in which the higher the position of the gay character rich in money, the more malevolent he turns out to be. However, this disturbing state of affairs should be seen as post-queer, rather than homophobic.
The rich characters possess what the citizens who live in poverty need, which allows the macho dancers to carry out pecuniary transactions with wealthy clients that they could never find outside this world of prostitution and lust.
The greatness of Inno's character lies in his status as a redeeming hero who, by saving himself, saves.