One unfortunate trope of independent filmmaking is the near-silence of working-class characters, as if a relative lack of formal education deprived a person of ideas, emotions and experiences. Joselito Altarejos' Ang Lihim ni Antonio (Digital Viva, BeyondtheBox, 2008) confronts it brilliantly, making its absence among teens the painful core of his film. At the center of this closed-in world is Antonio (Kenjie Garcia), part of a tight-knit community but doesn’t fully belong to it, and, though his appearance and behavior are indistinguishable from everyone else’s, Antonio manages to set himself apart symbolically and warily, if not openly. Antonio's sense of sexual self-discovery, his incremental awareness and avowal of his desires and pleasures is cut off from any sense of emotional growth and sensitivity. On the contrary, Antonio becomes increasingly alienated from anyone in his life who might be able to provide any comfort or support. As Altarejos sets the stage for a jarring finale, Lex Bonife's screenplay is riddled with wry observations about sexual identity as it’s understood through his characters’ vernacular. It's the tender vulnerability and concerned shame Garcia displays once Antonio is found out that make it stick. Other times he’s awkward and animalistic, lost in his newfound bodily urges as he lies in bed, breathing in the musk from his Uncle Jo’s dirty underwear as he arches his back and plays with his genitalia. Garcia belies a tender side that makes one of the most striking breakouts in ages; he’s the key ingredient that carries the movie’s basic premise from start to finish. As the abusive Jonbert, Josh Ivan Morales offers a character portrayed much more seductively and playfully. We see very clearly how he seduces Antonio, not just abusing him. His look complements this approach beautifully.
Performances are fine across the board with Shamaine Buencamino, a warm, watchful, sterling presence as Antonio’s mother Tere, and Jiro Manio particularly touching as Mike, Antonio's straight best friend. Ang Lihim ni Antonio is a film of constant anxiety and agitation—in other words a pretty fair approximation of the teenage mindset—in this case further shaken by the stigma still associated with homosexuality. It does have ideas about sexuality and, ultimately, the thin line between danger and desire. That, I think, is what sets Altarejos apart. The movie ends with a stunning act involving Antonio and Jonbert. It played like a logical, if unforeseeable endpoint to what was lingering all along. The ending is a reminder of what can happen when a director trusts us enough not to offer easy takeaways and psychological absolutes. What happens when a character who doesn’t know what he wants loses control over what little understanding he already has? It’s a crisis, and a risk, and Ang Lihim ni Antonio navigates both with the best of them. It is hard to digest the movie’s ending because it does not lead to a happily ever after. We see the movie resort to violence that is truly heartbreaking, unbearable, and, in my opinion, inevitable. Understated throughout, the Ang Lihim ni Antonio boldly concludes while Antonio is still processing the fact that his life just changed forever. What's special about the film is how much we come to know Antonio, perhaps more than he knows himself.
Production Design: Jeng Torres
Editor: Ricardo Gonzales Jr.
Music: Ajit Hardasani
Director of Photography: Arvin Viola
Screenplay: Lex Bonife
Director: Joselito Altarejos
