Gay cinema certainly has turned a corner lately, stories in which sexuality might form a crucial part of the tapestry of the drama but isn’t the be-all and end-all. A frank and emotionally honest portrait of someone who falls outside society’s boxes and steadfastly refuses to conform to them. Writer-director Petersen Vargas' Some Nights I Feel Like Walking (Daluyong Studios, Origin8 Media, Giraffe Pictures, TEN17P, Black Cap Productions, Momo Film Co., Volos Films Italia, 2024) clearly comes from an authentic place. If the screenplay lacks a bit of substance and requires more invention, the film still has a lot going for it. Some Nights I Feel Like Walking demonstrates the warm embrace that can be provided by a chosen family, alongside the judgements that exist within the Queer community itself. In the absence of an antagonist, Some Nights I Feel Like Walking instead illustrates the damage internalized prejudice can do, with Jomari Angeles giving an endearing performance that switches between vulnerability and audacity. Uno is a fascinating character, played unapologetically to resist stereotypes. Being the most emphatically authentic account of life on what for some is the margins, but for these group of young hustlers is the center of the universe. In that singular, albeit restricted way, its future is solid and predictable. But even the most callous of hearts — though anyone not already cosigned to the movie’s sensibilities is unlikely to see Some Nights I Feel Like Walking — will find it hard to resist the charms of this sensitive, well-acted and confidently shot picture. That’s even as many moments of the story feel manufactured just to keep it going.
At times, Vargas' film feels like a torrent of pent-up expression, yet more often reads as a tender yearning. In building Uno’s world, Vargas squanders another opportunity to add dimension to his protagonist. What borders on self-pity never quite tips over thanks to a winning performance by newcomer Miguel Odron who keeps Zion grounded on their voyage of self-discovery and holds our sympathies, just about, even at his most petulant. Uno’s three closest pals are interchangeable, with no distinct characteristics, despite the film selling them as his chosen family. Alongside the leading performances, Bayani (Argel Saycon), in particular, is one of the more fleshed-out supporting characters who will defend his friends against the world, but fades into the background as the film pushes forward. As the young men get together, their relationship is marked by mounting tension. There is grit through the intimate handheld lensing which benefits the tone and the sense of a lived-in world. Queer viewers will brace themselves in anticipation of traumatic narrative turns. As much as Vargas wanted to heighten the utopian thrill of Uno's circle and the environments in which they’re free to be themselves, there is also enough of a reservoir of restraint to keep things solidly clad in social realism, but it’s those unresolved conflicts that make Some Nights I Feel Like Walking compelling. The ending holds a semblance of hope for the experience of love that can be nourishing, without requiring self-sacrifice. Finding love in all aspects of life comes with complications and pain, but there is also joy in letting people in, in embracing vulnerability and in the possibility of connection that nurtures.
Music: Alyana Cabral, Moe Cabral
Sound Design: Eddie Huang (Nien Yung)
Editor: Daniel Hui
Production Designer: Remton Siega Zuasola
Director of Photography: Russell Adam Morton
Written and Directed By: Petersen Vargas
