Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Ang Kapalaran Ni Virgin Mario (The Fate of Virgin Mario)


Yul Servo and Ricky Orellana

A gay couple wakes up to find one of them is pregnant with child. The 11-minute Ang Kapalaran Ni Virgin Mario, which opens the shorts anthology called Katorse Shorts, proceeds from its clever what-if situation to tap cutesy-edgy humor -- mostly through the characters' irrational behavior (like, trying to kill the baby through the penis slit?) and dialogue brain-ticklers (like, How can he be pregnant when he's the top in the relationship?). The premise is mainly an appropriation of a straight-couple dillema to a gay one, which probably has Meaning. But the moment an angel appears to proclaim the second coming of God to change the minds of the two men, I had to wonder if the film succeeds more as religious anti-abortion statement than anything truly out-of-the-box. If there are messages about country (with its red, white, and blue minimal design), religion, gender, or family, none of it is clear or emotional enough. I wished the what-if short added up to more than a what-if.

GRADE: C+

Related Links:
Review of Katorse Shorts
Katorse Shorts Trailer
Katorse Writers Group

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