The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros examines the life of a young gay Filipino living in relative poverty. Maximo Oliveros is a young boy sorting his way through corruption and poverty, growing up and being different. Minimalist cinematography adds a resonant intimacy with Maxi's life. Maxi has a charming exuberance that seems to leave him relatively unscathed from scorn. A chance meeting and subsequent infatuation with a young cop trying to make an honest community forces Maxi to confront the moral implications of his family's way of life. Funny and touching, Maximo Oliveros is not to be missed.

mutual appreciation

One of the benefits of moving has been the hyper-availability of arts events. Thursday I went to to see the new independent film Mutual Appreciation. The film tells the story of an aspiring musician who moves to New York to realize his dream of becoming an indie pop-rock star. Though the film does not possess an underlying theme and characters are not fully developed, Mutual Appreciation has a knack for irrevant, bullshit dialogue that parallels real life. Plus the lead character's songs are actually pretty good. Though no masterpiece, Mutual Appreciation is a fun and funny art flick well worth my student ticket.