Petersen Vargas steps into a well-worn queer movie scene There are nights when I want to walk The film follows a close-knit team of young gay male hustlers who work in Manila’s private streets after dark.
Vargas sends a handheld camera as he patrols the corners of the city at night, behind a merry band of Uno (Jomari Ángeles), Bey (Argel Saicon), Rush (Tommy Alejandrino), and Ge (Gold Aceron). The film smoothly depicts their dangerous territory, looking over their shoulders as they make their way to customers through a lively red-light district, public restrooms, and adult movie theaters.
Typically, we follow Uno, the calm and collected linchpin of the crew, and Angeles’ cool, alert performance guides the emotions. Uno drives the plot. He first encounters Zion (Miguel Odron), a doe-eyed runaway vagrant who is clearly unaccustomed to life on the streets.
Recruited into the hot threesome, the two spark a romantic attraction, and Zion soon begins dating Uno and his friends – although the handsome but brutish Bey remains skeptical of the newcomer. In their world, trust and loyalty are at a premium, and they can be robbed and beaten by rival hustlers, chased and subdued by local cops.
The film depicts their exploitation and humiliation with minimal sensationalism and melodrama. A sparse score by Alyana Cabral and Moe Cabral is used sparingly. Though the film is full of eroticism, there is little nudity aside from shirtless handsome men and handsome men, and the sex scenes remain relatively tame. Given the circumstances, so too is the romance that develops between Uno and Zion.
Violence is an unavoidable reality, but this film doesn’t push the pain on you. Vargas eschews overt depictions of flesh and blood, instead going for neon-lit visual majesty and a profound sense of place, as he dives into a crowded street market and later in the film stops at an outdoor drug bar.
A sudden catastrophe in the final act sends the crew on a road trip far from Manila, briefly captured inside a bus as the city lights fade into the countryside. Not much intrigue happens along the way. Rather, Vargas pads out the journey with expressively lit, overlong dream sequences that clumsily summarize Zion’s past before hitting the town.
This sequence sensationalizes the intolerance and shame that leads to children being kicked out of their homes, runaways, or worse. Ultimately, Vargas gets his point across with another subplot that focuses on the religiously fueled homophobia that causes children to run away from their families and into the city in the first place.
The chosen family they form on their journey may save them from destruction. Uno and his buds are given hope that they won’t turn tricks forever. “It’s better to do something else,” Uno reasons.
But the film doesn’t give them much joy, even in moments that are supposed to be light-hearted. There is still a certain sadness in the festive scenes, which are full of smiles. against their constant struggle, loss of innocence, exploitation of body and soul. As Uno says, “I want to feel like I own my body.”
like the boys in portland my own private idahoor the Mexico City street children who went missing in Buñuel’s home. los olvidasthis Manila crew roams the hidden city they’ve made home. They don’t have a pot to piss in or a caring adult to guide them, but they have the wits, the bodies, and each other to brave a cruel world together.
Some Nights I Feel Like Walk (★★☆☆☆) Available to rent or purchase via digital and VOD on Apple, Amazon, Google, YouTube, Vudu and other platforms. visit Movie movement.com.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
