L'éveil de Maximo Oliveros

This film tells the story of a young effeminate boy from a criminal family, who falls for a hunky local policeman in a deprived part of Manila.

A young transvestite boy, possibly transgendered as well,falling in love with a policeman. And it is hinted that the policeman has equal feelings towards him too! I would have thought such a topic should be taboo. The family is so accepting of Maximos that I find it really touching. I am quite in awe that the Filipino society is so accepting of the gay and transgender people.

As for the film, they use loads of natural lighting almost exclusively, so scenes are too dark most of the time. There is even a scene when the family watches TV without lights on! And they did not use a wide enough lens to film scenes in the house either. But these are only minor issues. The main thing is that the story itself is beautiful and brutal at the same time. "The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" is quite an eye opener for me.