Vivamax’s current cinematic come-on, Hosto, is essentially a love story and a tale about the struggles and survival of an overseas Filipino worker.
Yes, the trademark sexual encounters are still present but portrayed with restraint and delicacy. The encounters that pushed the boundaries of daring and wildness felt mechanical, lacking bliss or happiness in the eyes of the actors involved. It became apparent that these scenes were obligatory, a means to enhance their financial situation.
There are many kinds of love highlighted in the Jao Daniel Elamparo-directed movie. The “it’s complicated kind,” with Vince Rillon as Patrick and the love he has for his wife and child and a young miss who offers love for convenience and citizenship status in Japan.
Patrick, also shares a different kind of love with Daniel, Jay Manalo’s gay character. His relationship with Daniel is the most constant and solid as his immediate family knows and accepts it.
Manalo’s Daniel is affluent and supports not only his partner’s needs and wants, but his entire family as well, with the wife and kid included in the equation.
Then, Thea, Angela Morena’s character loves Patrick just because she loves him. Well aware of the man’s marital complication, the reality did not stop her to offer herself, her heart, and the citizenship that Rillon’s character needs to secure his immediate family’s future and fortune.
“The ‘all mine to give’ kind of love, where one does not know how to reserve some for oneself and maintain sanity, was skillfully portrayed by Denise Esteban. On the other hand, Ali Asistio’s character effectively depicted the user-friendly type of love, utilizing love and romance in a predatory manner, resulting in detrimental emotional consequences, of course.
These many portraits of love, acted out by Rillon, Manalo, Morena, Esteban, and Asistio on the silver screen bring the feels and the heartstring pulls.
Manalo as Daniel was perfect as the gay character who loved until it hurts and is painful, but continues to love anyway. The conversation scene of Daniel with his gay friends about his relationship status with Patrick, and that final scene wherein he could no longer contain the hurt with regard to the separation with finality with Patrick, showed how emotionally committed Manalo was to his small role that was so impactful.
The OFW struggles and survival, there was nothing new to it since there have been countless movies that already showcased such realities. However, what makes the presentation fresh and novel, is the purity and sincerity that Rillon infused and invested in Patrick. The naiveté, the doses of hopeless romanticism, and that twisted symbol of hope that Morena’s character Thea represented. And at the end of the day, love for family always matters and is supreme.
Yes, Hosto with the stamp of approval of its creator Brillante Mendoza, is a rare kind of brilliant cinema from Vivamax.