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Bathhouse (Filipino)

By Golu
Every single gay man is familiar with Bathhouses. They may or may not have visited one, but they know of it. The bathhouse - a place where gay men can go to relax, kick off their shoes (and clothes) and enjoy each other's company. The idea of this film is to take you into this world of towel clad men, back room sex and the search for that ever elusive perfect boyfriend (don't ask why anyone would think of getting a boyfriend here).

We are introduced to a famous Bathhouse and its patrons. Genesis owns and runs the club and makes sure only the good looking guys become members. Every year, one person is also chosen to be "the guy" who gets to enjoy everything for free. This guy is the hunky Kris, who everyone wants to sleep with and he gets to choose or reject. We then meet a young college boy Rico who is just discovering his sexuality and ends up joining the club when he is invited by Kris who sees him on a bus one day. Rico is clear that he wants only monogamy and falls for Kris. Kris enjoys this for a short while but soon enough he wants to go around sleeping with as many men as possible. Rico manages to find another suitor, who is supposedly straight and has a girlfriend and makes an arrangement with Rico, but when Rico sees him with other men, he realizes that monogamy may not really be possible. Eventually Rico starts coming out of his shelter , and as Kris is getting older, not as many men are interested in him anymore. He gives his special position to Rico to take over as he decides to retire from the bathhouse life.

The film is totally random and is hot in a very guerrilla style. In between many shots, we see intercepts and images of some real life people met through newspaper ads or parks or telephone (all in the times of pre internet dating). The script needs major overhauling. I understand Rico wants a monogamous relationship and since this is pre internet era, but why would any sane person think that bathhouse is a place where he would find love. Sure, he is young and native but the thought is a bit odd. Although having said this, a gay couple friend of mine who have been together for over 20 years in a monogamous relationship actually met in a bathhouse, but they in no way were regular visitors. They just ended up being there on the same day and was more like destiny. Also, where is Rico and others getting money from to visit a bathhouse everyday. These things are not cheap. I guess the idea of the film is to show that you do not know where life's journey will take you. In this case, it is upto Rico to decide whether his chance meeting with Kris was good or bad. Bad because he is the one who broke his heart, but good because it ended up helping Rico grow up and become a man. The film is very ordinary, basic and nothing really to talk about. Either from an eye candy or direction perspective. There are many other better films to watch. (4/10)
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