Being treated as a commodity is a hurting truth we have to live by.
At first glance, you'll think "Paupahan" is another bold indie flick. The movie is set in slum area next to cemetery, made up of three unrelated but interwining stories of characters-all seemingly ‘living dead’-unfold in this anthology of lives of have-nots who have become commodities that are either for sale or for hire, in a most unlikely public cemetery just a stone’s throw from a squatter’s area( Kalye Sangandaan) in the city near the lake.
But as the story progresses, you are served with interesting stories of complex characters. Ang laos na callboy character ni Allen Dizon na pinasok ang pangbubugaw. The mother-daughter hate-and-love relationship of Snooky and Krista Ranillo. Ang busilak na pag-ibig ng isang matandang bading sa kanyang naging lover na inalagaan ang anak nito. Paghahayag ng gamitan issue sa mga third sex, at iba pa.
GLORIA( GLORIA ROMERO), is a caretaker of a rich family’s mausoleum, na may simpleng pangarap na gustong malibing pag namatay katabi ng puntod ng kanyang aswang si Donato who has long been dead.
DADENG ( GERMAN MORENO), Gloria’s gay neighbor who sells flowers for the dead in funeral parlor, is burdened by the child ( of a dead love-of-his-life) now a teen gay BYUTI ( KIRBY DE JESUS ), an incurable romantic who is head-over-heels in love with TOPHER ( JOSEPH BITANGCOL) ,a “user-friendly” bum, later revealed to be a closet “gay”. Dito ibinunyag ang GAMITAN ISSUE among gays. After everything have done, nag-hanap ng iba dahil sa matinding pangangailangan. Topher revealation of a NARCISSUS GUY, masyadong bilib sa sarili at ginagamit ang kanyang hitsura para mang akit ng “kapwa” niya bading. Dahil sa kanyang histura, ginamit niya ito para masunod ang luho, who turned out to be na ang gusto rin pala ay lalaki which admittedly, ay nangyayari sa totoong buhay. (Similar to the movie “Billy First Screen Kiss in Hollywood” na ang gusto pala ng prospect niya eh kapwa din niya model..he.he.he.he.he.. so common in Riyadh!)
Star ( KRISTA RANILLO ) ,is a trying-hard bit-player na nangangarap pumasok sa showbiz. She’d do anything for her ambition, kahit pumatol siya sa mga production staff just to get a role. Star has a ‘silent war’ with mother Lucinda ( SNOOKY SERNA), One common thing, though in this feuding mother-daughter tandem is their compulsion to work and earn. Lucinda brokers for neighbors who sell their kidneys and other vital parts for a fee. Ironically,she’s a chain-smoker who tries to survive despite her cancer-stricken lungs. While , Tonio Torres ( ALLEN DIZON ) ,is a male starlet-member of an all-male group called “Wild Boys”. Dahil sa tumanda na siya, nawala na rin ang amor niya sa mga matrona’t bading kaya pinasok niya ang pag bubugaw. Although matagal siyang naging callboy, he never go bottom. Pero kung kailan pa siya tumanda, saka pa niya naranasan sa isang mayamang bakla. For sure, you will shed tears because of the touching dialogues between Tonio and Star after Tonyo was sodomized.
ROBERTO SAN PEDRO( JAY MANALO ) ,an ex-convict, gets paroled by a powerful armed group who uses him as an assassin.A man of few words whose eyes reveal personal tragedies and utter bitterness ,he’s a reluctant hitman married to a nervous wreck, ANGELA SAN PEDRO ( ANGELU DE LEON), a good former public school teacher who has lost job after cracking due to extreme pressure.
Almost all of the above stories are resolved. Others are open-ended ‘coz that’s reality.
