ASOG Movie Review

Intriguing Indie movie set in the Philippines

I recently moved to the city of Honolulu from a fairly rural town on the Big Island. One of the aspects of life in the city that I missed while living in a small town is access to independent films. I joined the Hawaii International Film Festival soon after I moved sort of symbolically to signify the rightness of my move back to the city. Then, I had a commitment that took me to the mainland for most of the Festival this year. I was only able to catch the last film on the last night of the festival. I hesitated at first and at the last minute, pushed myself out of my comfort zone, to catch a bus to go to the theatre by myself. Let this be a lesson — it was worth it!

This was such a beautiful film that combined seemingly disparate elements that you have to be patient with as it unfolds. One of the quotes used in the trailer was: “This one of a kind film plays with the line between narrative and documentary to become something entirely new.” (Cyrus Cohen, Tribeca Film Festival) These disparate elements really resonated with me: Transgender humanity, folktales, people power, mentors, road trips. Though the love story is an important part of the narrative, that alone would not be compelling, but this one is so unique, mainly because you love the main character, played by Jaya.