WARNING:

This review contains spoilers for the Cinemalaya 2020 Main Competition Shorts Entry." Read at your own risk.

REVIEWER’S RATINGS: 7/10

SYNOPSIS: A closeted gay man in his 60s has been living with HIV for 10 years. His monotonous life takes a sudden turn when he receives an old vinyl record from his dead ex-lover.

The short film opens with a statement from UNAIDS that in the Philippines alone, there are about 77,000 people living with HIV (PLHIV), and that only about 62,029 of those have been diagnosed and reported. This is followed by a powerful statement, “HIV doesn’t kill, stigma does.”

The colors and production design of the film give you that nostalgic feels. The story revolves around Lolo Bert, a senior citizen who appears to be already living alone in this big ancestral house. The first few minutes shows his quiet life with a series of tight and wide shots of Lolo Bert just doing what he does every day.

From the film, we can tell that Lolo Bert is a man of few words. It would take a few long minutes for him to say his first dialogue, and really, there aren’t many all throughout.

He proceeds to put his favorite vinyl record on and sat on his old rattan chair, but upon hearing a few words from the song, we see that the vinyl record is now broken. Lolo Bert now goes to this vinyl record shop to have it fixed and meets the store owner, Miyo. An unorthodox friendship forms over the shared love of music and loneliness.

Dido Dela Paz and Soliman Cruz, who played Lolo Bert and Miyo respectively, did a good job in acting their roles, given that they are great veteran actors. What lacked was the story behind their characters.

I actually find the film cliché, although I liked how the storytelling is simple and intimate. Another thing is that the synopsis tells us that Lolo Bert has been living with HIV for 10 years now, but besides the opening statement regarding HIV in the Philippines, no other clues were shown in the film to tell us that. That fact, being highlighted at the start, should have had a part of the story at least.

"Ang Gasgas na Plaka ni Lolo Bert" is a light short film that tells a story of love, and how as simple as a song played on a vinyl recording, can remind us of the old memories that we hold dear in our hearts, as well as having the desire to make new ones.

Watch Ang Gasgas na Plaka ni Lolo Bert  online under Main Competition Shorts A now on Video on Demand from August 7 to 16, 2020. Visit the Cinemalaya Official Facebook Page for more information, or click here: https://bit.ly/31xVui6