Cinema One Originals 2010: ASTRO MAYABANG Review
Jason Paul Laxamana's satire
Astro Mayabang is about titular Astro
(Arron Villaflor, who very ably inhabits the role with equal parts arrogance
and vulnerability), an Angeles City local who literally wears his nationalism
with shirts, jackets, caps, and rubber shoes bearing Philippine emblems, who it
seems is the film's singular joke. His oft-mouthed mantra is a not-so-accurate
list of Filipinos or men and women with Filipino blood, no matter how little,
who have made an impact, no matter how little, on the world. He berates a
Caucasian tourist for not giving alms to one of the many mendicants in the city
when the
The film's most oddly
beautiful moment involves Astro and Dawn (Megan Young), a Filipino-American
lady who wants to discover more of her Filipino lineage, alone in the latter's
house. Angry at Dawn for not wearing the nationalistic clothes he bought for
her in the dinner with her friends that she invited him to, Astro scolds Dawn
for being ashamed of her roots. Dawn, initially taken aback by Astro's
accusations, starts seducing him, pointing to him how each flag-adorned article
of clothing which she is removing from his body, means nothing to what she
feels for him. Just before Dawn gets her way with him, Astro rejects her
advances, pleading for her to wait for him as he rushes to the city to scour
for the cure for his embarrassing impotence.
From then on, the film, in a
way that shows a director whose confidence in his material is unassailable,
ties all the seemingly incoherent parts of the film together to reveal a
portrait of a country far too engrossed in outside appearances to cure its
embarrassingly decaying core. That night before the Pacquiao fight that almost
surely rejuvenates nationalistic pride to all Filipinos, the proudest one of
them resigns to the pointlessness especially amid the malady that pervades the
culture, as exemplified by the people surrounding Astro, from his hedonistic
employer to his good-for-nothing parents. In the end, he abandons his obsession
with everything and anything Filipino in exchange for faith in the Church. The
film's end however notes not salvation but repetition, arguing that impotence
within can only exude impotence outside.
In sum, Astro, at least
during the initial parts of the film, when his nationalistic angst is in full
irresponsible display, is a walking hysterical satire, representing the absurd
ironies of the kind of nationalism that is pervading the country: loud, proud and
unabashedly branded nationalism. Like a fake Louis Vuitton bag to a shameless
social climber, Astro's clothes, slogans, and unmitigated anger against
anything and everything foreign supposedly expresses the abundance of his
national pride. As the satire and humor wear off, the film plods into
seriousness, reveling in its statement on the values the misdirected youth of
this country has skewed, mostly because such values have been intertwined with commercialism
and fanaticism, all of which are by-products of the nation's past as colony to various world powers.
Yet, the character of Astro,
the biggest asset of both the entertainment and substantial value of Astro Mayabang, seems to be also the film's most telling liability. As soon as his novelty wears off and he is unclothed of the momentary charms of his humorous
psychosis, Astro is revealed to be rather unlikeable to the point of utter annoyance.
That is probably Laxamana's intent to begin with, to slowly but surely
dissipate the artifices of the character until what's left is nothing but the
emptiness of what the artifices represent. It is supposed to chafe, to repel,
to frustrate. It is supposed to rock you to your core, push you to evaluate whatever
nationalism, whether it is as little or as ridiculously grand as Astro's, and
determine if it stems from the right place or if it is only there to cover up
embarrassing shame. If only for that, Astro
Mayabang, though it could be more abrasive than funny, is a more than worthwhile comedy.
(Cross-published in Lessons from the School of Inattention.)