We all became a friend, a sibling, a daughter, a son, a student, and, lastly, we become ourselves. But at the end of the day, we may find ourselves hiding under a mask from everyone. We tend to hide our authentic selves because of the judgment and traumas we have experienced in life.
As she lays in her wake for seven days, Tricia Echeverria, a transwoman played by Paolo Ballesteros, revealed how she became first a mother, a friend, a son, and a brother before choosing to be himself in the 2018 LGBTQIA+ Metro Manila Film Festival film by Jun R. Lana and a nominee for the best film award in Tokyo Grand Prix, “Die Beautiful.”
A CELEBRITY FOR SIX DAYS
As Trisha died because of a Brain Aneurysm, it is her last wish to her best friend Barbs, played as Christian Bables, to have her makeover every day by different artists she idolized. Her life is shown through death in the film. As she portrays each actress, it encompasses how she was able to be someone else aside from herself all through it her life. His father was portrayed by Mr. Joel Lamangan whose action was so effective and striking. He showed how a masculine and a homophobic person would react to a person being a butterfly. The dark camera angles inside their home added to the low and dark emotions that can be felt while watching their scenes. He seems to be so powerful, yet so powerless.
In today’s society, some members of the LGBTQIA+ find it hard to express and reveal themselves, especially within their families. The first-hand judgment is excruciating as you must mask yourself for who you are, not just to be accepted by your family. Trisha has been trying to be a son to his transphobic father for a long time, but the feeling of despair is not helping her anymore. The chain of judgment is suffocating for her, so she uses her might to break the stolen chain holding her hands as she tries to enter the spotlight of pageantry.
A LIFE WITH A SPOTLIGHT
As Trisha needs to finance herself, she starts joining beauty pageants to earn and do what she loves the most, doing make-up. The moods and transition from one plot to another are not confusing and you will be able to understand why and how things happened even if they occurred in the past. I find it entertaining and eye-opening to watch not only because of its genre of drama-comedy, but because it shows how pageantry can be a way of expressing yourself, enjoying your craft, and even earning your money. It is also sad to watch that a lot of people sees gay pageant as mockery for them to enjoy.
A LIGHT THAT DIMS HIS LIGHT
Another light she seems to find is her love for the basketball player named Migs, played by Albie Casino. Little did she know, this would only dim her light as she experienced rape, heartbreak, and discrimination because he fell into the trap of this man. All the scenes about this will haunt you until the very last piece of your soul. It is indescribable that some people can do that for lust and pleasure. I find it very disturbing because unlike with other films, they will blur or incline camera angles when it comes to RPG scenes but the movie showed Tricia’s emotion which appears to be nothing and that is something more that is alarming.
She’s just a woman seeking love and partnership. She is alive but seems to be dead at a young age as she tries to be an object for pleasure even though she is not. It is an excellent turmoil to see how society treats the third gender as an object and how we do not discuss rape cases because the community does not perceive them as “Women.” The light of Trisha was dimmed, and it was not only until she realized she deserved more.
CROWNING GLORY
As she became more assertive and feisty in her wake as she becomes Julia Roberts in the film "Runaway Bride," as the camera angles in the movie show her impersonation, it makes the scene more dramatic and engaging to her past.
She became a mother to an adopted girl named Shirlie Mae played by Inah De Belen. As she enters motherhood, many issues in today's society are seen in the movie. As a transwoman in a norm-filled and conservative society, it is hard to be a mother even at school presentations because of endless judgments and eyes that come from the unwise.
The film's cinematography creates a more dramatic scene of their mother-and-daughter relationship and heavily impacts the viewers. Trisha being a mother is a statement that parenthood and love are genderless. It is not more about who should do the house chores and who should work, but it is about who can give the love that can sustain for a lifetime.
The costumes used, production, and hair and make-up of everyone in the film are splendid. It was very convincing to see Paulo’s face and you can see a resemblance to whom is he portraying.
As she enters the colorful spectrum of Pageantry, the most splendid crown and probably the closest to her true self is the title of being a Mama.
ONLY DAY DEDICATED TO HERSELF
During her last day at the wake, her best friend decided to have her makeup as herself. This is the only night she chose to unmask herself from the colorful makeup or her escape from reality. She was a queen never seen because her traumatizing past covered her with her colorful and beautiful makeup. She was a lot more, but society was not ready for who she was. She had a lot of roles but being herself is the least she would use in real life.
Even with the radical generation in the Philippines, society’s prejudice and beliefs still have a long way to go before accepting that the member of the LGBTQIA+ deserves to love and be loved. They should receive respect and security because they also have purity inside their hearts.
Die Beautiful shows us the actual colors and light of the reality about the third gender and the Philippine Gay Pageantry. Furthermore, the film acknowledges the renouncing faith of Barbs and Trisha as they talk about how they perceived God when meeting him in the afterlife. It shows that they are not sinners, have faith, and should always be seen as kings and queens.
The film depicts a realistic view that also brings out the natural characters from the cast. With this, it has received multiple awards and nominations for actors, directors, staff, and film. The cohesive plot of the movie, from back and forth between the past and present, is its strength, and it was also not confusing.
Although the film seems incomplete as you reach the end, as a watcher, you will be left with questions on your mind when it comes to her shortcomings in the past. It makes you wonder and think, and I believe Director Jun Lana intended to make his viewers think and gather sentiments within themselves.
Trisha is a queen that was unseen because her dark past covered it, and only the colors of her makeup filled the gap in her life. In reality, there is no makeup to change society; we have a rainbow seen in different parts of the country.
As we celebrate Pride month this June, the film “Die Beautiful” and its storyline is engaging and rigorous to watch to raise awareness and create discussion about the LGBTQIA+ Community. It is very factual, especially with the situations in provinces as Gay Pageantry is part of their celebrations during their fiestas. It is very intriguing because the plot was so complete yet you will have questions as you reach the end. I think people can create a connection with this film because we all became Tricia once in our life. We chose to hide just to be accepted by the people around us. May this film be a turning point for us to see that no responsibility nor social status states that it should be for one gender only. The LGBTQIA+ Community is capable and has contributed a lot to our society and a lot of industries.
The pride and hope that the LGBTQIA+ holds that acceptance and love should also be seen and crowned for them. They can choose to be a King or Queen without rejection and judgment. Die Beautiful’s concept was an awakening call for us to see the different perspectives of life and the different colors of man. This pride month, let the colors and rainbows be seen upon everyone before a casket is shown to us. Live life with human experience and be the light of your track as you wait to be the king or queen that is seen.
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