Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (2005)

Maxi (Nathan Lopez) is a 12-year-old effeminate gay boy who lives in the slums of Manila with his father and brothers who are petty thieves. His world revolves around his family, who love and protect him in return for Maxi's devotion to completing domestic chores (his mother died) and covering their tracks when they commit crimes. The story primarily revolves around the conflict between his puppy love for handsome young police officer Victor (J. R. Valentin), and his family's illegal livelihood. He behaves like a girl, wearing clips in his hair, bangles on his wrists, even lipstick. He is teased by neighbors and former school friends, but his sexuality is fully accepted by his two brothers and by his father. One night he is accosted by two men who attempt to molest him, but he is saved by the appearance of Victor, who does not have a girlfriend and his sexuality is never revealed. He rebuffs Maxi's advances, even when the boy steals a kiss, only affectionately stroking the boy's head. The two become fast friends and Maxi learns he can have a better life, which incurs the disapproval of his family. Victor's relationship with Maxi and his family has an unexpected and tragic result.

After Maxi's father is killed by Victor's boss, Maxi resists Victor's attempts to renew their friendship. The closing scene shows Maxi walking past Victor who has parked by the roadside on Maxi's way to school. He ignores Victor as he passes him, hesitates momentarily as he crosses the road, then goes on his way. This last scene is a clever homage to the final scene of "The Third Man".

This neorealist film is a tale of lost innocence and redemption amidst the poverty of Manila's slums. It's an expertly structured coming-of-age story with dramatic momentum, complicated motivations, and surprising outcomes. The digitally-shot feature made its U.S. debut at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was the official Philippine entry of the 2007 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language film. It has also garnered several film festival awards including the Teddy Award at the 2006 Berlinale Film Festival and Best Asian Film at the 2006 Rotterdam Film Festival. Pepe Smith and Mike Villegas composed the original music, Michiko Yamamoto wrote the screenplay, and Auraeus Solito directed. In Tagalog with English subtitles. The English title is "The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros".

The Lion in Winter (1968)

In this 12th-century version of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", Henry II of England (Peter O'Toole) on Christmas Eve 1183 has summoned the following people for the holiday: his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine Hepburn); his mistress Princess Alais (Jane Merrow), whom he wishes to marry; his three sons (Richard, Geoffrey, and John), all of whom desire the throne; and the young but crafty King Philip of France (Timothy Dalton). With the fate of Henry's empire at stake, he hopes to name his successor, and everybody engages in their own brand of deception and treachery to stake their claim. King Philip insists that Alais marry John as agreed years before, or he wants back her dowry, the lands of the Vexen. Eleanor has already given the province of Aquitaine to Richard, so the outcome of this may decide the very future of England. Each of the sons has some flaw that makes the decision to name a successor difficult. You won't want to miss the famous homo-erotic exchange between Philip of France and Richard the Lionhearted (Anthony Hopkins). Both actors were making their feature-film debuts.

"The Lion in Winter" is fictional. There was no Christmas Court at Chinon in 1183, it was at Caen in 1182. None of the dialogue and action is historic, though the outcomes of the characters and the background are historically accurate. In reality, Henry had many mistresses and many illegitimate children. The "Rosamund" mentioned in the film was Henry II's mistress until she died.

James Goldman won an Oscar for his screenplay, based on his Broadway play. The story is mostly in the speeches the people make, and the action is kept to a minimum, but the dialogue is sharp as daggers. The humor is wicked and black and delivered with dry precision. Sparks fly and the screen sizzles whenever Hepburn and O'Toole tango, which is often. Both were nominated for Academy Awards for their great performances. (She won, but he didn't.) John Barry composed the original music and won an Oscar for Best Music Score. James Goldman wrote the script from his stage play, and Anthony Harvey directed.