I Love You, Beksman

Everyone thinks Dali is gay. He colours his hair red, sports flamboyant clothes, works as a make-up artist and fashion designer for his gay parents, Papshiekels and Mamshiekels. But when he falls for Angel, a female model from a family of iron-pumping, shoulder-slapping straight men, Dali's parents go into a tizzy. "Whenever we see beautiful girls, we dress them up, design clothes for them, but we don't date them", says a panicked Papshiekels. With its bright colour palette, soft focus compositions and peppy song-and-dance sequences, Percival Intalan's buoyant romantic comedy I Love You, Beksman is a cinematic sugar rush. While it turns the premise of the standard coming-out story on its head, the film doesn't play this reversal for its scandalous value. In creating an intriguing incongruity between Dali's sexuality and his behaviour, it seeks to clear preconceptions about identity prevalent in both straight and gay communities. The film's exaggeration of stereotypes allows it to bring out the performative aspect of sexuality, but also better carve out the liminal character of Dali, portrayed with charm and earnestness by Christian Bables, whose wide-eyed vulnerability cuts through layers of camp. A work with broad appeal and an uplifting message, I Love You, Beksman has the capacity to leave viewers grinning through tears. (International Film Festival Rotterdam)