#diebeautiful

We, Filipinos often joke that if we achieved our dreams, if we get something that we truly want, we can happily die afterwards.

The movie Die Beautiful took this joke seriously. Trisha Echevarria (played by Paolo Ballesteros) is a transgender beauty queen who mysteriously dies after winning the crown in the Bb. Gay Philippines, perhaps the most prestigious gay pageant in the country. She made a request from her best friend Barbs (Christian Bables) that she wants to be presented as a different celebrity on each night of her wake. However since she grew up in a religious family, her father disapproves of her chosen identity and wants to bury her as a man. Directed by Jun Robles Lana, this Filipino comedy-drama intertwines the past and present, showing the different shades in Trisha’s colourful life.

           What I like about this film is the makeup. I learned that Paolo Ballesteros himself did his makeup since he’s also well-known in copying the look of other celebrities. My favourite one is when he looked like Angelina Jolie. It’s amazing how with just a little brush here and a lip tint there can transform his face into someone else’s. I think the makeup adds to the cinematography of the film. All throughout the movie, I can see how vibrant and colourful every scene is even though we know that the movie is more on the death of Trisha.

Another thing that struck me the most is the acting. Paolo and all the actors did a great job in portraying their characters. They are very satirical yet they presented a pressing issue in the society. The movie reflects our view on the LGBT community. Until now, they are not yet widely accepted. They are still being ridiculed and insulted, and often seen as an aberration in the community. This movie shows a different side of the LGBT family. Trisha proved that you don’t need to be a girl (biologically) to be a mother and to do the things that women usually do.

Die Beautiful is a movie that presents LGBT struggles today in the Philippines. For a typical Filipino, any movie that has gay characters would instantly tag it as a funny movie. But this is not your typical movie.

A short summary of the movie for those who haven’t watched. The story revolves around Trisha and her different roles, as a son, as a friend and as a mother. The story revolves on her different roles on her death when she requested her friend, Barbs to do her a favor on her wake: to dress and make up daily with a different character. Barbs does this favor with conflict since Trisha’s family wants him to return to his original form. On each day of the wake, Barbs changes Trisha and the movie presents Trisha on different roles of her life.

Not much of a detail on Trisha’s daily change. Yes. It is for the reader or the interested to appreciate it through actual watching of the movie. Also, if further story detail is needed, you can check Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Beautiful

In the movie, the common struggles of the LGBT is the acceptance of their family. Usually, the family is the first group of people we tend to lean on in times of trouble and concerns, but there are times that the family is the one rejecting due to a member’s sexual preference. Another struggle identified is looking for someone to love and be accepted as who she is. At times, they are fooled by their lovers for their money making them hard to look for love. Society has a hard time accepting the LGBT because they are different. They are not part of the norm but regardless, they are still human that feel and act the way like any other gender does. Basically, this is the struggle: acceptance.