Search - Twilight Dancers on DVD

Obsession with Youth and Beauty

Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 11/12/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Twilight Dancers"

Obsession with Youth and Beauty


Amos Lassen

Filmed in a soft focus blur, "Twilight Dancers" is a funny and sad look at our obsession with youth and beauty. A movie that stars with gyrating, oiled young men is a feat for the eyes. But that is not all this movie is. "Twilight Dancers" shows how young Filipino men are drawn to dancing in the gay bars of Manila because they need to work to support either families or their own ambitions. They make good money but there is a down side. Men with money and lustful desires prey upon them and they find themselves old before they reach the age of thirty.
Dwight, a newcomer to the dancing profession and his lover Alfred take a hard look at themselves. Dwight is on the way up while Alfred who is 28 is already feeling the pain of being "over the hill". They try to find a way to live in a world which is dominated by back stabbing and being slapped around and this is the world of the twilight dancers.
The movie is interesting in that the shots of the boys dancing interlace with a look at their lives and the off-stage realities that face them. It's not an easy life being a dancer but it is less easy being poor. The intrigues and the loves of the dancers along with their hopes for the future as seen in the movie are not pretty. Dancing is a form of prostitution and the boys are up for grabs to the highest bidders. It's a realistic look at one aspect of gay Philippine society and we see that beneath the grime and the mystery are real lives being wasted. "Twilight Dancers" is a look at one aspect of our lifestyle and one that cannot easily be forgotten.
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You know you'll love the story

tamiii | San Juan Capistrano, Ca. United States | 01/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Am I ever out of step with the reviews here! Nevertheless, I just loved this picture. Sensual, for sure, but this flick has many unexpected, and curious turns, enough to keep at least me engaged--particularly given its maker. It brings together fine acting, a thoughtful script, and a new slant on the notion of globalization (catch how English gets interjected, really cute)--and besides, it is entertaining! Like I said, I just loved it. For those seeking a deeper theoretical understanding, query just what does it mean to be 'gay?' Watch this flick and you'll wonder just how Western this idea might be."