Kambyo (Filipino)

The film is named Kambyo because of the term “Joy ride”. It is about the journey of 4 gay men (we dont even know if they are really gay) wanting to take a break in their own busy and sometimes pointless life. During the trip, they soon discovered themselves and find the direction they take to move on in their own lives. The film originally hows 2 of the 4 men questioning about their sexuality but then after a while it just presumes everyone is gay and goes along with that assumption.

Cousins Macky and Manuel start on a road trip to look for the Macky's long lost friend Philip. They bring along with them their fun loving friend Xavier, who tags along a hunky guy named Aldo, whom he just met right before their trip. Along the trip they just talk about normal regular stuff that doesn't add much value (actually no value at all) to the movie. As they drive their way up north of Manila, this unrestrained group of three friends and a stranger explore the boundaries of their friendships, their sexualities, their dreams and the future that lies ahead of them. Macky finally finds his friend who is now married with a wife and a son but they both have this feeling of love for one another. They consummate their love so that they can finally move on with their life. After the road trip, Macky is able to let go of his secret feelings for his best friend Philip, who is now married with two children; Manuel is able to express his love for Xavier; Xavier gets to realize that he is worth the love that he has been fearfully avoiding; and Aldo realizes that he still can dream despite the struggles in his life.

The film looks like as if it has been directed by an amateur using a hand held camera. Acting is very amateur except for Macky who is the only mature person in the group. Even the chemistry between friends or lovers is hardly there. Some scenes in the movie go on and on forever. he sound quality was very bad (not that I cared because I was reading subtitles) but you could tell it was really bad. The only good part of the film was Macky and Philip finally meeting, expressing their love and moving on with their life.

Easily avoidable. (1.5/10)