Two And One (Filipino)

Made by the creators of GameBoys, this film had my attention with this knowledge. An interesting outlook on three-way romances, this film sadly has many flaws (including being unsure of where it really wants to be), but thankfully with a realistic ending and compelling performances, this intriguing storyline is still worth a watch. The duration of almost two hours although is stretching into much.

Tino and Chan meet on a bus and Tino flirts shamelessly with Chan and pretty soon they become a romantic pair, in a seemingly long distance relationship. Tino has lesbian mothers and one of them returns back home after many years having left the other mother. This triggers emotions in Tino who leaves the house and together with Chan they go on a holiday. This is when they try to get sexual and realize that they are both tops and sexual compatibility is going to be an issue. They try to make it work, till Tino suggest why not go for an occasional threesome but with rules and only together. They find Joaquin, a local potter who willingly agrees to the setup and things seem to be going well, until the said mother who left him shows up at this holiday also, triggering Tino to start drinking again. He is closed off and doesn't open up even to Chan. He gets drunk and starts hooking up with Joaquin alone, until Chan catches him. He confronts him on why he would not open up and try to make this relationship work, but Tino has some past traumas, which we don't hear much of. Joaquin doesn't want to have to do anything with this drama and is out. Chan goes back home leaving a sad Tino. The other mother also arrives and the two mothers give the emotional support to Tino. In a realistic end, Tino sees Chan waiting at the same bus stop where they had first met, their eyes meet, they acknowledge each other doing well and then go their separate ways.

It was actually refreshing to see that finally someone from Asia is trying to tackle the subject of sexual compatibility. We have so far seen so many fluffy BL romances where sexuality is fluid, but I have always believed that sexual compatibility is absolutely essential and can actually make or break a relationship. In this film , it is obvious how this adds to both Tino and Chan's frustration when they cannot satisfy each other. Its a real issue. Bringing in an occasional third can spice up things but will it fix the problem in long term is debatable. They’re all happy together as a threesome but soon, some complications set in, mostly emanating from Tino’s tortured personality. What holds the film together through all its emotional highs and lows is the fine acting of the three leads. The sexual scenes and there are three or four very very elaborately done. The story is a bit flawed where not much justification is given to Tino's character. Sure, he was from a broken family and his ex-boyfriend had cheated on him, but it doesn't justify a lot of actions. But the actor playing the role is really good. He is very aggressive in the love scenes, but also consistently convincing in portraying his tormented anguish. He is very credible in his scenes where he is alone, wallowing in his self-caused pain and suffering. Chan's character calls out for vulnerability and our heart goes out to him when Tino is being difficult. Joaquin completes the sexy seductive trio and even in the scenes where he reprimands Tino for being selfish, he stands out. 

Overall a good attempt at tackling a subject which has not been dealt with much in Asian films and doing it with dignity. Only if the screenplay was a bit together. Also it was good to see actor letting go off their inhibitions for the elaborate sexual scenes but they went on forever. Better editing could bring the time down of this film to acceptable limit. (6/10)