"The Debut" of the Filipino-American Life.
A relevant question to ask before watching the film is "are you a Filipino?" Giggle, smile, sympathize, and maybe relate to the characters of this film if you are. Otherwise, prepare to see a glimpse of only some of the many wonderful cultures of the traditional Filipinos.
Gene Cajayon's "The Debut" revolves the relationship between Ben Mercado (Dante Basco), an Americanized Filipino, and his Filipino family. Tomorrow is the big day as the family of Ben gets busy in preparing their performances for his sister Rose's (Bernadette Balagtas) debut; well, not in the case of Ben. This film starts with excellent drawings of caricatures of all sorts of people flashing across the scene. (Later it was understood that these were Ben's masterpieces.) Ben stays in his room upstairs drawing while the rest of his family prepare for the big day. Clearly, Ben is not interested in his sister's debut, and so is seeing his fellow Filipino friends attending the debut. Otherwise, he is chooses to hang out with his white friends during his sister's debut celebration.
Tension arises as Ben's character unfolds. Ben loves drawing, and his passion in the field of art contradicts what his father, Roland (Tirso Cruz III), wants him to become. Roland even considered Ben's passion as just a "silly hobby", and he is not willing to waste his money in enrolling Ben in an art school which, according to him, does not assure his son a good future. "Stop it with those silly pictures of yours!" asserts Roland.
The tension between Ben and his Filipino family is further magnified during the debut itself. He seems so foreign to his fellow Filipino community. He doesn't even know what to do with his grandfather's hand during the start of the debut, symbolizing that he lost his Filipino...
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