by Heinrich Domingo

A passé actress spends her twilight years with her found love – a stone heart. Their relationship brings laughter, introduces eccentricity, and allows acceptance of diversity to permeate the audience.

Pusong Bato kills two birds with one stone as it presents a glimpse of Philippine cinema’s past and the peculiarity of falling in love with an object.

First, the film parodies the romantic Philippine films in the 1970s. Team-ups, duets, and dance numbers, remind the people of the glorious past of cinema in the country. Looking at the wide audience reception, this formula can still be effective.

Second, the film, through humor and exaggeration, introduces objectophilia. As it creates a realistic character, the audience gradually empathizes with those who have liking towards inanimate things. This could mean an initial hope for a better understanding of this psychosexual condition.

The two concepts can stand on their own. Yet, when the director brilliantly seams them together, they brought in a display of the several facets of love. It hints on the complexity of the human mind and our interaction with one another. Pusong Bato teaches its audience that Cinta’s love for her rock (pusong bato) is as valid as all the cheesy and sweet intraspecies love.

 

Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

 

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