Macho Dancer 4K 1988

Like the later and much glossier MIDNIGHT DANCERS, MACHO DANCER depicts the lives of male prostitutes in Manilla; unlike MIDNIGHT DANCERS, however, it is considerably more gritty and disquieting. The story concerns Pol (Alan Paule), a young man in the provinces who has drifted into prostitution with an American G.I. in order to help support his impoverished family. When his patron finishes his tour of duty, Pol's friend Greg (Bobby Sano) urges him to try his luck in Manilla.

Once in Manilla, Pol becomes a "Macho Dancer," working as a performer and prostitute at a police protected club in the tourist belt--and becomes friends with fellow club worker Noel (Daniel Fernando) and upscale call-girl Bambi (Jacklyn Jose.) Although we realize they are motivated by poverty and lack of other skills (time and again the characters simply state "I was hungry"), the film paints itself in extremely tantalizing, erotic colors--and much more explicitly so than MIDNIGHT DANCERS--but as the story progresses the eroticism of the film segues into an extremely dark story of the foundations of the sex-trade: youth, poverty, hunger, and a corrupt police and economic system that preys on all three. By the film's conclusion one feels extremely guilty for having, perhaps, salivated a bit over the boys and girls--for it is precisely that reaction that creates the marketplace which so brutally preys upon them.

The youthful cast members are extraordinarily beautiful, casual with their nudity and behavior before the cameras, and surprisingly talented in their ability to convey both the beauty that makes them so sensual and the dark, dangerous world through which they scramble. The entire cast is remarkable, and Jacklyn Jose is a standout--an extraordinary beauty and remarkably gifted actress. Although MACHO DANCER hooks its audience with titillating eroticism, it has a sharp jab that prevents that same audience from romanticizing prostitution in any way. All the more disquieting for it display of beautiful youth, after seeing MACHO DANCER it becomes impossible for one to think of prostitution as a "victimless crime."