The Debut is a small independently produced film with Filipino and Filipino-American players is a good look for us westerners into the culture and life of a people most of us know very little about. As to the story however, it's one of three generations of generational conflict that's universal.
The film's lead Dante Basco who is best known for playing Rufio in the Dustin Hoffman-Robin Williams film Hook is our protagonist here. Dante is a thoroughly Americanized kid who wants to be an artist and he's pretty good at it. His parents however want him in regular college for which he's earned a scholarship and not to some art school where he has to pay the full freight.
Parents Tirso Cruz and Gina Alajar think this is all nonsense. Cruz has worked as a letter carrier for the post office in order to provide for his family. He wants no foolishness from his son. They quarrel and Basco blows off his sister's 16th birthday party. For Filipino girls, 16 is a bit more than sweet 16 for us Anglos, it's in fact their Debut.
That night after some encounters with other kids who've reacted to their immigrant status and heritage in various ways and with his family at his sister's Debut, Basco learns quite a lot, including just how much his father sacrificed his dreams for his children. The generations, father, son, and visiting grandfather all come together.
The Debut was shot with a fairly cheap budget, the story doesn't exactly call for a DeMille type production. Dante Basco has an entire group of siblings who are actors, just like the Phoenix family and they all seem to have found work here. Best known of the siblings is Dion Basco who played Alberto in the TNBC series, City Guys.
Still it's Dante's film and he turns in a fine performance as a kid who does a lot of growing up over the course of an evening. The Debut is a nice film with a look at Filipino culture that we would rarely get to see in the west.
The film's lead Dante Basco who is best known for playing Rufio in the Dustin Hoffman-Robin Williams film Hook is our protagonist here. Dante is a thoroughly Americanized kid who wants to be an artist and he's pretty good at it. His parents however want him in regular college for which he's earned a scholarship and not to some art school where he has to pay the full freight.
Parents Tirso Cruz and Gina Alajar think this is all nonsense. Cruz has worked as a letter carrier for the post office in order to provide for his family. He wants no foolishness from his son. They quarrel and Basco blows off his sister's 16th birthday party. For Filipino girls, 16 is a bit more than sweet 16 for us Anglos, it's in fact their Debut.
That night after some encounters with other kids who've reacted to their immigrant status and heritage in various ways and with his family at his sister's Debut, Basco learns quite a lot, including just how much his father sacrificed his dreams for his children. The generations, father, son, and visiting grandfather all come together.
The Debut was shot with a fairly cheap budget, the story doesn't exactly call for a DeMille type production. Dante Basco has an entire group of siblings who are actors, just like the Phoenix family and they all seem to have found work here. Best known of the siblings is Dion Basco who played Alberto in the TNBC series, City Guys.
Still it's Dante's film and he turns in a fine performance as a kid who does a lot of growing up over the course of an evening. The Debut is a nice film with a look at Filipino culture that we would rarely get to see in the west.