When I was in UP Law and the People Power happened, Gringo Honasan became a household name and an object of curiosity. A friend and classmate who lived most of her life in Fort Bonifacio (her father was a general in the armed forces and this was before Fort Bonifacio became the trendy Global City) described how Gringo Honasan was regarded by those in the camp. “A man’s man” was how she described him. It was the first time I heard that phrase. Well, we all have our opinions about Honasan’s political loyalties and disloyalties but I can’t say I didn’t understand what my friend meant back then although Gringo wasn’t exactly my type. Some males make women swoon but their fellow males don’t think they’re anything extraordinary. A man’s man elicits some primal reaction from both men and women, and it’s not necessarily sexual. They just, well… stand out for one reason or another. There are people whose presence you just can’t ignore.
I would use the phrase “a man’s man” many times after that to describe other males but the context would always be different from the last. There are many reasons why a man would stand out — looks, status, achievement… it can be anything. I used that term to describe Pierce Brosnan when he became James Bond. I used the same term when Brad Pitt appeared in Legends of the Fall. We have a friend who’s openly a lesbian but she says she turns all woman when she sees Hayden Kho. Even Speedy admits that despite Hayden Kho’s character (or lack of it) and reputation, “Gwapo talaga ang demonyo.”
Now, if there’s such a thing as a man’s man, surely, there must be a female counterpart? Yesterday, Speedy and I went to see a movie. Just the two of us. And that’s something we hadn’t done in many years. Amazingly, the girls weren’t interested in seeing Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice but Speedy and I thought it would be a cool movie. So, we went. And we went without having read any reviews and without even knowing who’s in the cast except for Nicholas Cage. To make a long story short, it’s about the battle between good and evil sorcerers, and the search for Merlin’s worthy successor. The “good” sorcerer is Balthazar Blake (Cage) and the “evil” sorcerer is Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). I’ll leave it at that so there won’t be spoilers. This entry isn’t really about the film anyway.
Somewhere towards the middle of the movie, there was this scene where Blake was going after Horvath on a busy New York Street. To get away from Blake, Horvath touched an elderly female pedestrian and she suddenly turned into a gorgeous and much younger woman, distracting Blake. I heard Speedy release an audible gasp, he was bumping his knee onto mine and he whispered, “It’s…” I finished the sentence for him, “…Monica Bellucci.”
Okay, so Speedy has that reaction whenever he sees Monica Bellucci — on the movie screen, on a magazine, on a website, on a poster… And the thing is, I gape too whenever I see her. She has that kind of presence.
The first time we saw Monica Bellucci was in The Matrix Reloaded. We didn’t know her name, we didn’t know she had done so many movies before that and she was already a star in European cinema. But we gaped at the gorgeous dark-haired woman in a tight white dress asking for a kiss from Neo. In so many ways, she stole the feminine angle of the movie from Trinity who monopolized the first Matrix film.
The next time we saw Monica Bellucci was in a DVD copy of Tears of the Sun as a de-glamorized American doctor in Nigeria working in a hospital in the jungle. Even without the tight dress, the smoky make-up and the high heels, there she was exuding the same magnificent presence onscreen. In the lingo of modeling agencies, it would be described as the X Factor.
Monica Bellucci will turn 46 this year. There are fine lines around her eyes and the skin on her neck isn’t as tight as it was ten years ago. But she’s still beautiful. It’s not really the voluptuous figure… Speedy says it’s her face. I don’t know how to describe it — the unabashed sensuality, the feline grace, the dark eyes that seem to mock and invite at the same time, the pouty lips. And the sexy accent.
I know a lot of women consider Angelina Jolie to be the ultimate femme fatale. But I think Monica Bellucci beats her to it — without even trying.
Tell me you’ve seen her in Brotherhood of the Wolf/Le Pacte De Loups? So soo sexy. That was the first time hubs and I have saw her and yes we both think she’s hawt! Right now Jolie looks so gaunt and scary-thin so we don’t like her anymore.
Ms. Bellucci was also in Shoot ‘Em Up which was one kuh-ray-zee film!
Brotherhood of the Wolf and Shoot ‘Em Up, yes. Even in corset, hoop and wig, she’s vavoom!
Hi Ms C. Regular reader of your blog but tis’ my first time to comment. You should see Monica in ‘Malena.’ You’ll be hearing Josh Groban’s ‘You’re Still You’ in a different way.
Whoa. Love Josh Groban. Will try to look for Malena. Sub-titles, right? Original’s in Italian?
Si, Signora!
oki dokie
angelina jolie has nothing on monica bellucci! most beautiful women i know elicit jealousy or hatred from fellow women but with monica, it’s the other way around, you feel like you want to be her. you can’t hate this woman.
hay naku, naging lesbiana na naman ako. hehe.
Tita Connie, it would amuse you to know that both Ceevee and I are crushing on Monica Bellucci too! She just has that extra something that makes even women’s jaws drop. You must find the movie L’appartement! This is where I saw her first! She is absolutely gorgeous here!! This is a french movie but the disc I have has english subtitles, so if you don’t mind reading while watching, this is a must see. It also stars her husband, Vincent Cassel who you probably remember as The Night Fox in Oceans Thirteen. Hollywood made an American version of it years later called Wicker Park (with Josh Hartnett)
Welcome to the club, Connie and Speedy. My wife once told me that if (and that’s a big if) I ever considered leaving her, it had better be for someone like Monica.
I know you’re a curious sort, but I hope you’ll take my word on this: No one needs to see “Irreversible.” I did simply because Monica was in it, and did not bother reading any reviews. The core of the story is an extremely violent crime that happened to a girl (Monica). The scene was a prolonged, graphic obscenity that even I cannot bear to watch. I fastforwarded through ninety percent of it, and I had to look away still. It must’ve been fifteen minutes long. I have seen violent death firsthand, and that movie is alongside with them in as far as images I try hard to repress.
“Malena” is really good despite some heartbreaking scenes. The ending shows how forgiving Italians are. And there are genuinely funny scenes as well.
I first saw Monica Bellucci in “Malena” when I was still back there in Manila. It’s a pretty raw (in a semi violent kind of way) but you can’t walk out of the theater without thinking how beautiful Monica is.
Saw her again in “The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee” (2008; good movie), she obviously looks older but still beautiful. I was honestly surprised when you mentioned she was only 46 because compared to these botoxed hollywood actresses (I can’t believe how Lindsay Lohan would get her lips plumped at such a young age) she does look older. But then again cameras are harsher than reality. She’s still drop dead gorgeous, would still be in her 70s and yes, very much a woman’s woman.
P.S. I wasn’t too impressed with Gringo Honasan because I thought his lips was too girly.
Ah yes, the lady who wanted a kiss from someone in love. A book could be written about her character. Exploring deeper the emotional aspect of The Matrix of some sort.
And yes, she is still beautiful to this day.
She was the hottest bride in Bram’s Stokers Dracula. Such a face, you would forget you were watching a horror film for a second. And so it seems the screen froze when she moved her eyes and pouted her lips in the Matrix Reloaded. My goodness, who would think she would be the Mary Magdalene in the Passion of Christ, a reminder that there was a prostitute character. The acrobatic scene which was done in hectic passion in Shoot Them Up was downright ridiculous if it was not for Monica again as a prostitute but funny.
Many have mentioned that the prettiest women are Italian – dark hair, wide eyes, thick arching brows and wide luscious lips. And so is Monica Belucci.
Belissimo.
Hi, Connie.
This Italian beauty is really something. I first saw her in the French film “L’Appartement” (1996), and remember being captivated by her beauty right away. (She’s fluent in French as well.)
My sister and I have a crush on her current husband, French actor Vincent Cassel. I think he’s a man’s man. Ang lakas ng appeal. (He’s the main actor in “L’Appartement”…a film you should watch, by the way.)
I don’t know how true the rumors are that both Monica and Vincent observe an ‘open marriage.’ Parang swingers…
P.S. Monica was very good in “Malena.”
The mention of Vincent Cassel reminded me of Crimson Rivers. I LOVE that movie!
Got to watch it then!
Sub-titles ha. But really nice. I’ll be looking for L’Appartement and Malena.
Yeah, I know. Sanay na ako in speed sub-title reading in Switzerland (LOL). Funny, I watched “Malena” and the sub-titles were in French and German! I had a migraine headache after watching the DVD (hahaha).
Thanks for the lead.
Whoa, now I wonder if I’ll be able to get a copy of Malena with English subtitles.
I think you can if you buy it from Amazon US (or from a local dealer in Manila?). It so happened I borrowed the DVD of “Malena” from the public library in our Swiss hometown. (It’s normal in Switzerland to have German and/or French sub-titles.)
I got to watch L’Appartement in its original language (French) with English sub-titles (thank God for that). Sana you get to see this one. I really liked the story and the way it was directed.
I fell in love with her in Matrix. I would rather be her than Angelina
Yes, Monica Bellucci is pretty.
Anyway. I think the idea of ‘woman’s woman’ is more common than ‘man’s man’. Straight men would rarely openly admit that they find other men good looking. (Case in point, Speedy with regards to Hayden Kho.)
But it’s a different case for women. I’d hear more “Oh my, she’s so pretty.” from women than men saying “Pare, that dude looks really handsome.” (Perhaps, a guy saying that to a girl is more common than a guy saying it to a fellow guy.)
Women I think are more open about admitting that they find other women attractive. It could be the other girl’s face or body or personality or fashion sense (or all of the above). It’s common when they’re looking at magazines or watching a shows (usually foreign tv shows).
On the flipside, women making lait or pintas other women is also just as prevalent, if not more.
I’m thinking it may have something to do with culture where men have a propensity for proving (showing off?) their masculinity all the time just to prove they aren’t gay. Hard to explain… something like an expression or action can so easily be labeled as a sign of being gay (because culture associates certain actions with being gay which aren’t necessarily accurate) and the perception is so darn hard to shake off. So men are more careful to show how macho they are just so no one can attach any gay labels to them.
Malena is a must-watch for Monica Belucci fans – she is shown on opposite sides of the spectrum but still looks gorgeous – kahit kinalbo na siya magandang-maganda pa rin…..
Man’s man and woman’s woman. Maybe it invites confusion .
Singaporeans are very polite. They will not call an ill-repute woman as loose woman (as they aptly or inaptly call them) but will call them loose lady. Hah, lady…
I would say that there is a great difference with sexism and feminism. They’re different animals. Those PC fringe would like to make it appear that sexism is no different from feminism. They mask their rant as feminism.
Feminism is about women to be women – feminine. Sexism is about women are being discriminated and should be on equality with men (and we , men, is still wondering where they have been discriminated. In my circle of like minded friends, we worship women).
Malena. Haay… Malena is one of the most powerful movies I’ve ever seen. It’s just something that you remember for a long time. Monica proved that she’s not just another pretty face. I know what you mean, after watching The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, I looked for my DVD of Monica Belucci movies and watched Malena. I’ve watched it several times over the years. We just finished The Matrix Trilogy (again) recently. We’re going to watch Brothers Grimm next. I’ll see if I have L’appartement in the DVD. Thanks for the L’appartement tip!