What is it about falling for the unattainable? It’e the theme as old as time that keeps on taunting us, and I have to admit there is a certain romanticism to it that I clung to when I was younger. But now that I feel that time is so precious, unrequited love just seems a waste of my time. I recently saw two movies with this theme and found myself still getting into the idea, but feel I am a lot more grounded now about reality.
In Andrew Steggal’s ‘Departure,’ that theme is a lot more forgivable, given that the story centers around fifteen year old Elliot (Alex Lawther) who goes home with this mother to their vacation house in France to pack it up as they are in the process of selling it. he meets a young boy Clement, who fascinates him, and this gives himself a clue to their sexual orientation. This languid-paced film is slow, even for me, and Juliet Stevenson who plays his mother is fantastic. All of that still cannot overcome the laziness in storytelling. This held such promise that did not deliver.
Speaking of slow, Marco Berger’s ‘The Blond One’ is glacial in pace. There is a lot of subtlety int he story that every minute, every silence, every ‘insignificant’ scene all constitute great narrative. And again, with the unattainable. This Argentine drama centers on two men who have recently become roommates. Even though Gabriel (Gaston Re) is seemingly ‘straight’ (he brings home women) he carries on a relationship with Juan (Alfonson Baron) and it becomes a no-strings-attached relationship, until it becomes not. I had a little bit of a problem with the dynamics of the relationship, but then I thought why should I when they don’t. It shows more about societal limitations in Argentina about homosexuality (or bisexuality) that men are not comfortable expressing their orientation. This is one of those movies that quietly gets you. You watch and you realize you are suddenly so affected by it.
Someone on Letterboxd described ‘Mi Mejor Amigo,’ as the Patagonian ‘Call Me By Your Name,’ and of course I did everything I could to see this film right away. And even though I wouldn’t describe the film as such, I thought the film, directed my Martin Deus was effective and sensitive, and I recommend it highly.
On the surface, one looks at ‘We are Thr3e’ as a film about a threesome. Indeed, Argentinian director Marcelo Briemm Stamm’s film is about three people who starts a relationship. But for me, the film really is about the fluidity not of gender, but of love. You just fall in love with the person, and that is shown vividly int his film. The trio of actors here (Juan Martin Martino, Florenicia Dragonetti, Carlos Etchevers) are very natural in their roles, and I like the way they presented the relationship in a very nonchalant way. And you think the film will end a certain way, but it is smarter than that. This is a very welcome watch.
‘El Angel,’ from Argentina, is directed by Luis Ortega and produced by Pedro Almodovar (among others) It is Argentina’s entry in this year’s Best Foreign Film Category. I was mostly fascinated by it because of Almodovar’s name attached to it, and also, the poster to the left features a very attractive Latin twink. I learn that the film is based on a true story, of Carlos Robledo Puch, who is an infamous thief from the 70s in Argentina. He apparently captured the interest of the public because he was handsome, and had an cherubic face. Based on this film, that may be his most unique attribute.
Argentinian Director Marco Berger, in his 2014 movie ‘Hawaii,’ teased his audience on a will-they or won’t-they angle, and in his new film ‘Taekwondo’ (which he co-directs with Martín Darina) he does the exact same thing. Germán (Gabriel Epstein) is invited by his friend Fernando (Lucas Papa) to an all-boys summer vacation in a resort town near Buenos Aires. He doesn’t know why he was invited – he senses that Fernando is into him, but he gets a lot of mixed signals, not just from him but from his posse in the house. He even asks, is he even gay? We find out that Germán is, via his phone conversation with a friend and we spend the rest of the movie testing our gaydar if Fernando is. All things seem to point that way, but are we really sure?
As thirteen year old kids, Matias and Jero (Ignacio Rogers and Esteban Maturini) spent summers at Matias’ summer home, near an estuary. They get separated a- Matias’ parents move to Brasil – and ten years later Matias comes back to visit, with his girlfriend in tow He is surprised to see his old friend again. Feelings surface, and we find out that something happened that last summer when they were together, and feeling are resurfacing.
Luha Thoughts 