This is a beautiful and moving film with superb performances throughout. By now you've read the plot in another review, so no surprises here.
But I am quite puzzled as to how and why it is being marketed - and winning awards - as an LGBTQ film.
It ain't.
Men can love each other without it being sexual.
I'll try to keep this brief, but I am bisexual with far more experience with men (and one very long-term relationship with a woman). My best friend of more than 10 years is 100% heterosexual, and he was the first to say, "I love you, man." He is like the younger brother I never had, and in some instances the father I never had (he died when I was five-years-old). We plan at least one big trip a year, and just to give an example, we rented an apartment in Italy for a month and although the bedroom had a single bed and a double bed, my friend insisted that we sleep together (we also sleep together when we visit each other for our weekend movie-and-cocktail marathons). We are physically affectionate with each other, even in public. He has a solid relationship with a woman and doesn't care how the world sees us, and will sometimes just casually put his arm around my shoulder.
There has never been the slightest hint of anything sexual between us, not even when the classic "boy was I drunk last night" scenario could have been used as an excuse.
We just have more things in common than we do with anyone else (we are slowly visiting the 50 highest rated cocktail bars in the world), and our time together is always special. A couple of years ago I needed an operation to remove a tumor. I was OK about it until the night before, when I started to freak out. My friend was soon at my apartment and he held me while we talked and I cried. And he got me to the hospital the next morning (and the tumor turned out to be benign).
So we have a deep love - we even kiss on the lips (but not French kiss), but there is nothing gay about it. For sex, we both have our alternatives.
The relationship in the film is hinted at being gay because Lorenzo plays classical guitar (and ONLY classical), reads a lot of very serious stuff, and is not remotely into sports. This is blatant stereotyping. Why has no one mentioned that he has sex with a girl, and quite successfully it seems: she is ready with a condom, there is a nice post-coital good night kiss, and she phones him as soon as he gets home. And there is nothing gay about Caíto. He is simply a very screwed-up young man who desperately needs friendship and someone who understand him and finds it with Lorenzo. I believe it is Caíto who first says, "I love you man." They hug a few times, but I got no sexual vibes from their shows of affection.
I need to shut up. I just wanted to stress that it's NOT a LGBTQ film (and no nudity except for a few seconds filmed in a locker room where you see a few behinds in the background as the guys are drying off), but rather a story of two young men finding much-needed companionship and not afraid to express their true feelings to each other.
It's a gorgeous, bittersweet tale. Go see it!
But I am quite puzzled as to how and why it is being marketed - and winning awards - as an LGBTQ film.
It ain't.
Men can love each other without it being sexual.
I'll try to keep this brief, but I am bisexual with far more experience with men (and one very long-term relationship with a woman). My best friend of more than 10 years is 100% heterosexual, and he was the first to say, "I love you, man." He is like the younger brother I never had, and in some instances the father I never had (he died when I was five-years-old). We plan at least one big trip a year, and just to give an example, we rented an apartment in Italy for a month and although the bedroom had a single bed and a double bed, my friend insisted that we sleep together (we also sleep together when we visit each other for our weekend movie-and-cocktail marathons). We are physically affectionate with each other, even in public. He has a solid relationship with a woman and doesn't care how the world sees us, and will sometimes just casually put his arm around my shoulder.
There has never been the slightest hint of anything sexual between us, not even when the classic "boy was I drunk last night" scenario could have been used as an excuse.
We just have more things in common than we do with anyone else (we are slowly visiting the 50 highest rated cocktail bars in the world), and our time together is always special. A couple of years ago I needed an operation to remove a tumor. I was OK about it until the night before, when I started to freak out. My friend was soon at my apartment and he held me while we talked and I cried. And he got me to the hospital the next morning (and the tumor turned out to be benign).
So we have a deep love - we even kiss on the lips (but not French kiss), but there is nothing gay about it. For sex, we both have our alternatives.
The relationship in the film is hinted at being gay because Lorenzo plays classical guitar (and ONLY classical), reads a lot of very serious stuff, and is not remotely into sports. This is blatant stereotyping. Why has no one mentioned that he has sex with a girl, and quite successfully it seems: she is ready with a condom, there is a nice post-coital good night kiss, and she phones him as soon as he gets home. And there is nothing gay about Caíto. He is simply a very screwed-up young man who desperately needs friendship and someone who understand him and finds it with Lorenzo. I believe it is Caíto who first says, "I love you man." They hug a few times, but I got no sexual vibes from their shows of affection.
I need to shut up. I just wanted to stress that it's NOT a LGBTQ film (and no nudity except for a few seconds filmed in a locker room where you see a few behinds in the background as the guys are drying off), but rather a story of two young men finding much-needed companionship and not afraid to express their true feelings to each other.
It's a gorgeous, bittersweet tale. Go see it!