User Reviews

The title is ambiguous. Los Fuertes can mean The Tough Guys or something similar as well as The Forts. These forts' history as the first ones to have been taken by Chilean nationalists in 1820 from the Spanish frames the story. Scenes of the reenactment of this historic victory take place at various times during the film and impart a sort of impregnability to the other story recounted, the hot and sultry love affair between a local bosun and an architecture student on a visit to his sister before leaving for Montreal for a post grad course.

There is chemistry between the two leads - no fake dry kissing here. Their affair is deep and swift, happening in the space of a few days but causes changes in the local community that impinge on work and other relationships. Along the way, a family relationship is mended, a childhood home revisited, a business decision is taken, a spurned lover takes revenge and all this stems from the affair that we see unfolding.

The ending is bittersweet. There is no rancour and no sentimentality. They have made their decisions.

I have watched this wonderful film several times. Just far apart in time to make it new and fresh. But the depth of the story, the acting and the cinematography is such that new things are discovered each time. This takes place in a wet place, lots of rain. Cold. I can feel it as I watch. And so on. This is not just another gay man love story although heaven knows we can use as many as we can get. There are many kinds of relationships shown and once again we find the difference between they that stay and they that go. As one who left I feel the pain of both sides.

'The Strong Ones' as it is called in English, doesn't provide anything particularly new for queer cinema fans but what it lacks in originality the film makes up for in mood, charm and location - the Chilean seaside town is definitely a character unto itself. It's a well known tale, for both queer and heteronormative cinema, a character returns to their family to resolve issues from the past before moving far away indefinitely. During their short stay they find passionate love and face the decision of whether to continue on their planned journey or remain with this new love. There's nothing wrong with this formula but its been done a lot. This film certainly has similarities to God's Own Country and Weekend but is less gritty and more romantic than both of those films. There are moments where potential drama is hinted at but then never followed through with or used to raise the dramatic stakes. It's a gentle story, a happy one for the most part and that could be all the filmmakers wanted to achieve. In this frequently harsh world I guess it's not such a bad thing for a film just to be nice. Other positives are the two leads who are compelling and charming to watch. Their attraction feels authentic and a couple of sex scenes are tastefully handled yet arousing. There is also a sweet relationship between one of the men and his grandmother. As queer cinema goes this is definitely one to watch particularly when you are looking for something comforting, familiar and well made.

I saw this marvellous film this evening at the Sydney Queer screen Mardi Gras Film Festival. From the first screen shots I was entranced in this not so run of the mill love story. The two male leads are electric in their performances and so convincing as their story unfolds. as is the supporting cast. The cinematography is totally engrossing letting us into a part of the world few tourists ( and Chileans ) get to experience. I would definitely see it again . Highly recommended. And introduced by a very talented and humble young Chilean man

The director takes great care in the handling of electronic products. From beginning to end, there was only one scene in which Lucas sister contacted her family with her mobile phone. The rest of the time, it was a harmonious coexistence of people, natural persons and the environment. This gives the story a hazy sense of confusing times. The theme of love at the end of the world.

The film takes place in Niebla, an actual town on the southern Chilean coast. Lucas has come from Santiago to visit his sister, a dentist at the local medical clinic, before he heads off to architecture school in Montreal. The area is full of old Spanish forts, which he goes around sketching. Antonio is a fisherman who dreams of owning his own boat, who also takes part in re-enactments of the victory Chilean rebels had over the Spanish in their war of independence. The two meet and fall in love.

While there is homophobia to deal with, the biggest problem with "happy forever" is their different visions of what life each wishes to lead.

The director made good use of the area's actual history. I have sailed the islands and channels of southern Chile, and the scenery brings back fond memories. The action is authentic - both between the principals, and in scenes of everyday life.

The beauty of cinematography, the precise acting, the shadow of history, the reactions of community, the realistic portrait of family are the basic virtues of this bitter- sweet film , a love one but , more important, a honest, direct image of loneliness, adulthood basic, fundamental traits , beauty of dialogue and the feel to be part of story for viewer. A film about honesty to become yourself with entire soul.

The plot here may be more common to high school students, where romance blooms amid sexual awakenings, but then after graduation, couples go to different colleges in far away places, which can effectively end a romance. In this flick, we have two gay men who are well out of high school. One seems to be content living in a small fishing village in Chile, while the other has post graduate studies to complete in Montreal. Apparently, neither the sex nor their romancing was enough to overcome their fundamental priorities. In the end, we have two likable characters who are afraid to commit, on such short notice. We are left with the looming question of...how do married couples ever cross paths long enough to finally tie the knot, especially gay men and women who are already have such low odds of finding life long partners.

Saw this movie during the 2020 Chicago Reeling Virtual Film Festival. The movie has a slow but steady pace. The director took great shots to document the beautiful city of Valvidia. I feel that the cinematography enhanced the story - like a supporting actor. This is a short yet sweet romance: boy meets boy, boys falls in love, boys realizes the difference in their lives However, life steps in and realities must be faced. The chemistry between the main characters is solid, supporting cast gave good performances. Overall a pleasing movie.

It's a simple film. It's a love story that develops quickly and intensely between two people when one visits a remote island in Chili to visit his sister. They lead very different lives, live in different locations, have different values and those are the big issues on whether they will or won't have a future together. It's refreshing that the fact they are both men seems somewhat insignificant. There is also a secondary relationship story involving the sister and her husband. One of these couples will stay together and the other will part by the time the film reaches its conclusion. The two leads, Samuel González and Antonio Altamirano, are both sincere in intensely intimate performances. Some of the cinematography is great. There is one shot in the mist that took my breathe away. I had one major problem with this Spanish speaking film. I don't speak the language and some of the subtitles are so fleeting that it is near impossible to read them. The film is nothing special and it's a bit slow, but all in all, it's a decent film about the complexities of love.

I just love this movie, a touching love story, very good acting and amazing cinematography. Also, this movie really inspires to visit Valdivia, Chile one day! To sum up, it would be an excellent movie choice for yourself or maybe with your love ones in a weekend night.

Cool, but we've seen this movie before... and it's called "Brokeback Mountain" lol (or any other gay romance from past 15 years)

The battle scene that opens the film sets the stage for the battle for independence and freedom. At the start of the film, and again during the movie, we see a re-enactment of one famous battle for Chile's independence from Spain. The rest of the action represents a battle for independence and freedom of two men who become entangled while one, Lucas, is visiting his sister before moving to Montreal to attend school.

The visit is limited, but while visiting, he meets a local man who works on a fishing boat. There are undercurrents of turmoil between Lucas and his parents (possibly because he is gay), and between his sister and her husband. There are also undercurrents of turmoil developing in the wider circle of characters because of the relationship forming between the two men.

And this leads to turmoil between the two men as well.

Each has his own dream to pursue, and his own life story. Will one of them sacrifice his independence and freedom for the other? Or will they go their separate ways.

There are some very sweet moments along the way, and it's enjoyable just watching these two handsome men develop in their relationship. I found the interactions, and reactions of the other characters toward the men interesting as well.

The movie is beautiful to watch, given the backdrop of the Chilean coast and the excellent camera work. Acting is outstanding throughout the film.

This film, made in the beautiful south of Chile is a beautiful love story between 2 men. It was a real honor for me to have made a crowdfunding contribution for make this happen

Los Fuertes (2019) is a Chilean film written and directed by Omar Zúñiga Hidalgo. It was shown in the U.S. with the translated title The Strong Ones.

Samuel González portrays Lucas, a young student of architecture who visits his sister in the Valdivia region of Chile. It's there that he meets Antonio, who works on a commercial fishing boat. Antonio is played by Antonio Altamirano. The men are gay, and are attracted to each other.

The plots plays itself out as the men come to terms with their relationship, prejudice against gays, and the fact that Lucas is leaving Chile to study in Montreal.

This is a film that cries out to be seen on a large screen because the Chilean landscape is so beautiful. However, it's a movie about relationships, so it worked well enough on the small screen.

We saw Los Fuertes via ImageOut, the wonderful Rochester LGBTQ Film Festival. (Virtual this year.) The movie has a solid IMDb rating of 7.2. I though it was even better than that, and rated it 9.

This was the one of most passionate films I've ever seen. I loved it.

For a gay movie, it's indeed good one. But the movie just too similar to one nominated as best picture 2 years ago. It's indeed make me compare and rate it down a bit. It got the textile but just not as good as the one I compared. The actors, scenery, music, story not strong enough. Also, in year 2020, but referring old fashion mind people in 1990s, can't fit in a bit.

I hate comparison but i can see a (Weekend 2011,UK) vibe here which is really a very good movie, this was like the Chile's version of Weekend. The actors did pretty well. Sharing the same culture with Filipinos, i guess i can say this is a special movie for me. The Forts (both countries were colonized by Spain), Festivals, Scenery and the strong Family Ties (you can't just leave your family). Agh i wish there's a sequel. Give these good movies their 2nd part like Free Fall, Weekend, Mario just to name a few..

Somewhat similar to Call Me By Your Name, but this one is more touching, Epic cinematography, the chemistry of the two main characters is more integrated than CMBYN

Amazing landscapes, this film made me want to travel in Chile soon...

The strong ones.... or los fuertes in spanish. From chile! When lucas travels to the coast to visit his sister, he meets antonio, who works on a fishing boat. They fall in love, and experience the usual problems with the locals. They seem so happy together, but lucas has plans to go on to school in montreal. Antonio isn't ready to up and leave. Can they find a future for the two of them together? Will they be happy with that? Stars sam gonzález, antonio altamirano, who had worked together on san cristóbal. Great performances, beautiful scenery. Makes me want to visit niebla. Very sweet story. Clearly, this was someone, somewhere's actual life experience. Written and directed by omar zúñiga.

An amazing film with excellent images and photography 😍 and the chemical between actors so true!!!