This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
The story is primarily about Joaquin, a boy who doesn't fit into the traditional definition of masculinity in Peruvian society. His father takes him for hunting hoping that this will make a man of him He is just 15. In the trip Joaquin tries to make sexual advances to the local Indian boy and is rebuffed badly. When he finishes school, his father takes him to a prostitute but of course he cannot do anything. He leaves home and starts to live alone in law college but he is least interested in studying. He becomes good friends with a girl named Ale and even tries to have sex with her but fails and this is when he admits that he likes men. Ale is in love within too and thinks she can 'fix' him. Joaquin’s religious, protective mother is delighted to see her son involved with a girl from a good family. Joaquin soon meets Gonzalo, the fiance of Ale’s best friend, and they begin a secret sexual relationship. Gonzalo argues that he loves his fiancee and intends to get married, and he seems to find it perfectly normal to live this double life with Joaquin on the side. He occasionally also hooks up with a straight friend from his college. And while this is going on, he is badly addicted to drugs and cocaine and is always high. This breaks his heart and he tells truth to Gonzalo's fiancé. Joaquin leaves town to go spend sometime in Miami, but struggles there to make friends and earn money and what he really wants in life. He goes back home, makes Ale girlfriend again, passes law school and is happy to see Gonzales at the party. The film's conclusion seems ambiguous, since now Joaquin has a girlfriend but he also kisses Gonzales.
We have to remember that this film came in late 90s, still this story of intolerance, compromise, denial and the struggle to be true to one’s identity has plenty of charm and humor. Joaquin tries to come to terms with Peruvian society’s attitude towards homosexuality. His male friends accept these secret relationships between males, clearly shown of his trysts with Gonzales and the other friend. The leading actor does an excellent job playing the main character as a frightened boy, a confused teenager, a drifter, and finally a "normal" person. All along the way, he is at war with himself. He hates the fact that he is gay in a world full of all sorts of bigotry including homophobia. All the other actors also do a decent job. In the long run the movie seems to be afraid to offend anyone and that fear keeps it from being bold enough to make a clear statement about human sexuality, and probably also purposely keep the ending vague. This film is a challenging drama about homosexuality in Peru, where the culture of machismo is so prevalent that a character points out that “it’s better to be retarded than gay.” The story is well told and the script is excellent. Although the plot is not completely original, the fact that it is told from an authentically Peruvian perspective makes it a movie definitely worth watching, especially for someone who is looking to better understand Lima. (7/10)
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