This is your typical indie coming-of-age tale about a teenager, though it’s clearly working with a very tiny budget. Set within a migrant family living in Southern California’s Coachella Valley, the movie digs into how fragile old-school traditions and expectations can be. We follow a teenage son as he goes through the process of coming out and struggles to find acceptance while dealing with homophobia, domestic abuse, and a messy love triangle that involves his own sister. Goyo is seventeen and just about to graduate from high school. Since he’s been a bit more feminine since he was a little kid, he’s always had to deal with emotional and physical transition from his dad, Ramon, who is obsessed with him being "a man." The only real love he gets is from a lady next door who actually respects him for who he is. The family lives in a Mexican community where everyone works on a grape farm, but things get shaken up when a new guy named Lucio arrives. Lucio basically seduces Goyo ...
On paper it did sound like a decent idea to have minimal dialogues in a film and focus more on relationships just through scenes and emotions but Gosh! what a failed attempt this one was. We're examining a gay love affair and nothing else.
Gerardo picks up Jonas in a playing field at the university and the passionate kisses and embraces and the sex begin right away. Then Jonas starts averting his face when Gerardo tries to caress or kiss him. And yet they're still regularly sleeping together. Sergio, a slightly older man, a tall, dark, brooding fellow, even easier on the eyes than the other two enters the scene now. He has already watched the pair play hide and seek in the library stacks when he was installing a light bulb. Jnas takes up liking for Sergio but can't get his attention. Sergio on the other hand has wanted Gerardo for a long time. Gerardo and Jonas are falling apart. Gerardo and Sergio become a couple and then again Jonas begins to long for Gerardo again.
Like I mentioned the movie is weird because it barely has dialogues. The director has said that the reason there is so little dialogue is that the moments he chose to capture were the ones between the dialogue; before the characters felt the need to speak, and after they had said all there was to say. But I dont agree. This one was a slow opera type movie which is totally not the kind that I like.
I would suggest, stay away. (2/10)
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