I didn't realize until the very end that this film is based on a book of the same name, a true story about Brendan Behan, an Irish writer and political activist, and his time in a British labor camp. It's pitched as a dreamy, romantic film, and it really only comes alive in the last 20 to 25 minutes, where the emotions run high and it tugs at your heart. For the first half I had no clue where the story was headed, though it did start making sense eventually. Brendan is a 16 year old Irish boy who gets caught trying to smuggle a few sticks of dynamite on board, and he's sent off to Borstal, an underage detention center. That's where he meets Charlie, a sailor who's openly gay and also locked up there. Brendan makes it clear he's not gay, but the two still become really close friends. A lot of the film is about what these two get up to along with a few other boys at Borstal, and how Brendan changes during that time. They try to break out of the place, and it costs...
This is a film about "living with Aids," how it can in some ways "robotize" one's behavior, cut one off and harden one in his interactions with others. How stupid and delusional is the one who gets infected, on purpose, because it's the more "natural" way to make love. It shows the problems that a HIV+ individual has in balancing his desire for freedom with his responsibilities and his long term relationship.Claudio, a successful banker is HIV positive for a while and lives with his partner Dario while also being a caregiver for his sister and mother. Because of his condition he cannot enjoy passionate intimacy and this is building up tension within his psyche. Claudio has had a fling with a guy named Andrea. While Dario and Claudio are planning to move to Milan for good, Claudio meets Andrea again in the restaurant that he works and instant sparks fly again. When they go back home for sex, Andrea clearly says that he wants all natural and no condom because he loves Claudio (who at no point hide his status). They start an affair but Claudio at the same time is very scared and tells his partner everything. In the meantime, when Andrea gets sick (fever etc.), Claudio takes care of him hence ignoring his own health. The doctors mention hat he needs to take it easy. Survival instinct kicks in and Claudio leaves everything to go and live in another town all by himself. A year later he finds out that Andrea is dead.
This movie was wrong on so many levels. Why would the two main characters decided to engage in unsafe sex and were in love, although they'd known each other for little more than the act itself. If it was all about true love, then why does Claudio leave Andrea to die rather than being with him. On a positive note, the daily struggles of a positive man are shown in details. Claudio's hope for and despair of finding understanding and love, and his many unexpected losses and rewards are portrayed with the empathy of someone who has obviously seen the battle up close. But apart from all this, there was nothing much to offer in the film. Claudio's performance was very rigid. It is only Andrea who adds some life by his charm in the film.
Below average for me but some people might like it. (3/10)
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