This one's a beautiful, tender, quiet romantic drama with a moody atmosphere, set in a tight knit Welsh fishing community. It's a touching story about a man waking up sexually in the middle of his life, and how he, his family, and everyone around him deal with it, which makes it emotional and sentimental without ever getting over the top. The slow burn plays out against a landscape that's as bleak as it is gorgeous, where quiet, closed off men are stuck inside rigid ideas of what masculinity should be. Some people might be reminded of "God's Own Country," but I think both films are lovely in their own way. Jack is a middle aged guy who co-owns a mussel farm with his rough around the edges brother Dyfan, and the tension between the two of them is simmering under the surface right from the start. Dyfan's three sons all help out with the work, while Jack's sulky teenage son Tom keeps skipping out. Jack's been with his wife since they were both 16, and...
Bruno and Carla have been together for a long time. Bruno loves with Carla in Barcelona, whose parents gave her the apartment. A chance meeting with Rai changes Bruno's life. Bruno feels this instant connection towards Kai who is a karate teacher and a dancer. Starting of as a friendship, Bruno, can't control himself for long before he gives into Rai's seduction. But very soon we find out that it i snot about just seduction. The 2 men feel much more for each other. At the same time Bruno is very much in love with Carla. One day at gym, Carla sees the 2 men together and is heart broken and asks Bruno to leave. Rai can't bear to see Bruno like this and convinces Carla to take him back. They have an agreement that Bruno will live with Carla like before but he will keep meeting Rai occasionally. That way nothing will change. But things do change. Initially Carla hated Rai but soon they start becoming friends and before you know, they fall for each other too. Rai and carla are now having an affair and both feel guilty of not telling Bruno. Bruno is shocked and reacts strongly when he finds out about them but soon, sense prevails and all three of them realize that they all love each other. Their love for one person is no less or no more than the love for the other person.
There are a lot of side characters in the film, specially at the magazine office where carla works. They end up bringing a light feel to the film. They are all very good and the film shows some aspects of them as well. I loved all the scenes when Carla would think she is talking in private to her girlfriend at work and meanwhile the 3 guys in the office would always sneak up to hear hat's going on. Carla, Bruno and Rai are all great actors. When Bruno stars falling for Rai, his confusion is so evident and so is the fact that he is struggling but happy at the same time. Bruno does a marvelous job. Rai plays his part good with his moldering looks and his eyes. His character is quite lovable. Carla fits very well and does a decent job too. There were quite a few scenes in the film that I loved, specially the opening dancing sequence. All the moments when Bruno and Rai meet and are hanging, you can feel a weird sexual tension and finally when they do it, it is awesome. I liked that although Rai like Bruno, he did not want to take away the fact that Bruno was still in love with carla. It was interesting to hear that why do we have to live by social rules. We should do what we feel is the right thing to do. Bruno's smile is still etched in my mind. He was so cute.
I think the film was fantastic. If a film manages to keep my attention and don't let me get bored with good looks and acting, the job is done. Highly recommended. (8.5/10)
Comments
i really enjoyed the film.
great looks and good acting with fresh story (for me).
this is superb.
however, when I read some other reviews about this movie by gay critics and how it was "not gay enough" and felt like a straight movie for straight viewers for them, I felt so angry at their closed-mindedness. of course everybody's entitled to their own opinion, but obviously they completely missed the point of this wonderful movie...
Thanks for this blog though - this is a treasure trove and even though I disagree wildly with some of your recommendations I cannot be grateful enough for your painstaking and meticulous work. Thank you Golu!!
It brings fun, emotion, it arouses questions, even pretends for a (short) while that we will have a sad ending... Not a rom com but not a comedy either. I just watched the story of three people and how love wins at the end.
For once, I did not read your review before watching the movie. Read the first Line, when then straight to the end and your ranking and the decision was made to give it a try. I had no Idea of what the movie was about and it is better this way!
This one ranks number four in my all time favorites, After brokeback mountain, God's own country and call me by your name.
this is definitely the kind of film where you wanna go in without knowing much and then get totally mermerized and surprised how good the end result ends up being.
Thsi one was definitely a very pleasant surprise for me as well.