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...
Ivan is a gay American artist living in Colombia. His best friend Christian and his friend’s brother, Cole, both straight, come to visit him and they stay with him. Christian has never had any issue with Ivan being gay and infact they are both very close friends. As they begin to meet other Americans in Colombia, Ivan finds himself attracted to Cole, and is surprised by Cole’s tentative interest in return. As days progress, Ivan and Cole do get in a physical relationship while Cole repeating every time that “I am not gay”. Physical closeness eventually leads to Ivan falling in love with Cole, till one day Christian finds out and he warns Ivan very sternly to never touch his brother and leaves Columbia. Ivan cannot get Cole out of his mind and so his friends take him to LA. When he arrives unannounced at his friend’s house, Christian doesn’t take it kindly and abuses him again and asks him to never come back. Ivan does manage to talk to Cole who tells him that it was just an experiment for him and he is not gay and that Ivan should leave. Heartbroken, Ivan returns to Columbia. 2 years later, Ivan has moved on and Cole returns in his life. He apologizes and wants Ivan back. They get into an argument and it feels things may eventually fall back in place. But its not very clear if Ivan will take him back.
Story-wise the film is quite interesting but in terms of execution, it is a pretty mixed bag. There are moments and scenes in the film that look forced and drab and while on the other hand , certain scenes are absolute master strokes. It showed artistry but I wish that this was a consistent factor. Maybe the director/actor kept getting confused on what the focus should be. I was surprised to find out that actor playing Ivan is also the director of the film, which is mighty impressive. Ivan lives his life unapologetically, expresses attraction, tests limits, has multiple partners, and isn’t afraid of being in love and lust. I appreciated that fact. Acting wise he was good but the same expression of empty eyes with open mouth was used pretty much throughout the film. It would have been nice to explore why Christian had such strong reactions with Ivan being close to Cole. Clearly, he wasn’t homophobic, so what is creating these reactions. And what’s Cole’s situation. He flirts with Ivan at every given opportunity and even comes on to Ivan but is he too much under his brother’s influence? Its not very clear. What is very clear is how gorgeous the men are, how beautiful those bodies are and they are not afraid to flaunt it.
This is a film that should be given a chance. The editing could have been better and some of those solo scenes of Ivan’s need to be cut short, but not the seen with his erect penis. It is HOT! I am waiting for something much better because clearly there is a spark. (6.5/10)
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