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...
Andrej is an 18 year old, whose life is around alcohol, parties and self-isolation. When his sexuality is challenged by a girl, he gets more violent. His mother has had enough and as a last chance, he is sent to a detention center where he and other delinquent boy-men are boarded during the week. But the environment only encourages Andrej's risk taking acts. He meets Zele and his side kick, the self appointed thug leader whom everyone fears because of his violence streak. When Zele realizes that Andrej is quite strong, he takes him under his wing. This means the trio spend weekends together running amok, robbing people, stealing cars, doing drugs and girls. We slowly start to see that Andrej may have hidden feelings for Zele and one night while partying Andrej and Zele sleep together. Zele realizes Andrej's fascination for him but forces Andrej to collect debts on his behalf. Zele continues to use his charm but soon Andrej realizes that something is off and refuses to budge. This pisses off Zele and he uploads one of the kissing videos of him on facebook and kills his rat, the only thing that Andrej selflessly loves. An angry Andrej gets cooled off only beating the crap out Zele.
The film initially focuses on expectations of masculinity, being part of the gang with the secret world but slowly the makers reveal the sexual exploration, crime, boundaries, power play and rebellion. Andrej has a magical charm about him. He is violent, but that smile and animalistic charisma draws you into him. And this exact quality about Zele is what attracts Andrej to him. I was thinking this will not end well, but I was happy to see that Andrej finally sees the real picture about Zele. That doesn't mean Andrej is going to improve but at least he begins to see the bullshit that Zele has been pulling through. Andrej is just amazing as an actor and so is Zele. He plays the manipulative character to the T. The film is dark and gritty and raw. Only after i saw a short clip of the director, did I realize that homosexuality is still not a widely accepted thing in Slovenia. And then it made sense of why Andrej may want to stay in closet after all.
The film is not afraid to deal head on with the complex issues of a young male also struggling with his sexuality and social acceptance. But is there a message that the makers are trying to show, I don't know. What I know is that the film makes for a very interesting watch. (7/10)
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