Is this technically a gay show? Even after getting through the whole thing, that's still kind of tricky to answer. There's never any physical intimacy shown between the two leads, not even a single kiss. What it gives you instead is something that goes way deeper than that. It traces an emotional bond that spans a full decade between two guys who are both dealing with their own baggage, and what they share basically amounts to being soulmates. The story moves across Japan, South Korea, and Berlin. Honestly, whether people want to call what they have a romantic relationship or not doesn't really matter to me. A relationship doesn't need a label like boyfriends attached to it to actually mean something. And closeness doesn't need to be physical to feel genuine. What this show captures is something quieter but way more powerful, a bond rooted in understanding, respect, and just showing up for each other. Across eight episodes, each running 35 to 45 minutes, this is one...
The premise is very simple. A group os straight friends have been invited by Artur to spend Christmas and New Years at his country luxury villa. We spend a lot of time observing the men sleeping, sunbathing, fooling around and, crucially, engaging in increasingly sexually charged pranks on each other, but all under the guise of heterosexuality. They record and take photos of these suggestive acts and share on chat, sometimes even with their girlfriends. In a deceptively light and humorous way, they are always trying to push each other's limit. But what starts as consensual friend-on-friend teasing eventually escalates to something more antagonistic. The more reserved Poli tries to keep his distance (he is secretly gay and not out) but constant push by ringleader Nico is making it hard. Poli has been having a secret affair with one of the guys, who admits that he is just horny all the time and that this was always their arrangement, but somehow this also bother Nico, who himself might be hiding a secret about himself. And then things become all the more chaotic when a group of women arrive at the villa, putting the childish behavior of the men in sharp contrast. The film is essentially a ticking time bomb of toxic masculinity.
Marco plays with the whole homoeroticism angle with aplomb even though a lot of homophobia runs between these playful exchanges amongst these men. The increasingly sexual game play and homophobic ribbing all adds to a curious and volatile atmosphere of sensuality, which surprisingly leads to violence towards the films end. From a story perspective, there is not much happening here, but if you are used to Marco's films, this is sort of given. In this film, we see how sometimes the straight masculine and homo queer desires can sometimes overlap and where and how to decide to draw the lines. This tension is heightened by the refreshingly uncoy camera, which continuously lingering on the men’s toned and muscular bodies that are often in a state of undress. But none of this is ever vulgar. The talented director just knows how to present his men with class and eroticism. My god!! if I was part of this group , I would not have an idea of how to keep my hands to myself. There is so much great skin in this film! Some interesting plot lines are developed although these were not fully explored and a lot was left to the imagination. Maybe too much time in the film is devoted to the horseplay between the men rather than the underlying serious plot lines, although the horseplay is very easy on the eye.
No whether you enjoy this film or not, totally depends on what generally your reactions have been to Marco Berger's previous films. The scenes sometimes feel repetitive and sometimes you may either get bored or very turned on by all these handsome young men naked bodies. But the director focus on sensuality and eroticism and sexual tension is very much prevalent here as well with the camera capturing every furtive and suggestive glance. Poli's gay angle gets a bot of story towards the end, but that was somehow inevitable and I saw it coming. Having said that, this is not really a gay film per say, but oh man! I have not seen many of these amazing homoerotic films. And I can't imagine that us gays would not wanna see something like this. (6.5/10)
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