Went in with zero expectations, but this charming old comedy turned out to be a genuinely fun ride. Combining gay characters, a pride parade, and a heist plot in one movie sounds like a recipe that could easily fall apart, but when it's pulled off right, like it is here, you end up with something that feels satisfying and delivers exactly the kind of simple entertainment it promises. The setting is Chez Nouz, a gay cafe tucked into the heart of Amsterdam, run by an older guy named Adje who acts as a stand in father figure for Bertie, the bar's main drag performer, a guy who never actually knew his real dad and has spent years fantasizing that he might secretly be the son of some famous Dutch singer. Their little makeshift family also includes Babette, the straight waitress, and Rachid, a regular who Adje took under his wing and gave a room to after his own family kicked him out for being gay. The bar's other regulars include Peter-Jan, a good looking gay lawyer, and Gijs, a...
The story is simple, yet complicated. Two young men, a film student Enea and a medical student Pietro meet in 1978 in a movie theatre. The theatre is also occasionally used as a cursing spot for men. Enea wants to get it on but Pietro wants his first time to be special and so Enea finds a place for their rendezvous. They continue to meet in the same theatre everyday, until one day they cannot when riots happen in the city. Now this is 70s, so they don't have each other's contacts. 10 years later, Enea is now a film director and the first film he makes his based on his love story with Pietro, which he watches with his now wife and friends, but they are both in different cities. Pietro sees his interviews but just from far but doesn't try to meet him. Soon Renea also finds true love, comes out openly gay and is together with his long term partner. Another five years pass and its early 90s. Pietro has changed and stays a bit aloof form his wife. And somewhere deep down both of them are still looking for the other person. Enea meets the original theatre owner who tells Enea that metro came by after the riots in 1978 and even left a letter for him, but Enea never came back, which breaks Enea's heart since it had his number which is now of course not working. Pietro goes to meet Enel but when he sees Enea acknowledging his true love, his current partner, he doesn't meet him. Fast forward many other years and now it is 2015. The mean are in their 50s. In an accident at a film set, Enea hurts his eyes and destiny brings him to Pietro for surgery. You can feel the tension between the two men when finally Enea sees him. What follows is the most intense, most romantic, most subdued meeting of two lovers after almost 35-40 years but haven't forgotten each other, have moved on, but had and will always love each other.
The first forty minutes of the film are quite beautiful in portraying their growing love and relationship. The story maybe simple, and the fact that Enea and Pietro only are together at beginning or very ed, but its the very strong characterization of the two men and their performances that clearly stand out in this wonderful film. A lotto item in the film is spend in exploring their individual lives with their respective partners and friends, which may not link directly with the main plot and could be a problem for viewers, especially Enea's partner, who gets a lot of screen time, but he comes off so poorly at first that it’s hard to feel bad for him when he’s supposed to be a sympathetic character later on. The ending of the film is one of the most beautiful one. Its not what you expect form a typical romantic film, but honestly there couldn't have been a better one. The two men finally get to acknowledge their love and move on with dignity and respect. The film is free and explicit when it comes to nudity and sex scenes, but it’s the familiar tale of a lasting love which has never been fulfilled. Coming to the two main characters, not only are they both extremely gorgeous, but even with the makeup etc and their body language, it is nicely shown how time has progressed. They are great actors and every scene with the, they have crackling chemistry. You can see the passion in their eyes. There were many small things that I really enjoyed in the film. Scenes like when Enea gives Pietro a map of the place for their first meeting, which also ends up being the house that he eventually buys leaving Pietro very surprised at the end; the contents of the letter that Pietro had left for Enea all these years ago; or when both of them are watching the same film with their respective partners reminiscing of their time together when they saw it, and so many more. The end credit scene of a 'what if' scenario was an interesting touch where we see what would have happened if the riots didn't happen and the two men actually met for wine and dine as per the original plan!
Nuovo Olimpo is pure romance and having, even if only for a couple of hours, this feeling of amazement, passion, disappointment, melancholy, and nostalgia is a true wonder. This is not just a simple regular gay movie because the 2 leading actors could be said bi-sexual, it's about the once in a life time unforgettable love they found from each other, even being together only for few days. I know the film is not without its flaws, but I warned you that I would remain partial to Ozpetek's films. (8/10)
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