No Se Lo Digas a Nadie (Spanish) [Don't Tell Anyone]

The film addresses many of the hypocrisies associated with Peruvian society’s attitude towards homosexuality, and also ties in this attitude with prevalent racist attitudes towards the Indian population. It tells the story of the early adulthood of a gay upper-class Peruvian man, Joaquin, who struggles to live up to everyone’s expectations and to come to terms with his own desires. I have seen only a handful of Peruvian films with gay theme, so this was a welcome change. I am very confident that I had seen this film before because memories were all coming back, but I watched it again and this time I can write the review here as well.

The story is primarily about Joaquin, a boy who doesn't fit into the traditional definition of masculinity in Peruvian society. His father takes him for hunting hoping that this will make a man of him He is just 15. In the trip Joaquin tries to make sexual advances to the local Indian boy and is rebuffed badly. When he finishes school, his father takes him to a prostitute but of course he cannot do anything. He leaves home and starts to live alone in law college but he is least interested in studying. He becomes good friends with a girl named Ale and even tries to have sex with her but fails and this is when he admits that he likes men. Ale is in love within too and thinks she can 'fix' him. Joaquin’s religious, protective mother is delighted to see her son involved with a girl from a good family. Joaquin soon meets Gonzalo, the fiance of Ale’s best friend, and they begin a secret sexual relationship. Gonzalo argues that he loves his fiancee and intends to get married, and he seems to find it perfectly normal to live this double life with Joaquin on the side. He occasionally also hooks up with a straight friend from his college. And while this is going on, he is badly addicted to drugs and cocaine and is always high. This breaks his heart and he tells truth to Gonzalo's fiancé. Joaquin leaves town to go spend sometime in Miami, but struggles there to make friends and earn money and what he really wants in life. He goes back home, makes Ale girlfriend again, passes law school and is happy to see Gonzales at the party. The film's conclusion seems ambiguous, since now Joaquin has a girlfriend but he also kisses Gonzales.

We have to remember that this film came in late 90s, still this story of intolerance, compromise, denial and the struggle to be true to one’s identity has plenty of charm and humor. Joaquin tries to come to terms with Peruvian society’s attitude towards homosexuality. His male friends accept these secret relationships between males, clearly shown of his trysts with Gonzales and the other friend. The leading actor does an excellent job playing the main character as a frightened boy, a confused teenager, a drifter, and finally a "normal" person. All along the way, he is at war with himself. He hates the fact that he is gay in a world full of all sorts of bigotry including homophobia. All the other actors also do a decent job. In the long run the movie seems to be afraid to offend anyone and that fear keeps it from being bold enough to make a clear statement about human sexuality, and probably also purposely keep the ending vague. This film is a challenging drama about homosexuality in Peru, where the culture of machismo is so prevalent that a character points out that “it’s better to be retarded than gay.”  The story is well told and the script is excellent.  Although the plot is not completely original, the fact that it is told from an authentically Peruvian perspective makes it a movie definitely worth watching, especially for someone who is looking to better understand Lima. (7/10)