fabiog-26-358885 Reviews

Todxs Nós (2020– )

Good idea and good execution.

[8/10 · 24 April 2023]

The idea of bringing together the themes that surround the people of these times, (from the most important to those that apparently are not), seemed very good to me.

Sexual diversity, Gender diversity, Machismo and Feminism, Racism, Homo and Transphobia, Toxic and healthy masculinities, Harassment / Abuse, Veganism.

Family, religious, work, police, institutional and medical violence. HIV+. Polyamor and affective responsibility. Pansexuality, Demisexuality, etc., Use of light drugs (marijuana), and Non-Binary Language.

There were really many topics addressed (and not all, for example, there were no unwanted pregnancies and legal or illegal abortions). Some of the themes seem to have no connection with the others, but all of them together make up the current reality of thousands of people and is transversal to all social classes, because although this series shows characters from the "middle class" of Sao Paulo, Brazil, which opens the possibility of a hopeful future, if this had been developed with characters from the lower class, working class, marginal, etc. It would be the same, but with the addition of economic pressure to survive (which leads to more abuse, prostitution, abuse of more toxic drugs, more violence, jail, etc.) plus the ignorance and influence of evangelical churches, they would just end up being tragic stories.

So, trying to show/teach the public about All this reality, through a TV series, seems like a great idea to me. And I think that in large part that work was very well done!

Dissolved (2021)

Good movie

[8/10 · 15 April 2023]

I really liked it. I think this movie of intertwined stories worked well. He kept me interested the whole time about all of his characters.

It talks about machismo, secrets and lies, stories of abandonment and how we react to it, but also about social evolution.

I really liked the performances (and that is what the movie is based on), since, it could have been a play, because everything takes place in three or four closed spaces.

Against: Since there are already many characters due to the type of story, it was unnecessary, I think, some few extra characters who added nothing to the film. And the title "Dissolved". I didn't see "Dissolution" in the movie...

Dou Kyu Sei: Classmates (2016)

To avoid (if you are an adult gay man)

[5/10 · 24 October 2022]

I understand that yaoi, BL, etc... (in animated or acted format) is a very specific subgenre (and very successful) but for me, as an adult gay man, it's garbage (with all due respect).

It is totally unreal. With hetero-normative gay adolescent relationships (one clearly occupies a more "masculine"/active role and the other a more "feminine"/passive role, when in reality this is not the case)... On the other hand, these movies are like soap operas where the characters and their stories are isolated from the world. There are no conflicts with their parents, nor personal or social conflicts (loneliness, depression, political or social questions, poverty, drugs, sexist violence, lgbt rights, labor exploitation, bullying, STDs, political corruption, etc.). All movies (animated or acted) of this genre are the same, only focused on extreme shyness, on what is not said, what is not expressed, the fear of not being perfect, of not saying the right thing, of not being a good student, not fit. I know that it was born as a subgenre made by and for teenage girls in the 80s, but what surprises me is that it has become a cultural standard that impacts millions of people.

And the problem is that if one is looking to watch a quality lgbt-themed Asia-Pacific movie, it's getting harder and harder to escape this genre (most of the movies or series (animated or acted) I find fall into this style), which has very high ratings on IMBD and elsewhere, but surely given by its fans.

And, to escape from reality, I would prefer a brainless comedy.

Cosas de hombres (2020)

An unnecessary and bad adaptation

[2/10 · 28 April 2022]

Anachronistic comedy, horribly acted and directed. It is an unnecessary adaptation of the Mexican comedy "Hazlo como Hombre" (written and directed by Nicolas López, also Chilean and with a better cast of actors, by far much more attractive), based on old stereotypes of masculinity and homophobia. However, it is notable that both films (the first one, made in 2017) were box office successes in Mexico and Chile, when they were released.

Al borde (2016 TV Movie)

Weird dark comedy

[7/10 · 24 March 2022]

It was one of the darkest dramatic comedies I've seen, I think in my life... It's full black humor, especially at the end. I don't know what the "purpose" of this "special" was... Perhaps to show that people with HIV can be as manipulative as "anyone else", based on a disease or serological condition. It is horrible to see how Martín (D. Hendler) treats with total selfishness and manipulates with his "vertigo" his boyfriend Franco (who is already fed up with all that, and who, as we see later, comes from a father, also selfish and with serious psychological problems, apparently rampant and untreated bipolarity). And the media/television ending where all human suffering is capitalized in rating points and rewarded with "tourist trips", leaves a feeling of shouting and saying: Stop, everyone from using your own and others' misfortune for your own benefit (self) destructive . Stop, look inside and try to soften all that, change as much as possible and be more empathic with other people. Ok... as an original dramatic comedy, yes, it is, which seemed a bit extreme to me, to have used a twisted story like this, to raise awareness about the use of condoms, to get tested as often as possible, which is free , and if you are positive, calm down, that no one dies of HIV anymore, if you take the simple and very effective medications that are available (also free, in Argentina) and from this, most of the time the virus is becomes "undetectable" and "non-transmissible" to other people and this condition should not be a reason for stigmatization or "exclusive treatment" or out of the ordinary.... This, which should be, it seems to me, the messages of this type of specials, WERE NOT, present in its entirety and clearly.

Todo o nada (1984)

Police script mixed with cheap sex comedy

[6/10 · 19 October 2021]

I must admit that I was surprised (I was hoping it was much worse). The main problem, it seems to me, with this film is that it has a police script but tinged with a cheap sex comedy (which was the best seller in the first half of the 80's during the return of democracy in Argentina). In other words, I would have privileged the police side and would have changed the character of Julio de Grazia and erased all of his family who do not make any sense (son, father and the abused hot maid), for example. Martel is quite good in his role, as is Silvia Montanari, and I was surprised by J. F. Casanovas, not only as his performance as a drag queen but also as part of the narco network of the film. The cinematography of the movie is ok too.

Douze Points (2019)

Great comedy!

[9/10 · 12 September 2021]

I love Israeli lgbt movies and this miniseries was no exception. Great timing, acting, and a sense of humor. And a great production too. It is a parody of hatred against LGBT people, Israeli politics, Muslim terrorists, Mossad, etc., all in the kitschy atmosphere of a Eurovision-style pop song contest. If you can see it on any platform, don't miss it!

Homoti (1987)

Homoti, very 80s, gay and a non-homophobic comedy.

[7/10 · 19 August 2021]

Fortunately, I could see this movie with spanish subtitles (I am argentine). My expectations were very low before seeing the film (I expected to find something very bizarre, poorly done and above all very homophobic), but I was interested in seeing something from Turkey, with an LGBT theme, made in the 80s. The film largely complied with the "bizarre" thing, but it didn't seem so badly done to me, and above all things, I was surprised that it wasn't homophobic.

Basically, Homoti, is an alien, who came to Earth and is afraid of being discovered (because if so, he should return to his planet and would be punished) ... On the other hand, he falls in love at first sight with the human protagonist of the film who finds him and takes him home (promising to protect him, despite being a journalist and looking for a prominent piece of news for his newspaper) ... The journalist lives with a woman who is in charge of the house and is a friend of a gay neighbor (very stereotypical) who is always suffering for his lovers who abandon him (a soccer player, an Arab, etc.). Homoti is introduced to them and does not hide his love for the protagonist (who is also single). At first everyone thinks it is because he confuses or does not know the difference between love (friendship) and sexual love. The gay character realizes that he is like "him" ... and begins to treat him as someone gay (even speaking in feminine terms) ... But, the journalist is assigned a female co-worker, who falls in love of him, and does everything to conquer him (the journalist, at first shows some rejection) until she succeeds. This is noticed by Homoti, who becomes sad and expresses it to the journalist. He tries to console him by telling him that he loves him too but not sexually. Homoti, then disappears, is kidnapped by another journalist who wants to use him for a story, but escapes and returns home. Finally, Homoti even tries to put on makeup to try to conquer the journalist, but sees him in bed with his female co-worker (to whom he had already given him a ring). This makes Homoti decide to return to his planet, even though everyone wants him to stay, and he expresses that if he doesn't leave, he will be very upset. And so he does, and that's The End.

It is an impossible, simple love story, shown in a satirical tone. Anyway, the story takes place in a gay-friendly climate (not only with Homoti, but also with the gay neighbor) ...

Disco limbo (2016)

Good. An alternative proposal in a gay movie.

[9/10 · 12 July 2021]

The movie is interesting and very well done! ... It is a bit strange, psychedelic, sci-fi, introspective but light at the same time, with a video game aesthetic, artistic, alternative and very Argentine. The story is simple, it is basically a journey inside a boy who falls in love at first sight with another boy in a disco, his thoughts, his insecurities, his adrenaline, his confusion, his memories, his imagination, the music, the songs , his best friend always present, his fantasies, his projections, the internal spaces through which he travels, his idealization of the newly loved boy, and everything that comes after ... It is different and it is worth seeing, but be careful, I think It's one of those movies that you either love or hate ... If you love it, it leaves you wanting to go out to a party and fall in love with your dream boy / girl. To take into account, it is an independent project, with a low budget, but in this case, I think it benefits it with a certain freshness. In this sense, it reminded me of the Austrian movie "Das Flüstern des Mondes" ("Whispering Moon").

A puerta cerrada (1962)

Maybe the first lesbian character in an Argentine film

[8/10 · 6 July 2021]

And very interesting indeed. Very good film, sober, elegant and well directed. An interesting point of view on hell, according to Sartre's book. As for the lesbian character, she is not there because of her sexuality. Each of the characters goes there for "big issues" (sexuality doesn't count). I make this clarification, because it is a film from the 60s. Very good, for the legendary Argentine film producer "Aries".

Los marcados (1971)

It is worth seeing.

[8/10 · 12 May 2021]

The reason I saw this movie was because it was listed as gay interest, the genre (western), the date of its production (1971) and its country of origin (Mexico). All this strange mixture, it was a temptation difficult to avoid. After watching it, it really seemed like a cool and fun movie that stood the test of time very well (maybe even favored it). The cinematography is very good and the story is bizarre but captivating. Good performances from most of the actors (although some over-acted). In reality, the homosexual and homo-affective relationship between two of the characters, and a few other minor gay characters in the film, seemed quite avant-garde for the time. And that those gay characters were male and not effeminate, it was really interesting, too. But when it came to light that the gay lovers were stepfather and stepson, that they had fled the arms of the owner of the village brothel (who was the mother of one and ex-lover of the other), it was wow! Ok, they were bad boys, who in addition to loving each other, form a gang of murderers that devastates the towns of the region, until "El Marcado" is called to do justice. And this time, again, gay characters die, but for at least not because of his sexuality, but because of the cruelty of his actions. Well, recommended for those who are interested in old movies with lgbt characters.

All About Me (2018)

Good nostalgic movie. But real?

[7/10 · 2 May 2021]

The idyllic childhood of a boy of approximately 8 years of age is presented, who already showed some acting talent and certain gay / mannered behaviors, but who grows up, in the early 70s, within a family full of contention and affection, with the life's own contingencies (illness and death of loved ones, etc.) but surrounded by grandparents, parents, brother, uncles, neighbors, friends, etc. Warm, supportive and above all things, open-minded.

I have some questions, being a non-German gay person and with a similar age to the protagonist of the story. Was it real, what have I seen? Was it a common thing, at that time in Germany? Or should it be taken as a specific event (but real) in a family "out of the ordinary"? Or is it just an adult fiction, full of sweetened childhood nostalgia? ...

As far as I know, homosexuality had been legalized in Germany, very few years ago (and was still considered a mental health "problem") and I suppose that it would be, as in the rest of the world, still a taboo issue ... that many people thought (and some still think) that it was produced "due to a deficient family education (with a lack of limits and roles, etc. ..). This I asked myself, when I saw the scenes of the child, choosing a costume of princess, or her imitations of women, or the grandmother's comments, saying that the boy was never going to marry (with a woman), or the protection of the older brother without any homophobic reproach. Still, in the only scene in where some boys of the same age hit him and throw him off the bike, they do it for another childish reason ... And his schoolmates, above all, all seem to love him and have fun with his histrionic "occurrences" (without any kind of bullying)...

Ehmmm ... I'm going to be honest, because of what I have lived, read and seen in dozens of LGBT movies that describe that time of the beginning of "homosexual liberation / affirmation" in the western world (post p.175, post Buggery law, post Stonewall, etc.), things did not used to be like that, except maybe in certain communities or families, of the type hippies, progressives, artistic, etc., which seems not to be the case shown here, which is that of a working family in a rural Catholic and small town environment, ok, with an aunt who liked to sing and not much else) ... Actually, I am making this comment with the hope of hearing an answer that it could have been real, for whatever social or political reason, in Germany at that time.

You'll Never Be Alone (2016)

In 2019 Chile "exploded socially" ... Here is part of the explanation

[9/10 · 26 April 2021]

This movie goes beyond the LGBT issue. It is a dark look at the culture and the political system of current Chile. The one that leaves this family abandoned is the state, its extremely liberal capitalist system, the health insurers and their empty promises. Even people, increasingly individualistic, living only to work. Even her best friend abandoned Pablo, she ran away. Neighbors, family, are not present or are part of the problem. Pablo and his father are still denied the right to live, if he does not pay, if he is old. And it is also a homophobic society. This film is one of those that addresses the national trauma that affected Chile after the famous Zamudio case, but it does so in a broader way. It is useful to understand, a little better, the social outbreak of Chile at the end of 2019. I hope that a better Constitution will come out that guarantees better rights to the people in general and to minorities in particular (ethnic groups, sexual orientations, gender identity, etc.) .

Soulbound (2011)

It seemed interesting... until the end ...

[7/10 · 25 March 2021]

I am disappointed with this movie. The positive: It is not a great film, but at least it has a good pace throughout the whole story (it has a TV movie quality but it is ok). The performances are not wow, but the actors are attractive. The story deals, in part, with the issue of bisexual relationships, which are often difficult to understand or explain for people (even bisexual people themselves) given the binary world in which we live. And it also revolves around "connection" and love that arises spontaneously, regardless of the age difference of the lovers. The negative: All of the above is destroyed in the last 5 minutes of the film. The script falls, for no reason, into an impossible melodrama typical of the most cheesy telenovela/soap opera. And that's the end. To rate the movie, I'm going to pretend that ending didn't happen.

Uncontrolled Love (2016)

Uncontrolled slavery

[5/10 · 28 February 2021]

This "love story" is horrible in the 21st century. It is an abusive relationship between 2 boys, one rich and another chosen by the rich boy (like a dog) to be adopted, not to be his brother, but something closer to a "servant / slave". They grew up sleeping together, and after graduating from college we found them both working in the family business, of course, one as a boss and the other as an assistant (I really believed that in the whole world, an adopted child is a member of the family with the same rights and can never be treated as a servant or employee). In addition, the adoptee has the same inheritance rights, so both should be partners in the family company. Well given this "beginning" and this context, this "romantic love story" that is shown to us is based on the constant submission of one towards the other. One orders and the other obeys and is unable to say No. The script tries to convince us that it is due to "love", but it seems that it is because the adopted boy was raised to obey the other. Disgusting.

It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives (1971)

Fight for your rights! and we did it... (the best we could...)

[9/10 · 14 February 2021]

It's excellent. It's a great essay (done in a particular and creative way) on gay life by a gay man who lived in Berlin in 1970, and it sounds valid even today to think about the progress we have made. 50 years later, we can say, many good things have happened for homosexual people in many countries of the world and societies have changed too. As the movie asks for, many of us have come together and fought for our rights (and still are) ... Equality marriage is a reality (even parenthood by adoption or surrogacy, etc.) not even imagined in this movie . We also navigate the water of AIDS... We learned how to maintain a relationship for years or decades (through agreements that are often not so "classic")... and even we helped heterosexuals to expand their options in terms of ways of being as a couple or building a family (for example through civil unions, or open relationships, etc...) And most importantly, we learned how to overcome the internal homophobia, the self-hatred that many of us had developed as children, simply because our family and the people around us were homophobic ... I think this is the main subject of this film ... The fight against homophobia starting with ourselves and of course the others (the macho culture, the submission of women , the religions built around that, etc.). And we did ... (and we still are) ..

All Yours (2014)

A good comedy. A cast to enjoy.

[8/10 · 14 February 2021]

Well, after reading some comments ... I can say ... for me, yes, it is a completely credible "gay" story. It is also a film that includes the theme of AIDS, because the virus (even if we forget it) and sometimes the disease (when it is not treated), are still here. Third, it's a movie about lies and sincerities at all times ... because real people are like that (no one is "binary", good or bad). Fourth, I loved the interpretation of Nahuel Biscayart, because he plays a very genuine young Argentine, with all the personality (that mixture of bad humor, exaggeration, insecurity and sexy tenderness) that characterizes them. I also really enjoyed seeing Monia Chokri again (which I like from her performances in Xavier Dolan films). And finally, I liked the sense of humor of the film in general.

eXXXorcisms (2002)

Not that bad.

[7/10 · 18 January 2021]

Ok, it's like a play, without a film adaptation. From the beginning we notice that everything will unfold slowly ... It continues with a long monologue about actions in the past, (which could have been shown instead of said). After that, the first lovers' encounter would have deserved a little more FX, at least ... And finally, the words almost completely end and the actions prevail (sex, blood, etc.) until the end. Anyway, the nude and sex scenes seemed hot to me, as did the bodies of both actors ... On the other hand, the monologues and dialogues are written in a somewhat old-fashioned way (interesting to me). So in the end, it's not a great movie, but it's not a disaster either.

Bwakaw (2012)

How to get old (being gay).

[8/10 · 16 January 2021]

Good film to reflect on old age, illness, loneliness, death, love and sexuality. This film does so from the perspective of a generation that is already leaving, and that many of its gay members could not live their lives fully, or only did so towards the end of their days. During their "best years", they were denied the right to have a partner, marry, have or adopt children and in some way, they were condemned to live with self-shame and to grow old alone. In this way, the later generation, (those of us who are now adults), although many of us were able to come out of the closet from a young age, and we were also able to live a fuller life, gaining, in many countries, rights that were previously impossible to imagine, now we lack of clear and positive references for our approaching old age. Well, I think there is a need for many more films on these topics, approaching the subject from new perspectives.

In Bloom (2013)

A movie about the changes in Love

[8/10 · 11 January 2021]

I think it's just a story about a couple going through the "infatuation stage" (the first few months in an average relationship) to a "more real love" stage (if they can). Many couples break up at that point, regardless of whether they are gay, straight, or whatever ...

After the movie ended, I figured if one of the leads was a woman (especially the one who worked as a grocery store repositor), the movie would still have worked well.

Some comments say it's another "gay movie, showing a dying relationship and dealing with drugs ..." ... and I think gay and drugs are just a mere context in this movie.

On the other hand, it is a simple film, without many pretentions, but at times moving, perhaps, because of that simplicity.

El cumpleaños del perro (1975)

Disappointing.

[6/10 · 17 December 2020]

I watched this movie last night because it was referred to as "Mexico's first gay-themed movie" and it disappointed me. To begin with, the movie poster does not correspond to any scene in it. In the film, there is no mention of homosexuality or gay, or anything ... It can only be intuited, by a certain homoerotic treatment in some (several) images, where the naked or semi-naked body of the swimming character is emphasized (which by the way It is very cute). The tailor character is suggested as a possible repressed homosexual unhappily married to the gossiping woman (and also unhappy). All too subtle. I was also amazed at the degree of machismo and misogyny that is shown throughout the film, including the murder of the woman, whose "motive" nobody asks about ... I know it's a 1975 film, but not I can stop comparing it with the Argentine film "La Tregua", also from 1974/75, and which is also considered "the first Argentine film where the gay theme is openly discussed" and although it is about secondary (but important) characters, this all is mentioned very clearly.

Adiós, Roberto (1985)

A little of drama and a little of comedy, and very authentic.

[8/10 · 15 December 2020]

I saw this movie, in the cinema of my hometown in Greater Buenos Aires, when it was released in 1985. I was 16 and I was really looking for references for my incipient life as a gay person. It had been a little over a year since we had recovered democracy in my country after a terrible and suffocating conservative right-wing military dictatorship. We were living in the beginning of a liberal central-left government, which eliminated all kinds of censorship in the arts and in the media. In the air, there was political, social and above all sexual openness. The sexual revolution and gay liberation of the 60s and 70s had not come here massivily. Although, there was a glimmer of that, during a short democratic period in the early 1970s. In 1974, "La Tregua" (nominated for the 1975 Oscar, for best foreign film) reflected that moment, and was the first film in which non-stereotyped secondary gay characters appeared. One of them the son of the protagonist, "confessing" his homosexuality and despite not being fully understood, is accepted by his father. Then, 10 years later, I was in the cinema, watching this new movie whose main theme was homosexuality and the coming out of the closet of one of its protagonists. To say right, at that time I did not like it, it was not enough what I saw, there were no kisses on the mouth, no sex scenes, and no clear and happy ending. It was a commercial movie, a somewhat dramatic romantic comedy, about a man in his late 20s/early 30s, married with a young son, recently divorced and who ends up sharing an apartment with another man who is gay and eventually they fall in love. Throughout the film, this man dreams and hallucinates with people from his past, who blame him for having "changed." Finally he decides to go back to living alone for just a while and start a therapy with a psychologist to clarify his mind. This failed to stop his crisis, which did him go running semi-naked through the streets at night and arrested by the police. When they tell him he can make only one call, he calls the man he loves. He goes to look for him but accompanied by his ex-wife (with whom they had previously met) and his son, and then he walks away. It is not clear who Roberto will stay with ... Yesterday I saw this film again, after 35 years and with a different perspective. And, yes, it is clear. It was the beginning of what is the phenomenon of being gay and living in Argentina, where family acceptance matters a lot. I can say that, in general terms, we succeeded and it is reflected in the rights that we have achieved in recent decades (marriage, gender identity, adoption, etc.). Even in recent Argentine lgbt-themed films, the stories revolve around affective and family ties (El rubio, Somos tr3s, Esteros, etc.) Sometimes families, which we help to modify and enrich, and also the new ones we are creating. Although it was a commercially successful, this is not a "great" film, but it is very authentic, and it set the style to deal with and include the issue of homosexuality in Argentine fiction (both in film, TV, etc.) and in reality of everyday. A little of drama and a little of comedy. Note: The actor who plays Roberto died a few days ago, after years with sequelae from several brain strokes. He was well liked on the local scene (as was the rest of the cast of this film).

Dry Wind (2020)

Hot images, Dry pride

[7/10 · 1 November 2020]

Main character's mind in this movie seems set and stuck in the pre-aids 70s, when relationships between men were inevitably only sexual, hidden or very private, without possibility of public affection or ideas of construction of some kind of stable relation with something more than sex. Second main character's mind is a little more modern. He hopes to introduce his partner to his family, friends and coworkers and being accepted. Both opposite views crash in some point. And then, a third character, arises, satisfying the needs of the second one. The first one, enters into an internal crisis, where he feels himself "old", "phased out", overwhelmed by "time changes". He gets jelous and angry just surrounded by his eternal sexual fantasies... (Tom of Finland style)... But, finally, times were not changed so much in the region were they were living, and he, in a certain way, was sadly right to be discret. Anyway, beyond this, he accepts he needs to adapt his mind and... happý end... Happy end? Or more of the same hidden forest sex?

Coming out (2013)

Sadly an homophobic movie

[4/10 · 28 September 2020]

It's a shame, but it's a homophobic movie. It's well shot, well acted, has a good pacing, and could be a good comedy. But, it raises something that does not exist and is dangerous ... Nobody changes their sexual orientation due to a hit on the head (and this said it seems obvious, but there are many people in the world desperate not to be accepted for being gay, that sure they would try). But it seems that when they realized that, they tweaked the script a bit, and it wasn't really the coup, but something like a "divine call" that had put their "gay safety" to the test ... Again, it's a comedy and all that may be funny, but in a homophobic country like Hungary, it is not. In fact, the constitution (recently) prohibits equal marriages and a law this year, the change of gender identity. For this reason, this film, more than to laugh, is to think that they want to sell us.

Miqva (2016)

Very representative comedy about being gay adult in Argentina in the 2010s.

[9/10 · 30 August 2020]

I had the pleassure of watching this well-filmed and acted, low budget web mini series about gay adults in Argentina in the 2010s. Four men in their 30-40s have a dinner at home of one of them. They talk about their stories, their friendship, their things in common, their love, their hopes, their fears, their illusions. Topics like getting old, getting married, families, are discussed in a comedy style. I actually yelled out loud in a lot of funny moments. It is a simple but effective web series of 8 short chapters without pretentions, like sharing our lives with friends.