Cola de Mono

I was slightly misled by the cover of the dvd, which seemed to promise some sort of steamy male erotic arthouse film. Well, arthouse sure is what I got, but mostly of the dramatic kind, and so intangible that a lot of its why's and how's and where to's eluded my too simple brain.

It's, as far as I could grasp it, about a disfunctional family: an embittered, unstable and castrating mother and her two young adult sons. They all have long and cynical conversations, bicker and yell, and in the meantime try to celebrate a family christmas dinner. The boys both have gay issues: Vicente is closeted, seeking anonymous and risky sex at cruising areas and feeling guilty and despondent about it; Borja revels at home in solo gay fantasies. This leads to a clash with each other, and eventually, when the mother steps in, to a sudden violent and fatal outburst.

We later see Borja emerging in the dark underworld of gay saunas, for yet another violent act. Is it a revenge for his brother? A kinky sexual fulfillment? A reckoning with his own being gay? We never know (or I totally missed it of course).

Throughout the movie there's a lot of male sex and nudity, and one has to praise both young actors for their courage to go along with the apparent need for realism of the director. It's a bit much and probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I guess functional for the story that the makers want to tell. Only don't expect a steamy sex movie, in that respect the cover definitely is used for tittilating PR-purposes only.

The performance by one of the young leads was great ...everyone else was "blah." This had potential, but the plot was rather far-fetched and difficult to take seriously. Ending is ruined by another ridiculous plot twist.

Not quite the fun, sexual party I was expecting from the front cover, but instead a dark and serious piece about two handsome brothers and their own individual quirks.

There is a scene where Borja sneaks in to his brothers bedroom which is excruciatingly sensual and a sequence later on that is oozing with sex, but the main story doesn't really have an ending or at least an explanation of the ending. I also found it very odd that the actor playing the young Vicente then played the older Borja and it kind of threw the epilogue off too.

It was enjoyable though, especially if you want to get your rocks off.

Arty and not what you'd expect from a film set on Christmas Eve in 1986.

This movie is a hodgepodge of misguided ideas. Filled with cliches. There is not a good development to be able to connect with the characters, especially with the mother. The only good thing about the film is the music and Cristóbal Rodríguez Costabal (Borja) who made a very good performance since he is not a professional actor, the only thing that kept me captive to the film was him, since the film became endless and halfway through I wanted it to end. It shows too much Alberto Fuguet got excited with him and that's why he gave him the main character. Alberto Fuget should thank him for being the only good thing about his movie. 5/10

The story was OK, but the real reason to watch is the hot guys!