Un año sin amor

'Un Ano sin amor' (A Year Without Love) is a brave little Argentine film by young Buenos Aires director Anahi Berneri, a film that takes a different look at people with AIDS in the era of 1996 when the AIDS cocktail was just becoming a beacon of hope suggesting that afflicted people could survive. Though some may avoid the film because of content and the world of Sadomasochism it depicts, this little low budget movie has a lot to say in a very simple fashion and deserves the attention of caring viewers.

Pablo Perez (the very fine actor Juan Minujin) is a young magazine writer/ French teacher/ poet living with AIDS (he has returned form Paris where he had been living with his lover who died of AIDS). Pablo lives with his aunt in a poor apartment supported by his distant father, and while he knows he has a disease that dooms his future, he tries to continue his life day by day with no major plans. He attempts to have a social life by advertising on the Internet for dating, but because he includes the information in his ad that he is HIV positive, he gets negligible response. When his symptoms increase and he is burdened with a constant cough and respiratory problems he visits his doctor who recommends hospitalization. Pablo does not trust the 'new meds' and refuses AZT etc. He walks the streets seeking anonymous encounters with men to satisfy his longing for physical connection and resorts to joining a sadomasochism group where he meets men who are willing to interact only on a physical level. In his loneliness he turns to his friend with the idea of publishing his diary about a man living with AIDS, yet when the book is published the results only serve to alienate his family further and he is left with nothing in a life of loneliness.

Berneri has filmed this story in the gritty reality of the hand held camera and is unafraid to show the dark side of Buenos Aires' underbelly of sadomasochism, yet he retains a degree of allowing us to 'get the idea' without dwelling on any of the activities. Juan Minujin is completely believable as Pablo and the other cast members serve their roles well, allowing us to see the people rather than the behaviors. This may be a tough little film for some but for those who appreciate cinema verite it is a fine work of art. Grady Harp

Some people would find this movie boring, slow, disgusting, irrelevant, or so, but it's not. It's a well-told story of a guy with HIV who tries to keep going with his life, nothing else. Some controversial issues are addressed (Sadomasochism, fetishism, AIDS, loneliness, sexual promiscuity, dysfunctional families), but in a very direct, straight, non-gory way. Haven't heard of or seen a movie that deals with these subjects the way this one does. It offers a whole new look at AIDS and AIDS treatment above all. I hope young and older parents see the movie, because it will open their eyes and minds as well. AIDS *IS* among us, and the best way to fight it is TO KNOW WHAT'S ABOUT. The photography and direction are amazing. The performance of Juan Minujin is remarkable! If you're not gay, you might enjoy the movie as well.

Those who have been following developments related to Argentinian cinema in the recent past would be quick to remark that "A year without love" is a charming yet subtle film completely different from other Argentinian films winning laurels at various film festivals. Although the film talks of homosexuality,it is not at all shocking or controversial as there are shots of Buenos Aires gay underworld and it is shown in a serene fashion.In "A year without love",what we find in the film is an intimate portrait of a young man who is quite an artist.He is a poet and teaches French language to make a living.For her first film Anahi Berneri has chosen a bold topic and she succeeds in getting her message made clear.The virtue of this film is that it is not a melodrama and thereby eschews a casual treatment which is generally given to films filled with controversial themes.It is true that "A year without love" is rather slow moving but it must be watched till end to know more about the emotional passage of its protagonist over a period of one year.

"Un Año sin Amor" or its English title "A Year Without Love" is based on the real story of Pablo Pérez. All that we see here is based in his own experience with AIDS, sex, and his own sexuality, friends and family. Directed by Anahi Berneri, "Un Año Sin Amor" is a look of lost love and solitude.

The story is of a man, Pablo, who is writing a novel about his experiences, have AIDS. He felt a terrible solitude, in spite that he lives with his aunt. He has friends, few who loves him really. He looks in gay magazines for friends, relationship and sex. But, then, the only way that he finds to fight against that loneliness and his own sickness is through pain that others can offer to him. The topic that the story offers is very interesting, as polemical, i guess. A human been sometimes prefer win affect through something, even pain, and in this movie we find clear this example with Pablo, and how he decides go to the masochism. He trust that, at least, something give it affection for that way. But we watch that not going to be in this way (For example, Pablo finds, in one of the clubs, a man that is interested with him. Pablo maybe thinks that is affection, but at the end, Pablo receives a hit when finds the awful true).

Althoug that some characters (Like Pablo, his "real" friend, his aunt and his french student) and the movie intention going to be remembered, i think that the film needs some force - specially in a bitter but however a little uncompleted ending-. "Un Año sin Amor" is a film that, in spite that could be much better, i recommend for a viewer who wants a little of reflection and intimacy about topics which are fundamental in our lives: The love, the solitude, and what we do for don't feel that pain, no matter if we decide suffer with other much horrible like that.

*Sorry for the mistakes... well, if there any.

I'm not so sure about the point of this film, myself, well acted and directed as it was, but I could *not* get past the fact that the title character (at least in the early part of the film) is going around hiding his disease from his casual and anonymous lovers while refraining from any apparent condom use. Hello? This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this is a potentially lethal disease, and the year is 1996, so Reagan-era ignorance can't be his excuse. I know for certain that popular gay sex columnist Dan Savage would have nothing kind to say about this character - he'd give Pablo a verbal version of a bondage-master-style whuppin.