I find it surreal in itself that I am the first person to review this documentary. It is about a Mr. Leather competition set in Brazil in 2018. It is not a world that I have much knowledge of and although it is set within a gay context heterosexuals apparently have their competitions as well. In the main it is a talking heads film about who will win and why. As I watched it I wondered how Bunuel would have approached this subject matter as several scenes in it are in my opinion worthy of him. ' Belle de Jour ' comes to mind, and several others made in Mexico. Three scenes stand out and the first involves controlled breathing during sex. A man is literally encased in leather with a breathing apparatus attached to his head. Another man gets a great deal of satisfaction in controlling his breath. This scene is at the centre of the documentary, and very difficult to watch. And depressing. For those who are afraid of living entombment avoid this film and I wish I had. It also seemed to go on forever, and pushes the fetish aspects to the limit. I believe there should have been a warning about it on either the front or back of the DVD. There is a warning on strong sex, but this in my opinion is too vague. Potentially dangerous behaviour is something else altogether, especially when this is not fiction but so-called documentary reality. The second Bunuelian scene is a night landscape of a street with a man taking his dog for a walk. The dog is a man complete with leather face and no clothing except for a jock strap. It is well filmed and I suppose harmless, and Bunuel would have had a field day out of the subject matter. The third is a fashion show of leather wear that bizarrely reminded me of certain women's pictures of old when this was obligatory. Leather wear from Barcelona, Paris and even soldiers wear. And this had surreal humour and taken as a whole the men in it seemed to be charming and explained their need for a leather life with conviction. A harmless way of life, except like an aching toothache my mind returned to that mummified body for sexual satisfaction.
