Loev - Pedras no Caminho do Amor

In my opinion Director/writer Sudhanshu Saria has made a stunningly beautiful film of exotic beauty in almost every scene contrasting with a culture so fixated on its societal expectation and traditions that it wants the modern world around them but cannot enjoy it.

What I'm trying to say is Sahil, Alex, and Jai's friendship/romance/sexual desires cannot go any where because the ancient cultural demands won't allow this -- but the modern technical world is welcomed without the freedom of being that comes with it. There are scenes of such natural beauty that the men can only express themselves by enjoying the scenery together. The frustration level is high and at movies end the viewer sees what the friends really wanted.

I realize this is a complex take on this beautiful film but I had to express it because the story made me think what is the director trying to tell the viewer.

I was really curious about this movies but it didn't meet my expectations at all. The problem is that everything, except for the surprisingly good actors, is a problem. The pacing is all wrong, the plot doesn't really go anywhere and there are some sensitive issues that were handled frankly quite poorly.

An original movie. It takes through a viewpoint of another country. There's some quite stunning scenery which makes you want to travel. The relationship between the characters feels a bit weak and having watched to the end, leave you hope that there was more to it. A controversial moment is batted away when that could have been something they could flesh out.

This is a case where the film's format and style do not quite match the complications of its narrative. It could either have been this immersive, intimate portrait of two people never quite getting on the same boat, all while having this roadtrip... but it was bogged down by messier elements. Sudhansu Saria made a decent debut though, and actors Dhruv Ganesh, Shiv Pandit and Siddharth Menon were fantastic and magnetic on screen.

Sidenote: I am very devastated to learn about Dhruv

As a gay man living in NYC (not Indian) - I was blown away by this beautiful and powerful film. While one might think this is a simple love/struggle story - it is not. I travel to India twice a year for work. I have been to the country 14 times. Indian culture views homosexuality a crime -- making this story even more powerful. It was also great to see some of the beautiful Indian country side. Do not miss this film.